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AZ Dept. of Ed launches STOP-IT Task Force to raise awareness about fentanyl’s dangers
Arizona’s Department of Education has introduced an initiative aimed at tackling the growing threat of fentanyl in schools. The School Training Overdose Preparedness and Intelligence Taskforce (STOP-IT) is educating students […]
ESA program gets a few tweaks, but no overhaul
Change to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program remained a game of inches this session.
Number of failing schools fell; alternative schools headed the other way
The number of schools getting an F on the state’s annual report card has fallen sharply, going from 49 in 2019 to 24 this year, but the number of failing alternative schools rose over the same period.
Agencies use delays to thwart public records requests
Arizona’s public bodies often use delay tactics and loose interpretations of the state’s public records laws to avoid transparency, First Amendment lawyers say.
New program will place armed, uniformed off-duty police officers on campuses with SROs
The Arizona Department of Education announced a new program to place armed and uniformed off-duty police officers on school campuses lacking a school resource officer.
State spending more money for vouchers for students this budget year than was reserved through June
Less than four months into the budget year, Arizona already is spending more money for vouchers for students to attend private and parochial schools at state expense than was set aside through June.
Concerned resident raises concerns about Horne’s actions as schools chief
A concerned Arizona resident shared a letter she sent to Tom Horne, who she claims has overstepped his power since assuming the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
ESA program added almost 50,000 students in the past year, state reports
The state added nearly 12,000 students to the Empowerment Scholarship Account program in the last quarter, bringing total enrollment to 61,689 at the end of June and renewing debates about the costs and benefits of the program.
Student and teacher mental health programming supported by Covid funds could be in limbo
Student and educator mental health programming supported by Covid grant relief funds may be in limbo after the Arizona Department of Education requested reports on the efficacy in remedying learning loss.
Attempts to curtail universal ESA program fail
In the first legislative session following the universal expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, attempts to curtail or enact further oversight for the program fell flat.
ADE says work being done on ESA program as ClassWallet continues as vendor
With ClassWallet in the process of continuing its contract with the state as the Empowerment Scholarship Account financial vendor, the Arizona Department of Education confirmed work on long-term changes to the program, most notably the revival of debit cards using automation and artificial intelligence.
Arizona needs 190K direct care workers in next seven years
By 2030, Arizona will need more than 190,000 new direct care workers. Those results, from a 2021 survey from the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI), concluded that, without intervention, the caregiver crisis will worsen.
