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Anti-Common Core bills defeated in state Senate
Five Senate Republicans again helped Democrats kill two bills that would have undermined Common Core.
3 bills advance that curb Common Core, give authority to local schools
The Legislature took its first steps Feb. 20 toward gutting Common Core, three years after the learning standards were adopted and a year before students are to begin testing on them. The Senate Education Committee passed on a 6-3 partisan vote three bills that give school districts the authority to create their own learning standards and another that keeps the state Board of Education from implem[...]
School freeze – Educators push for delay in test repercussions
Arizona public schools would get a one-year freeze on consequences from a new high-stakes learning test under legislation the state Department of Education plans to offer during the next session.
Huppenthal: Arizona should rename Common Core
Arizona's top education official says the state should stick with implementing the Common Core academic standards but rename them and act independently of other states that helped develop them.
The Drama of Common Core
New set of school standards searches for success
Topock, an Arizona town on the far western edge of the state, doesn’t even have a stoplight. But its school district has scrambled to prepare for the new standards and get the Internet capacity and computers necessary for the 2015 debut of the accompanying test.
Brewer vetoes bill adding disabled kids to charters
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has vetoed a bill that would have allowed charter schools to enroll some disabled pre-school students because the Legislature didn't include funding for the students.
AIMS repeal headed to Governor’s desk
A bill to scrap the requirement that high school students pass the AIMS test is heading to the governor’s desk after being approved by the House on Tuesday during a heated debate.
Distressed Districts: Two laws help schools deal with aftermath of financial mismanagement
Even in good economic times, school districts struggle to meet their financial obligations, leading a few to slip into receivership while others are victimized by various methods of fraud. But in an era of cutbacks in state spending and tight budgets, vigilance on where the dollars are going takes on even greater importance for schools, whose primary role is providing kids with a quality education[...]
Backlog of misconduct cases prompts Education Board to seek more investigators
The Arizona State Board of Education is going to ask the Legislature for more money to hire investigators to cut into a backlog of teacher misconduct investigations.
Board of Education wants quicker intervention in failing schools
As Arizona schools are days away from knowing where they stand in the state’s new performance rating system, the Board of Education has drawn up proposals to give the state more authority over low-performing schools.
Student-funding proposal faces tough road
A proposal by the Commission on Privatization and Efficiency would radically alter the way school budgets are determined, but may face insurmountable hurdles if it surfaces in the Legislature.
School district consolidation, unification committee holds first meeting
Skeptics and opponents of the massive 2008 school district unification and consolidation push are voicing a willingness to give the issue another chance, but not without certain conditions.
