by Staff Reporter | Feb 5, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona State Board of Education (ASBE) released an improved grade for the state’s largest charter school operator.
Last month, ASBE awarded Primavera Online School a letter grade of “B” for the 2024-2025 school year.
The threat of closure of the state’s largest charter school operator attracted the attention of President Donald Trump allies and school choice advocates.
The corrected grading follows nearly a year of efforts by the charter school to overturn a charter revocation from the Arizona State Board of Charter Schools (ASBCS).
In a statement, Primavera Online School stated that ASBE’s latest determination validated their year-long defense of their performance.
“These findings confirm that Primavera’s academic performance has always been within the state’s definition of a performing school and is currently a highly performing school, consistent with its long-standing mission of serving at-risk and non-traditional students across Arizona,” said the school in a press release.
School choice proponents petitioned Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne to intervene in the threat against Primavera Online School.
However, Horne clarified last spring that he had no power or influence over charter school revocation decisions, even with having a seat on ASBCS.
“The legislature chose to divide jurisdiction regarding charter schools between the Arizona Department of Education and the Charter Board. The current issue is within the jurisdiction of the Charter Board. I have no power or influence over that. If I were to try to influence it, the Charter Board would resent the trespass on their turf, and it would do more harm than good,” said Horne at the time. “There is likely to be an appeal to an administrative law judge, and the school needs to marshal its evidence to present to the administrative law judge. If I am asked for any data or other information that the department has, I will of course immediately provide it regardless of which side requests it.”
Without intervention, ASBCS revoked Primavera Online School’s charter last summer.
Primavera Online School leadership publicly fought the revocation, accusing ASBCS of incorrectly redesignating their school as traditional rather than its historical designation as alternative.
The school did receive approval for alternative status for the 2025 fiscal year, and its application for the 2026 fiscal year was pending before the Arizona Department of Education at the time of the revocation.
Its founder and CEO, Damian Creamer, failed to convince ASBCS that they had improperly redesignated his school.
The board cited three years of low academic results as the basis for its decision.
However, a retrospective review by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) recently conducted focusing on the online charter school’s academic standing over the three scrutinized school years (2022, 2023, and 2024) determined that the charter school would have warranted a passing grade of “at least C” under an alternative school status.
Primavera Online School was founded in 2001 to assist students with a high risk of not graduating from conventional schools. Since opening, the school has had over 250,000 students. Approximately 8,000 students attend the school annually.
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by Staff Reporter | Feb 1, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Arizona Senate Republicans are refusing to let a parental rights bill die under Gov. Katie Hobbs’ heavily-used veto pen.
Senate Republican leadership revived the legislation through a concurrent resolution, passed out of committee on Wednesday. This legislative pathway allows the slim Republican majority to avoid another inevitable veto from the governor.
SCR 1006 from Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh (R-LD3) directly challenges the supremacy of transgender-affirming policies and practices within schools.
“Parents have a fundamental right to know what’s happening with their kids at school, and students deserve privacy and safety. No 14-year-old girl should be forced to stand naked in a shower with an 18-year-old man who thinks he’s a girl,” said Kavanagh. “Families shouldn’t be sidelined, and schools shouldn’t be forced into confusion. This reflects what most Arizonans already believe, and it gives them the final say.”
If passed, the resolution would have voters decide whether to require schools to obtain parental permission prior to engaging in transgender-affirming behaviors: referring to a minor student by a name other than the one listed on school records, or referring to a minor student using pronouns that differ from that student’s biological sex.
Voters would also decide whether public schools must provide reasonable accommodations: access to a single-occupancy or employee restroom or changing facility for any individual unwilling to use the facility designated for their biological sex.
Lastly, voters would decide whether individuals could sue public schools for subjecting them to transgender-affirming policies, such as encountering an individual of the opposite sex in a restroom or changing facility designated for their biological sex, or being required to share sleeping quarters with a person of the opposite sex.
Gov. Hobbs vetoed two bills that contained these legislative provisions last year (SB 1002 and SB 1003). In identical letters, Hobbs said the state had more pressing matters than asserting parental rights over transgenderism within schools.
“[These] bill[s] will not increase opportunity, security, or freedom for Arizonans. I encourage the legislature to join with me in prioritizing legislation that will lower costs, protect the border, create jobs, and secure our water future,” said Hobbs.
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by Staff Reporter | Jan 30, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program grew to over 100,000 enrollments this week.
As of Monday, the Arizona Department of Education (AZED) reported the ESA program had nearly 100,500 enrollees.
Superintendent Tom Horne said in a statement on Tuesday that the milestone represented “a remarkable endorsement” of school choice by Arizona parents. Horne offered an example of a typical scenario in which a family enrolls in the ESA program.
“Consider a family with three children. Two of the children are doing just fine in district schools. The third child’s needs are not being met. Now, the parents can find another school that meets the child’s needs,” said Horne. “I do not understand how anyone can say parents do not have a right to find a school that meets their child’s needs, unless people are so immersed in ideology that they lose sight of what is best for students.”
When Horne took office in 2023, the ESA program had about 11,000 students. That represents an average annual growth of nearly 30,000 students in the program for the past three years.
The latest enrollment data from AZED (2024-2025) reported nearly 1.1 million students across K-12. That’s about nine percent of the total student population.
AZED also reported the recovery of nearly $1.2 million in unallowable expenses through collections, repayments, or legal authority referrals. The program requires parents to document all purchases made, and any impermissible purchases result in a freeze on their accounts.
Parents do have recourse if they believe a mistake was made in the rejection of their expenditures. Horne reminded parents in his Tuesday statement that they are free to appeal rulings; to date, AZED has not lost an appeal.
“Some people have questioned my authority to insist that expenditures only be for valid educational purposes. I am not the final word. Parents have a right to appeal denial to an administrative law judge,” said Horne. “There have been 20 such appeals, and my authority to deny the expenditure was involved in everyone. We have 20 wins and zero losses. Administrative law judges have held unanimously that I do have that authority.”
Horne’s fellow executive branch leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with the continued growth of the ESA program.
In her State of the State Address earlier this month, Gov. Katie Hobbs accused the program of widespread waste, fraud, and abuse — a money pit funding many things other than “true educational purposes.” Hobbs recently proposed an income cap on ESA enrollment: anyone making over $250,000 a year would not qualify.
Horne’s response was a defense of the ESA program as a clear desire of Arizona voters. The ESA program was universalized through legislation passed in 2022 under Hobbs’ Republican predecessor, Gov. Doug Ducey.
“Arizona parents have made it clear they believe in being able to choose the best education for their children, whether districts, charters or Empowerment Scholarship Accounts,” said Horne. “By their loud display today, Democrats proved they want to take that power away from mothers and fathers who know their children’s needs best and return education to a government monopoly that parents do not want.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Jan 24, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Republican state lawmakers want to improve accountability for school superintendents.
Several packages of bills released Thursday would reform superintendent contracts and duties, school board governments, and school district leasing and financial arrangements.
The bill package was a result of the Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD) scandal that emerged last year. TUHSD entered a controversial $25 million leaseback agreement with a failing school district, which began without an appraisal and in which TUHSD Superintendent Jeremy Calles operated as a consultant for the deal.
The lawmaker behind the proposed reforms, State Representative Matt Gress, said in a press release that some districts have strayed from their intended purpose of educating students.
“Public schools exist to serve students, not administrators or board members who disregard their responsibilities,” said Gress. “This legislative package sets clear rules and ensures education dollars stay focused where they belong — on instruction and students.”
Gress also stated that the events at TUHSD made it clear that additional oversight was needed.
“When school leaders control large public budgets with little oversight, taxpayers and classrooms pay the price,” said Gress. “Arizona families deserve confidence that education dollars are managed responsibly and that those in authority are held to clear, enforceable standards.”
Arizona lawmakers unanimously approved an audit of the district.
TUHSD has delayed sending its financial transaction records despite repeated legislative requests. The district insisted the legislature pay over $26,000 for the records.
During a hearing by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee over the summer, TUHSD Superintendent Calles admitted to using his superintendent office to conduct the business of his private consulting firm. Several district staff or governing board members also work for Calles’ consulting business.
Calles is the highest-paid superintendent in the state.
This conflict between the district and legislature over the leaseback agreement and Calles’ conduct was a major influence on voters. They rejected two key funding measures proposed by TUHSD in this recent election.
The district faces a shortfall of $95 million at minimum, $200 million minimum more likely.
In 2024, TUHSD was busted for arranging “luxury vacations” for school board members and administrators.
The first bill package to reform superintendent contracts and duties contains House Bills 2387, 2386, 2381, 2382, 2377, and 2385. Reforms include limiting secondary employment for school district officials, raising standards for superintendents’ performance based-pay, limiting benefits and other perks given to superintendents like cell phone and vehicle allowances, and reducing the employment term for first-time superintendents to one year.
The second bill package to reform school governance contains House Bills 2318, 2380, and 2379. Reforms include establishing governing board member term limits, requiring convenient public venues for school board meetings, and requiring more training for school board members on governance, finances, policymaking, legal and ethical responsibilities, stakeholder and community engagement, and relevant professional development topics.
The third bill package to reform school district leasing and financial arrangements contains House Bills 2384, 2376, and 2383. Reforms include limiting allowed circumstances of leasing school property; excluding lease-purchase agreements for sites where charter or private schools operate; and limiting leases to 10 years without voter approval or 20 years with voter approval.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Jan 21, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Governor Katie Hobbs claimed the state’s school choice program lacks oversight.
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and experts dispute Hobbs’ claim.
The governor targeted the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program during her state of the state speech last week. Hobbs advocated for the school choice program to be rolled back from universalization to its previous form that only accepted certain families with disability or military backgrounds.
“While other government entitlements have strict requirements and oversight, the ESA program continues to operate unchecked, squandering taxpayer dollars with no accountability,” said Hobbs. “It seems like every day, we learn about new shopping sprees happening at the expense of taxpayers…diamond jewelry, high-end clothing and furniture…who knows what taxpayers will be footing the bill for tomorrow?”
ADE publishes notice of its internal audits and has attempted to refer cases over to the attorney general’s office for prosecution — though Attorney General Kris Mayes has reportedly been unwilling to pursue prosecution of alleged fraud or abuse.
ADE bases its claims on existing requirements within the ESA Program: documenting all purchases made, and freezing accounts that make unauthorized expenditures. Parents must repay the program for unauthorized purchases.
In August, ADE reported it marked over $600,000 for collections “due to possible fraud or misuse.”
That’s less than one-tenth of one percent of total ESA spending, as noted by the Heritage Foundation in a report last August.
Comparatively, the estimated total fraud within average federal government obligations ranges from three to seven percent, according to a 2024 report by the Government Accountability Office.
Other examples of improper payment rates within government programs in Arizona have been issued recently. (The latest data aligns with the 2024 fiscal year in most cases).
The Department of Labor announced an estimated seven percent improper payment rate from July 2021 to July 2024.
For the 2024 fiscal year, the USDA reported that Arizona had a payment error rate of nearly nine percent.
The federal government even factors in improper payment rates to mitigate losses.
The Center for Medicaid projected an improper payment rate of over six percent for Arizona in 2024.
This indicates that fraud is an inevitable occurrence within any government program.
Unlike the reporting efforts of ADE regarding the ESA Program, the Arizona Auditor General presently finds that nearly 30 school districts are noncompliant based on financially related internal control deficiencies.
This slate of presently noncompliant districts represents over $1 billion in state spending. The entire ESA program spent under $900 million in the 2025 fiscal year and costs about $1 billion for the 2026 fiscal year.
Arizona school districts have accumulated nearly $8 billion in cash reserves, per the Heritage Foundation’s assessment of Arizona Superintendent Tom Horne’s annual report covering the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
Horne responded to Hobbs’ state of the state address with criticism over the governor’s open opposition to a program supported by a majority of voters. Arizona voters approved universalization of school choice back in 2022.
“Arizona parents have made it clear they believe in being able to choose the best education for their children, whether districts, charters or Empowerment Scholarship Accounts,” said Horne. “By their loud display today, Democrats proved they want to take that power away from mothers and fathers who know their children’s needs best and return education to a government monopoly that parents do not want.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Jan 18, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
Psychology was a top major for Arizona college students this past year, per a new study.
This determination was pulled from data gathered concerning college major-related queries in Arizona and organized by monthly search volumes.
The top five college majors based on monthly searches were psychology, then music, then computer science, then communications, and then business administration.
The subsequent most-popular college majors searched were criminal justice, then accounting, then business management, then nursing, and finally social work.
The data was published by Flipsnack, a company that creates flipbooks.
Psychology ranks near the bottom for median wage early career and middling for median wage mid-career, per the New York Federal Reserve Bank’s Labor Market for Recent College Graduates.
The top but lesser popular college majors fared far better in terms of salary potential. Computer science sat at the very top, followed by a slew of engineering specialities: computer engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, and civil engineering. Just above miscellaneous engineering and general engineering sat physics.
Psychology’s median early career income potential was around $35,000 to $45,000 less than computer science, the major with the highest labor market outcome for early career wage. Psychology was projected to earn around $55,000 less for mid-career median wage than several of the engineering majors.
Reporting data from the state’s three public universities aligns with these findings. Psychology was a top degree for both Arizona State University (ASU), University of Arizona (UA), and Northern Arizona University (NAU), according to Niche.
ASU’s top five degrees based on the number of graduates in recent years, in order, included business and business support services, psychology, biology, computer science, and marketing.
Per their latest data published in 2024, the top majors for ASU Online were information technology, psychology, liberal studies, business administration, biological sciences, electrical engineering, software engineering, English, criminology and criminal justice, and nursing.
ASU offers over 400 undergraduate programs. They also boast an 89 percent success rate of graduates securing employment or a job offer within 90 days of graduation, with a median full-time salary of $55,000.
NAU’s top degrees include psychology, liberal arts and humanities, nursing, elementary education, and criminology.
NAU has over 150 undergraduate programs. The university reported a full-time employment rate of 45 percent, and 35 percent seeking employment. The median salary for these graduates sits at around $50,000.
UA’s top five degrees based on the number of graduates in recent years, in order, were psychology, liberal arts and humanities, intelligence, physiology and pathology, and nursing.
Likewise, UA has over 150 undergraduate programs.
UA reported a full-time employment rate of 56 percent, with a median full-time salary of $60,000. 25 percent reported continuing education or seeking continuing education, 15 percent reported seeking employment, and two percent reported part-time employment.
Grand Canyon University (GCU), a private university that consistently ranks up there with the state’s three public universities, didn’t report psychology as a popular pick among its graduating students. GCU’s most popular majors were nursing, business, human services, elementary education, and special education and teaching.
Psychiatrist and mental health services fell just outside the scope of top-five popularity for GCU graduating students.
GCU reported a 96 percent employment rate post-graduation, with a median salary of $62,000 annually.
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