Tag: azcentral
Ariz. woman inspired to run for office after watching DeVos hearing wins state superintendent race. See related news here
An Arizona woman who says she was motivated to run for office after watching Education Secretary Betsy DeVos struggle during her confirmation hearing has been elected the state’s highest education official.
Kathy Hoffman, 31, became Arizona’s first Democratic superintendent of public instruction in more than 25 years, according to The Washington Post. Before running for office, Hoffman was a speech therapist in a suburban Phoenix public school district.
Opinion: Whether they meant to or not, voters just cut K-12 funding. See other related election news here
Voters on (Nov. 6) resoundingly approved Proposition 126, which amends the state Constitution to bar lawmakers (and voters) from imposing any new taxes on services – things ranging from haircuts to health care, from accountants to attorneys.
The question now is, how long will it be before they regret it?
Prop. 305 defeat doesn’t end fight over voucher expansion. See related news here
More than 1 million voters rejected lawmakers’ attempt to allow every public school student in Arizona to attend private or parochial schools on taxpayer dollars – but the fight isn’t over.
Teachers Defiant After Educator Loses Bid for Arizona Governor. See related news here
David Garcia, a Democratic college of education professor who galvanized teachers, school administrators, and parents behind an ambitious bid to pump more than $1 billion back into Arizona’s public school system, lost Tuesday to incumbent Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in the race for Arizona governor.
It was a significant blow for public school advocates across the country who drew inspiration from the #redfored movement sparked here after thousands of teachers staged a week-long strike last spring over stagnant wages and stringent work conditions.
Proposition 305: Should Arizona expand state’s school voucher program? See related news here
Proposition 305 asks voters to decide the future of school vouchers – whether they want to keep or repeal a major expansion of the program.
Gov. Doug Ducey in April 2017 signed a bill to expand the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, but a group of parents, educators and advocates organized to put the issue before voters in the Nov. 6 election.
The ESA program allows parents and guardians to apply for vouchers that essentially use tax dollars to pay for private school tuition.
Ruling to block tax measure to raise Arizona education funding wrong, 2 justices say. See related education news here
Two justices of the Arizona Supreme Court are criticizing their colleagues for their decision blocking voters from deciding whether to increase income taxes on the most wealthy to fund education.
Arizona ACT scores dip, state ranks near bottom. See more statewide education news here
Arizona high school students graduating in 2018 placed 45th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in performance on the ACT college-entrance exam.
The average score of the roughly 45,000 students who took the exam (about 66 percent of the 2018 graduating class) was 19.2 out of 36. The national average was some one-and-a-half points higher, at 20.8.
Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire posted the highest scores, all over 25 points.
Poll Shows That Proposition 305 Confuses Voters. See related stories here
A new Suffolk University/Arizona Republic poll shows that the ballot language of Proposition 305 has led to a great deal of confusion among Arizona voters. With the proposition to help decide the state’s future in the expanded universal voucher program, the confusion would result in the November election’s outcome being affected.
41 percent of the poll’s 500 registered voters were in support of expanding the voucher program that provides public money to parents in order to send their children to private school. 32 percent were opposed and 27 percent remain undecided on the subject.
Arizona universities travel the state helping students learn more about college admissions, financial aid. See more state education news here
As part of the Achieve60AZ initiative, organizations across Arizona – including the state’s three public universities Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona – are seeking ways to increase the number of Arizonans with post-secondary degrees or credentials from the current 42 percent to 60 percent by 2030.
Charter school financial controversies spark talk of Arizona legislative action. See related news
Gov. Doug Ducey says he’s open to the idea of reforms in how charter schools are operated, including how they handle their finances.
For the moment, though, he has no specific suggestions. And he remains convinced that the private schools, which in Arizona can be operated as for-profit entities, are an innovation, he said.
There is some movement on the issue.
Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix, said Tuesday she wants lawmakers to mandate that there be better oversight of these technically public schools run by private entities that get taxpayer funds.
