Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

TUCSON a�� Parents of school children in Arizona will be required to fill out new forms showing proof of residency for the upcoming school year.

TUCSON a�� A federal judge has taken under advisement an argument to strike down a law targeting the Tucson Unified School District's ethnic studies program. The case challenges the constitutionality of the law formerly known as HB 2281. The plaintiffs are two current TUSD students.

The bill, SB1061, stalled this week in the House after its author, Sen. Rich Crandall, asked for it to be held because he said it became a distraction to other education bills he sees as a priority.

The Mesa Republican asked the House Education Committee chairwoman to kill the bill on March 12, even though Crandall said he believed it had the votes to pass. The measure sailed through the Senate last month, 19-10.

A federal judge threw out a former school superintendent's lawsuit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and other county officials over the sheriff's criminal investigation that led to a misdemeanor conviction against the school official.

A coalition aiming to bolster K-12, higher education, state infrastructure and children’s health care funding filed a ballot measure today for a new 1-cent sales tax hike that would go into effect as soon as Proposition 100 expires in 2013.

The initiative, filed by the group Quality Education and Jobs, would direct about 80 percent of the money it raises to education, with the overwhelming majority going to K-12 schools. The tax would raise about $1 billion a year.

A lawmaker’s attempt to have Arizonans decide whether to revive the voter–approved Heritage Fund is stalled in the House.

Arizona lawmakers are considering legislation to ensure the state is spending the same amount of money per student at each of its three public universities.

Rep. John Kavanagh says he's decided to kill a bill that would have required college students to pay a portion of their school tuition.

Arizona teachers may find themselves under greater scrutiny if the Legislature continues to advance bills barring educators from partisan instruction, using unapproved course materials or using language in the classroom that violates Federal Communication Commission standards.

A bill that would allow parents to shut down a failing school, fire its principal or turn it into a charter school narrowly won passage in the Senate today. The legislation applies to schools that receive a “D” or “F” under the state’s new grading system.