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Charter school accused of using state money to teach religious doctrine
A national organization filed suit Wednesday against an Arizona charter school with ties to a member of the state Board of Education, accusing it of using state funds to illegally teach religious doctrine.
Senators vote to set aside more than $100 million for charter school loan assistance
Republican lawmakers are moving to use state funds to help privately run charter schools borrow money at better interest rates.
What’s inefficiency to some
Ducey and lawmakers have perennially touted charter schools’ highest achievements, including the reputation by some as among the best in the country. But a new study by the Grand Canyon Institute, a centrist research group, claims that charters are financially inefficient.
Arizona school data shows uneven distribution of ethnic groups
Two decades after Arizona helped pioneer the charter school movement, enrollment data show the schools don’t match the school age demographics of the state and, in many cases, their neighborhoods. White - and especially Asian - students attend charter schools at a higher rate than Hispanics, who now make up the the greatest portion of Arizona’s school age population.
Arizona charter schools turn 20 boasting of higher test scores, greater options
Nestled between a taco shop, a gas station and a church lies the Gilbert campus of Leading Edge Academy. A former Albertsons grocery store on the strip mall is what the small public school calls home.
Arizona awarded $24 million to boost charter schools
The Arizona Department of Education will use a federal grant to support new and expanding charter schools.
South Phoenix charter school doesn’t let student demographics dictate expectations
The students of Phoenix Collegiate Academy are used to high expectations. “Our students come to school at 7:30. They’re late if they’re there at 7:31,” said Rachel Bennett Yanof, the charter school’s executive director.
Administrative bloat? Republican lawmaker sets sights on school tax credit organizations
Within days of the new fiscal year’s commencement on July 1, the Arizona Department of Revenue announced that Arizona businesses had claimed more than $51 million in tax credits for their donations to School Tuition Organizations. The state had reached the legal cap on the tax credits in lightning-fast fashion.
State Supreme Court quells charter schools’ bid for more funding
The Arizona Supreme Court ended the nearly six-year bid by charter schools today to get funding for their students on a par with students from traditional public schools.
State officials say district-sponsored charter schools have no reason to worry
Several district-sponsored charter schools were in a panic about the possibility that because lawmakers omitted a line in the state budget, they could be on the hook to repay the state millions of dollars of funding from previous years.
Educators say legislative budget error could cost district charter schools millions
When lawmakers approved the state budget in March, they accidentally left out one key part. Because of the omission, several longstanding district-sponsored charter schools – public schools that have reorganized as charter schools to capture more state funding – will be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in back payments.
Education Department to seek guidance on cuts affecting smaller schools
The Department of Education will ask the attorney general this week to issue a formal opinion on cuts to funds that support smaller schools.
