Tag: School Vouchers
Report: U.S. school food waste nears 530K tons annually. See more national education news here
A new World Wildlife Fund report estimates U.S. school food waste totals 530,000 tons per year and costs as much as $9.7 million a day to manage, which breaks down to about 39.2 pounds of food waste and 19.4 gallons of milk thrown out per school per year, based on the results from the 46-school sample across nine cities.
How yoga helps students relax, focus, deal with stress. See state education news here
Third in a series on teachers and what they do during the summer: The day before Sun Valley High School summer school students’ research papers were due, Moonstone Yoga’s Jennifer Shifler led them and their teacher through breathing and yoga exercises to help them reduce stress and relax.
For the past three years, Shifler has led sessions each Friday morning before tutoring begins at the Title I charter school in Mesa, and educators and administrators there say it has helped increase students’ concentration, their ability to monitor their emotions and develop positive responses to stressful situations.
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.
Voters reject controversial Proposition 305 school voucher measure. See related stories here
Proposition 305, which would have vastly expanded a program that allows parents and guardians to use tax dollars to pay for private school tuition, was rejected by voters, the Associated Press reported.
Opponents criticized the contentious proposition, officially the Expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Referendum, for its confusing language and unclear objective.
Education headlines race for Arizona governor, See more statewide education news here
By Bud Foster • KOLD NEWS13 TUCSON, AZ (TUCSON NEWS NOW) – When the Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey offered teachers a 1 percent pay raise during his budget presentation in January 2018, many educators took it as an insult. That led to a mass walkout in April dubbed #RedforEd, which resulted in Ducey promising a 20 […]
Proposition 305: ESA Program Expansion. See related news here
In 2011 Arizona lawmakers adopted the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program, commonly known as a school voucher program, which provides state funds to pay for tuition and various educational services offered by private and parochial schools.
Originally, the ESA program gave parents or guardians of students who had disabilities that could not be addressed in public schools the opportunity to turn to private schools, with the state paying part of the bill (amounting to around 90 percent of what it would have spent to send the child to public school). Over the years, the program gradually has been expanded to extend eligibility to students in several other categories, including foster-care children, those residing on American Indian reservations and those attending failing public schools.
Citizens will be voting on school vouchers. See related stories
Arizona’s school voucher program, which would allow all 1.1 million students eligible to apply for tax dollars for private school tuition, submitted enough valid signatures to force the issue to be placed on the ballot in November 2018.
Save Our Schools Arizona, a volunteer group that is against the expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program originally presented more than 111,000 signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State Aug. 8 and they were officially approved Sept. 5.
Supporters, opponents of school vouchers in Arizona keep up pressure. Please see related stories
Days after delivering 111,000 signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, 200 demonstrators opposing the expansion of a school-voucher system rallied Saturday on the steps of the Capitol in hopes of maintaining their momentum. …
While expansion opponents were rallying, supporters were gathered about 10 miles away for a grass-roots data-entry effort to check the validity of the signature petitions themselves.
Expansion supporters are expected to challenge signatures in court in an attempt to prevent the effort from qualifying for the ballot.
CCC increases tuition by $3 a credit hour. See more Arizona Daily Sun education stories here
The Coconino Community College District Governing Board unanimously but begrudgingly voted to increase tuition by $3 per credit hour and several assorted fees in the next year at its regular meeting on Wednesday.
Board member Nat White said it was not something anyone on the board wanted to do, but the college was now at a point where tuition was paying for a larger chunk of the college’s expenses than the money CCC received from the state or property taxes.
School Vouchers Bill Moves to Full Arizona Senate. Please see related stories
All Arizona school children could get money to go to private school if Senate Bill 1431 passes.
In Arizona, Empowerment Scholarships (ESAs), which some people call vouchers, currently allow students who fall into certain categories to receive money from the state to attend private schools. Those who qualify include children with disabilities, attendees of D or F schools, kids who were adopted or those who come from military families.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria, would expand the program to every school child in Arizona, or more than 1 million students.
