Over 100 out of about 400 schools in Arizona have advanced out of federal school improvement status, per the Arizona Department of Education.
There are over 2,800 schools in the state. That means approximately 14 percent (after this latest update) of all schools statewide remain on the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) list.
Schools on the federal list consist of those with low graduation rates and test scores per the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a federal law passed by the Obama administration in 2015 that, essentially, reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
ESSA was responsible for every state and district publishing a report card for public review, as well as publishing how much is spent per student at every school, broken down by federal, state, and local monies.
ESSA’s predecessor was the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), enacted in 2002. NCLB received criticisms for its heavily federal approach to education, where many thought the states could yield student outcomes better.
ADE identifies these schools — classified as Comprehensive Support and Improvement – Low Achievement (CSI-LA) schools — every three years. Schools have four years upon identification to exit this status.
CSI-LA schools are those that don’t meet the 60 percent proficiency, 20 percent growth or graduation rate, 10 percent English Learners achievement and growth, and 10 chronic absenteeism (K-8) or 10 percent drop out rate (high school).
Superintendent Tom Horne said in a statement that these schools’ advancements prove that dedication to the basics — namely through Project Momentum Arizona (PMA) — does work.
“The schools we are honoring today have proven that when students are challenged academically and class time is devoted to teaching core subjects like reading and math, test scores will go up, and students will succeed,” said Horne. “It is a highly effective program that emphasizes academic knowledge and helps educators do the right work to ensure that all students succeed.”
Horne hosted a press conference on Wednesday to praise these schools, including Roosevelt School District, which had four schools leaving the list. Horne also issued a similar announcement on Thursday.
PMA has schools select one or more from a list of guiding questions around which to frame their improvement plans. These questions focus on recognizing the specifics of desired student outcomes, evidence of student comprehension, highest-yielding instructional practices, responses to lack of student learning, planned responses to student mastery of materials, and goals for improving, cataloging, and saving work.
Spring state assessment results showed that an average of 33 percent were passing math, and 40 percent were passing English. These results aligned with those from the previous year.
COVID-19 caused student proficiency to drop significantly. They were on an upward trend, achieving 42 percent in math and English.
Oversight of failing schools may soon become more of a state problem, with ongoing efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.
Horne told The Center Square that he’s “pleased” with the Trump administration’s decision.
“[I am] pleased with the administration’s work to move the work of education back to the states and addressing the needless bureaucracy of the federal department,” said Horne.
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Arizona State Senator Janae Shamp (R-LD29) hailed a significant court victory after a challenge to one of the state’s strictest child-protection laws was rejected, ensuring that convicted sex offenders remain subject to rigorous registration and oversight requirements.
The court ruled that the plaintiff—a registered sex offender previously convicted of attempted sexual conduct with a minor, two counts of sexual abuse, and public indecency—must continue to comply with all current sex-offender registration laws and conditions.
The decision upholds years of Republican-led legislative efforts to close loopholes that once allowed thousands of dangerous offenders to evade public scrutiny.
In just the past two years, four bills authored by Senator Shamp to strengthen protection for children and increase accountability for predators have been signed into law. These measures have resulted in more than 6,800 Level 1 sex offenders—previously spared by “legal loopholes”—now appearing on Arizona’s public registry for crimes against children.
“This ruling sends a loud and clear message: Arizona stands with children, not with offenders. I will not slow down, I will not back off, and I will continue to close every door that pedophiles try to slip through,” said Senator Shamp. “All sex offenders in Arizona, your secrets are revealed, and the consequences will follow you. I want to thank victims like Kayleigh Kozak for fighting this battle alongside me to get the job done. My mission is to protect the vulnerable, and I will fight every day to continue finding legislative solutions to achieve that. This victory is only the beginning—our work to secure Arizona’s future continues.”
Kayleigh Kozak, the driving force behind “Kayleigh’s Law”, has become one of Arizona’s most prominent victim-advocates. The landmark legislation, passed with bipartisan support and signed into law in 2022, gives victims of dangerous crimes, including sexual abuse, the right to obtain a lifetime restraining order against their perpetrators.
The law was born out of Kozak’s own experience. As a middle-school student in Buckeye, she was sexually assaulted by her soccer coach. Years later, she learned that her abuser was attempting to have his probation lifted, sparking her to team up with Sen. Kerr to draft such legislation.
Within its first year, Kayleigh’s Law enabled 1,009 Arizona victims to serve their perpetrators with lifetime protective orders.
“Over the past four years, I have worked alongside Senator Shamp on critical legislation to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable and to bring truth and transparency to the judicial system—making our communities and children safer,” said Kozak. “The actions of these registered sex offenders are both disgusting and dangerous. Now, through multiple lawsuits, they are challenging the enhanced sex offender registration laws, further demonstrating their disregard for rules, boundaries, and laws.”
She continued, “If these offenders feel uncomfortable with society knowing who they are, where they live, and what they have done, they should have considered the consequences of their actions before choosing to harm a child. Together, we can continue to advocate for safety, accountability, and transparency in our communities!”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap has announced that his office set a new speed record for processing Election Day ballot drop-offs, completing signature verification and curing ballots within 48 hours of the Nov. 4th elections. The matter was complicated when officials scrambled to process thousands of ballot envelopes discovered days later in a misplaced transport box.
In a Nov. 6 update on X, Heap wrote, “All calls to voters with signature inconsistencies have been completed.” He added that finishing both signature verification and voter calls “within just 48 hours of Election Day shatters all previous timeframes for elections with more than 100,000 Election Day drop-offs.”
RECORDER’S ELECTION UPDATE:
✅ All calls to voters with signature inconsistencies have been completed.
Finishing both signature verification and voter calls within 48 hours of Election Day shatters all previous timeframes for elections with more than 100,000 Election Day…
— Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap (@azjustinheap) November 7, 2025
According to detailed metrics provided to AZ Free News by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, the November election included 117,664 ballot packets returned via mail or drop box on Election Day. Signature verification on those packets began at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, and the office says the final file review was completed by 2:33 p.m., for an 8.5-hour turnaround on the Election Day returns.
For comparison, the Recorder’s Office pointed to the July 30, 2024, primary, when roughly 114,681 similar packets took about two days to clear signature review under then-Recorder Stephen Richer. In an emailed statement to AZ Free News, Maricopa County Director of Communications Judy Keane wrote:
“This represents a dramatic acceleration in post–Election Day processing: completing in 8.5 hours what previously required two days in the 2024 Primary, despite similar packet volumes. This outcome demonstrates the effectiveness of process improvements and the exceptional performance of the team.”
Two-Reviewer System and Quad-Screen Interface
Heap campaigned on tightening signature verification and has spent much of his first year in office overhauling the workflow while feuding with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors over funding, control of election IT systems, and a controversial Shared Services Agreement now mired in litigation.
In response to written questions from AZ Free News, the county Public Information Office said that every early-ballot signature in the Nov. 4 election was reviewed by at least two human reviewers of different parties.
The office described the workflow this way:
Level One review uses a “quad-screen” interface on a single monitor:
Bottom left: the affidavit signature being reviewed
Above it: the voter’s latest signature on file
Upper right: second-latest signature
Middle right: third-latest signature
Bottom right: the voter’s registration signature
All signature exemplars can be rotated to the primary comparison position above the affidavit signature so reviewers can align shapes and slants.
According to the county, Level Two reviewers see the same layout. Still, they can also scroll through the voter’s full signature history when Level One reviewers either disagree or cannot comfortably verify a match.
County officials say that the combination of two reviewers of opposing parties and deeper access to a voter’s signature history at the second level was designed to increase both scrutiny and perceived neutrality, after years of partisan conflict over how Maricopa handles early ballots.
For voters whose signatures still couldn’t be confirmed, the office used multiple curing channels tied to identity verification: calls from election staff, text messages (for those who opted in), emails, and a secure online dashboard at BeBallotReady.vote, consistent with state guidance on signature curing windows.
Record Processing Claims Tested by Ballot Mishap
Heap’s announcement of “shattering” past performance landed just as Maricopa County was forced to acknowledge another election-administration black eye: the discovery of two sealed transport boxes with 2,288 returned ballot affidavit envelopes that had not been included in the initial post-Election Day processing.
On Nov. 7, county elections officials disclosed that poll workers had mistakenly placed the sealed transport boxes inside a blue drop box instead of returning them to the county’s election center on Election Night. Local outlets reported that the boxes bore intact tamper-evident seals and matched election-night serial numbers, but the ballots inside had not been counted, according to AZ Family.
Heap’s office responded with its own update, saying signature verification on all 2,288 ballot packets had been completed and that every voter whose signature needed curing had been contacted before the statutory deadline.
RECORDER'S ELECTION UPDATE:
The County Recorder’s Office has completed signature verification on all 2,288 of the missing ballot packets we received from the Board this morning. In the last hours, we have contacted all remaining voters with signatures requiring additional… pic.twitter.com/M1PGHj6Tkw
— Maricopa County Recorder's Office (@RecordersOffice) November 7, 2025
Jennifer Liewer, Deputy Elections Director, issued a statement following the report saying:
“Friday, Nov. 7, 2025: This morning, as part of standard post-election protocols, elections workers inspected equipment that had been returned from voting locations. This process includes unpacking and logging equipment.
“During this inspection, two sealed transport boxes of returned ballot affidavit envelopes were found inside a blue drop box. While the transport boxes did have tamper evident seals, ensuring the security of ballots, poll workers had mistakenly placed the sealed boxes inside a blue drop box rather than returning them on Election Night. Immediately after the discovery, a bi-partisan team of election staff took custody of the sealed bins and worked quickly to ensure chain of custody was followed. The green affidavit envelopes will now be signature verified and processed for tabulation.
“Per statute, green affidavit envelopes are to be counted at the close of voting on Election Night. Counted envelopes are then placed in a large bin, sealed, and returned to the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Recorder Heap has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors over funding to modernize and provide technical support for the county’s election equipment, and centered on the division of responsibilities created in a Shared Services Agreement (SSA) agreed to by Heap’s predecessor, Stephen Richer.
Heap sought a Temporary Restraining Order against the Board’s planned assessment of election systems and databases in early October, per KJZZ. However, on November 6th, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney denied the motion, writing “The Recorder’s concerns regarding the assessment’s potential interference with the 2026 Primary Election are speculative at this point in the litigation,” according to the court order.
A community watchdog group is calling for a full stop to all major construction projects in the Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD), citing overwhelming voter opposition and stark financial projections that point to a looming deficit that could reach into the hundreds of millions.
Citizens for Schools Accountability (CSA), a local 501(c)(4) organization focused on transparency and responsible spending, says the district should halt work on all ongoing and planned facilities including High School #8, a proposed domed stadium, and a new district office until an independent audit is completed and a clear financial plan is released.
The group also criticized Superintendent Jeremy Calles and Governing Board President Steven Chapman for declining to follow a board directive requiring a full budget presentation before any further action on High School #8 is taken.
The warning comes just weeks after voters decisively rejected both a bond and an override sought by TUHSD, a dramatic reversal from past elections in which district measures routinely passed by wide margins. CSA leaders say the election outcome underscores widespread public concern over spending, transparency, and priorities within the district.
“Continuing construction without public support or a sustainable funding plan represents a dangerous breach of fiscal responsibility,” the group stated in its announcement. According to figures cited from district financial documents, TUHSD has approximately $294.6 million in bond, fund balance, and state School Facilities Board (SFB) resources available. Yet the projected costs of its construction plan far exceed that total.
Even under the lowest cost estimates, the district faces a minimum shortfall of $95 million. Under more likely scenarios, the deficit could approach $200 million. “This district is on the edge of a financial cliff,” said CSA Chairman Kino Flores. “Any organization facing a minimum $100 million deficit would hit the brakes immediately. Yet TUHSD is accelerating.”
Flores said that between the voter rejection, the cost projections, and the pending audit, continuing construction would be “reckless and irresponsible.”
CSA argues that until these steps are taken, any continued spending could jeopardize the district’s long-term stability. The organization says its concerns are not philosophical or political but grounded in the district’s own data and the unmistakable rejection voters delivered at the ballot box. “The voters said no. The math says no,” Flores said. “Fiscal responsibility demands the board stop every non-essential building project until the audit is complete, and a transparent financial plan is presented to taxpayers.”
CSA leaders say they will continue monitoring district actions and expect the board to respect both the financial realities and the community’s clear mandate.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
While entrepreneurship is surging across the United States, a new nationwide study by iPostal1, using U.S. Census Bureau data, reveals that not every state is riding the same wave.
Arizona lands solidly in the middle at 24th place, recording 1,275 business applications per 100,000 residents and a total of 121,091 new filings in 2024—a healthy 58.2% increase since 2019.
That positions Arizona just behind regional neighbor Nevada (23rd, 1,695 per 100,000) and ahead of New Mexico (28th, 952 per 100,000), making it a moderate but steady player in the national entrepreneurial boom.
Nationally, New York tops the list with a staggering 39,422 business applications per 100,000 residents and 291,773 total filings in 2024 alone—nearly doubling Florida in second place (20,461 per 100,000). Florida recorded the highest raw total at 631,896 applications in 2024 (up 61.3% since 2019), followed by Georgia with 242,706 (up 41.1% since 2019).
At the opposite end, North Dakota ranked last with only 95 applications per 100,000 residents—less than 0.25% of New York’s rate. Rounding out the bottom five are Delaware (145 per 100,000), Idaho (156 per 100,000), Vermont (170 per 100,000), and South Dakota (191 per 100,000).
While many states remain sluggish, some showed explosive growth. Wyoming led the nation with a 215.8% surge in applications since 2019, followed by Delaware with a 121.6% increase. Alaska, however, saw the smallest growth in the nation at just 12.2%.
“The U.S. has no shortage of ambition, but opportunity isn’t spread evenly,” said Jeff Milgram, CEO and founder of iPostal1. “In states like New York, Florida, and Texas, entrepreneurship is booming – people are starting businesses, taking risks, and finding opportunity. But other states are still catching up. Sometimes it’s access to funding, sometimes local policy, or just the confidence that new ventures will be supported. Those details matter more than most people think.”
“When small businesses can find funding, mentorship, and a clear path through regulation, as well as the tools and resources to set up their businesses which include virtual mailing addresses and digital mailboxes, we see numbers rise fast,” Milgram concluded, “as we’ve seen not just in Wyoming and Delaware, but across much of the South and Northeast.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A former professor from Arizona State University (ASU) and renowned atheist physicist was peppered throughout the latest drop of Epstein files.
Former ASU professor Lawrence Krauss, a theoretical physicist and cosmologist, exchanged over 60 emails with Jeffrey Epstein. Among these emails were conversations between Krauss and Epstein strategizing Krauss’s response to sexual misconduct allegations.
In December 2017, Krauss asked Epstein how to deal with questions from BuzzFeed News about the allegations.
Epstein advised Krauss to provide a defense to the allegations in a “short concise cover letter” to be published in its entirety, possibly with an attachment to Krauss’s website that would offer more details of his defense.
After BuzzFeed News published its investigative report on Krauss in February 2018, Krauss offered Epstein a play-by-play of the initial fallout. Krauss expressed hope that a greater news story would emerge to provide cover for him, such as an indictment of President Donald Trump.
“I wonder if I will ever really recover,” said Krauss. “I wish they would indict Trump or something right now.”
Epstein told Krauss to discredit his accusers by depicting them as irrational and opportunistic, and Krauss the rational renowned scientist.
“Concentrate on your point-by-point refutation,” said Epstein. “[An] article on women agreeing on seeing flyer saucers does not make the claim real. Break the charges into ludicrous, ogling, jokes, etc. Nancy [sic] language in her tweets. Stirred up emotion.”
Krauss, who now lives in Canada, retired from ASU in 2019 after the university found merit in the sexual misconduct claims against him. Krauss was accused of grabbing a woman’s chest two years prior at an event.
In an October 2018 post announcing his retirement, Krauss claimed innocence of the charges.
“To be clear, I have never harassed or assaulted anyone and have most certainly not exhibited gender discrimination in my professional dealings at the university or elsewhere,” said Krauss.
His defense did not persuade certain other leaders within the scientific community. Krauss was removed from the board of “Scientific American” over the allegations.
In years prior, Krauss sought to distance association between himself and Epstein.
In a 2014 photo from an annual conference by his initiative at ASU, the Origins Project, Krauss can be seen smiling between Epstein and Harvard professor Steven Pinker. After Epstein’s arrest for child sex trafficking and suicide, Krauss claimed to social media skeptics that Epstein was just another donor that he’d happened to take a photo with, among others.
“Epstein was a Presidentially-approved donor to ASU Foundation, [and] his educational foundation was acknowledged at a named table,” said Krauss in an X comment in 2020. “I had photos taken standing by each table. Pinker & other scientists were randomly assigned to tables.”
However, Krauss knew Epstein more personally than he let on according to the trove of newly released Epstein files, in addition to his well-documented involvement with Epstein and prior statements to the media.
In 2011, Krauss defended Epstein following his imprisonment for 2008 charges of prostitution and prostitution with a minor. Epstein pleaded guilty to the charges; his plea deal of 13 months in prison with work-release later became controversial, as it protected him from federal charges with greater punishments.
“If anything, the unfortunate period he suffered has caused him to really think about what he wants to do with his money and his time, and support knowledge,” said Krauss in a statement to The Daily Beast. “Jeffrey has surrounded himself with beautiful women and young women but they’re not as young as the ones that were claimed. As a scientist I always judge things on empirical evidence and he always has women ages 19 to 23 around him, but I’ve never seen anything else, so as a scientist, my presumption is that whatever the problems were I would believe him over other people.”
Krauss stated, also, that his relationship with Epstein enhanced his life.
“I don’t feel tarnished in any way by my relationship with Jeffrey; I feel raised by it,” said Krauss.
The Origins Project was an initiative headed by Krauss at ASU that sought to answer where life and the universe originated. Krauss joined ASU and launched the initiative several months after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008.
Krauss holds atheistic views and has proclaimed himself an “antitheist”: one who opposes all theistic religions.
ASU transitioned the Origins Project into the Interplanetary Initiative following Krauss’s departure. Unlike Krauss’s program, the succeeding program focuses on building mankind’s future in space.
Two years prior to joining ASU, Krauss organized a gravity-themed conference funded by one of Epstein’s foundations. That conference attended by the world’s leading physicists took place in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Notably, the conference had dinner on “Epstein’s Island.”
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