by Mike Bengert | Jun 16, 2025 | Opinion
By Mike Bengert |
Following multiple complaints regarding the social studies curriculum recently approved by the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) Governing Board on May 13, the Arizona Department of Education launched a formal investigation. On Wednesday, June 11, Arizona State Superintendent Tom Horne held a press conference to announce the findings. He stated that he would report to the federal government that SUSD violated a statement they signed saying they would not teach Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) content.
Horne clarified that his comments were directed at what he called the three “woke” members of the SUSD Governing Board who voted in favor of the curriculum. Superintendent Scott Menzel responded to this characterization, arguing it was unfair and uninformed—particularly without a full review of the 1,250-page textbook. He called such labeling “a problem from his perspective.”
While finding a common definition of “woke” is a bit of a challenge, most would agree that it originally meant being aware of social injustices, particularly around race, and it was rooted in activism. The term has now evolved into a broader often vague term for hyper-awareness of social issues. Critics often say it is dogmatic overreach where someone pushes rigid beliefs or ideologies beyond reason, imposing them on others without flexibility or evidence.
So, is it fair to describe these board members as “woke”?
Board Members Past
When Member Sharkey first announced he was running for the board, he said it was because of the rise in the parents’ rights movement (rights codified in Arizona Revised Statues), which he blamed (without citing any evidence) for the issues plaguing SUSD. He rejects the idea that parents are best positioned to make educational and healthcare decisions for their children, asserting that trained professionals know better. Sharkey’s reluctance to recognize these rights suggests a troubling approach to governance that may not prioritize parental input nor respect their legal parental rights.
Dr. Donna Lewis, SUSD Governing Board President, ran on her years of educational experience, including being selected as the national superintendent of the year during her time at the Creighton School District. Her academic record leaves a lot to be desired with 13% of her students proficient in ELA and 8% in math the year she was selected. Additionally, her leadership style has been criticized for creating a hostile and toxic environment, prompting a formal public apology from a school board member after her departure.
Then there is Dr. Pittinsky, another education professional and an expert in public education with 25 years’ experience. Someone who only publicly revealed the conflict of interest with his business ties with SUSD after he was called out. Someone who thinks so highly of SUSD that he put his kid in a private school rather than SUSD.
All three of these board members ran on “protecting SUSD” and Menzel and his “woke” curriculum of DEI, SEL, and gender identity. So far, they have shown themselves to be a predictable rubber stamp for whatever Menzel wants.
Dogmatic overreach?
Superintendent Menzel’s Past and Controversial Remarks
Superintendent Menzel previously led Michigan’s Washtenaw Intermediate School District, where he emphasized equity, inclusion, and social justice. In an interview before leaving Michigan, Menzel described white supremacy as deeply embedded in the fabric of American society, stating that acknowledging it offers a chance to “dismantle, disrupt, and recreate something that’s socially just and more equitable.”
These comments drew sharp criticism from Arizona GOP legislators, who labeled his statements as divisive and inappropriate for someone in public education.
Read it for yourself:
So, is it proper to label the three board members as “woke”?
I’ll let you draw your own conclusion.
Curriculum Content and Allegations of Bias
In addition to Horne, Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan also raised concerns about the new social studies curriculum and the anti-police messages they contain. Examples of anti-police rhetoric include textbook passages noting that “several police killings caused the nation to grapple with systemic racism,” and “Black Lives Matter activists and others argue that the deaths of many Black people were the result of institutional racism.” The text also mentions that Black men are statistically more than twice as likely to be killed by police than white men.
Critics argue these lessons present a one-sided perspective and fail to encourage critical thinking. For example, the curriculum omits key facts in controversial cases, such as the Department of Justice findings in the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri, which concluded that Brown did not have his hands up and was engaged in a physical altercation with the officer trying to take his gun. Likewise, the curriculum does not mention a Harvard study that reportedly found no racial bias in police shootings after examining hundreds of cases.
Menzel has denied that the curriculum is anti-police or promotes indoctrination, insisting it encourages critical thinking and offers diverse perspectives. However, critics argue the content leans more toward ideological teaching than balanced education. Indoctrination, they argue, is defined by presenting only one viewpoint without room for discussion or dissent—contrary to the principles of real education, which promote inquiry and evidence-based analysis.
Again, don’t take my word for it, see for yourself:
Conclusion
Given the content of the curriculum, the past actions of the board members, and Superintendent Menzel’s own public remarks, it seems labeling the board members and even Menzel as “woke” is appropriate.
When Menzel tells you he would never use an anti-police curriculum or that he is promoting critical thinking among students, or there is no evidence to support any of the claims against the curriculum, don’t believe him. He is lying and trying to gaslight you.
It is incumbent on all of us concerned about the future of SUSD to contact the Governing Board members and tell them to withdraw the approval of this radical curriculum. Any purchase orders placed to procure the materials should be canceled.
SUSD is facing difficult financial challenges caused by declining enrollment, a result of Menzel’s failed policies. Continuing down the path of implementing this curriculum will not only serve to accelerate the declining enrollment but put millions of federal dollars at risk. With the loss of the federal money, can school closures be far behind?
Menzel can continue to lie and push back against the federal government, but he is playing a high-risk game, a game he is likely to lose. He is putting the future of SUSD in jeopardy to satisfy his own ego.
The Governing Board needs to seriously consider replacing Menzel before he completely destroys SUSD.
Mike Bengert is a husband, father, grandfather, and Scottsdale resident advocating for quality education in SUSD for over 30 years.
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Jun 14, 2025 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
Earlier this year, President Trump signed a trio of executive orders aimed at keeping our nation’s vital coal power plants online. In fact, at the signing ceremony, the President explicitly called out one of Arizona’s coal plants by name. He directed Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright to keep the Cholla Power Plant online and told the workers to remain calm because they are going to have that plant “opening and burning…coal in a very short period of time.”
The Cholla Power Plant is one of many Arizona coal plants that have either been mothballed or slated for retirement in the near future. In 2019, SRP and the other utilities shut down the Navajo Generating Station, resulting in a loss of 2,250 MW of reliable capacity. Earlier this year, an additional 425 MW of generating capacity was taken offline at Cholla. And over the next 6 years, Arizona’s public utilities, as outlined in Integrated Resource Plans recently approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission, plan to shutter every last bit of coal generation in Arizona by 2032. Most alarming is that according to those same Resource Plans, the replacement fuel for this reliable source of energy will be solar, wind, and battery storage, all to meet carbon free “Net Zero” goals that will cost Arizona ratepayers billions and destabilize the grid.
On the same day President Trump signed the coal orders, the Arizona legislature, led by Representative David Marshall, sent a letter to the Department of the Interior urging the Administration to help keep Cholla, and every other coal plant in the state, online. Last month, every Republican in the legislature voted to send HCM2014 to the Corporation Commission, urging them to protect our grid, fight to keep these plants online, and support the Trump Energy Agenda.
What Arizona ratepayers got instead was a late Friday afternoon news dump from Kevin Thompson, Chairman of the Corporation Commission, blasting the idea of reopening Cholla…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by Katarina White | Jun 13, 2025 | Opinion
By Katarina White |
The Screwtape Letters is a satirical novel written by C.S. Lewis in which a senior demon advises his nephew on how to lead humans astray. It exposes moral issues by presenting them from evil’s perspective. It made me think about how Uncle Screwtape would react to some of Arizona’s pro-life laws.
My Dear Wormwood,
You are to be congratulated. The filing of Isaacson v. Mayes is shaping up to be one of our most exquisite triumphs.
Our legal allies are moving swiftly now, carving through the last scraps of pro-life resistance like a scalpel through soft tissue. At the top of our target list is that revolting statute, ARS 13-3603.02 — the one that dares to prohibit abortions based on race, sex, or disability. How dare they presume to protect the weak, the imperfect, the unwanted? That law, Wormwood, is an affront to everything we’ve worked for. A child has Down syndrome? Terminate. It’s a girl? Dispose. The father is the wrong skin color? Eliminate. This is not discrimination — it is efficiency. And we must preserve that efficiency at all costs.
One of our most brilliant human thinkers once said, “The demand that defective people be prevented from propagating equally defective offspring is a demand of the clearest reason and if systematically executed represents the most humane act of mankind.” Ah, Hitler — rarely quoted these days, but his reasoning lives on, albeit in more “palatable” packaging.
Even worse, their laws force abortionists to speak truth — to describe fetal development, risks, alternatives, and the heartbeat pulsing inside the mother’s womb. You know how dangerous truth is, Wormwood. A heartbeat can unsettle even the most hardened conscience. The shape of a tiny hand on an ultrasound has undone entire years of our work. We must strip these laws bare. Truth is the Enemy’s weapon. Silence is ours.
They call it “healthcare” — but we know it’s the slow death of conscience. Strip away protections for the preborn, and soon they’ll stop seeing humanity in the elderly, the disabled, the inconvenient. It’s a spectacular unraveling.
Expect a few murmurs — rallies, opinion pieces, even prayers (tedious, as always). But most will hold their tongues. Remind them it’s impolite to bring up such “divisive” topics. Tell them it’s not their place, that moral clarity is rude, and silence is virtuous. Make them believe that speaking truth is worse than allowing evil to proceed. That, Wormwood, is how we keep them docile.
Meanwhile, our friends in the abortion clinics are prepared. Every life ended is another efficient procedure, another soul fed to the furnace. And Arizona — scorched and sleepy — drifts closer to surrender.
Carry on. The womb is nearly ours.
Your devoted uncle,
Screwtape
Katarina White serves as Board Member for Arizona Right to Life. To get involved and stay informed, visit the Arizona Right to Life website.
by Our America | Jun 12, 2025 | Opinion
By Our America |
Last summer, Our America Foundation’s Arizona Hometown Heroes stood up for local control of law enforcement by protesting against the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) consent decree to the Phoenix City Council.
And now, we have a victory – the DOJ has dropped the decree recommendation for the Phoenix Police Department (PPD).
We applaud this move, as we believe that communities are best served when they have a direct say in how they’re governed.
AZ Free News reported late last month that the DOJ rescinded the report and recommendation, thanks in part to an aggressive advocacy campaign by Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R–AZ-8). Hamadeh met with top DOJ officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon (an Our America-backed official), to push for the decision.
This reverses a June 2024 move by Biden’s DOJ, which released a highly critical report after concluding an investigation into the PPD. The report alleged a wide variety of misconduct and abuses by the PPD, and the DOJ pressured the city to sign a consent decree.
This decree would have meant federal monitoring and control over the PPD, and was criticized as a clear-cut example of federal overreach. The PPD was already taking proactive steps to fix any existing issues, and the department enjoyed strong support from the local community.
As we’ve written about in the past, similar moves by the DOJ to take control over police departments in Seattle and Albuquerque resulted in an increase in crime. Furthermore, these decrees put additional financial burdens on departments and in effect work as a de-facto way of defunding the police.
Keeping control in the hands of Americans over Washington bureaucrats is a good bet to make communities safer and stronger.
Our America is an organization seeking to build a broad, diverse coalition of people who support those timeless American values that empower everyone to thrive, including: equal opportunity, mutual respect, and freedom of expression.
by Andy Biggs | Jun 10, 2025 | Opinion
By Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05) |
When the history of America is written, it will certainly have a section on our global rivalry with our first existential threat of the twenty-first century: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In that narrative, we’ll be reminded of the leadership of President Donald J. Trump who has taken the fight to communists who wish to see our nation collapse. When I am the next governor of Arizona, I’ll follow the President’s lead by working with the State Legislature to get a bill prohibiting the ownership of real property in Arizona by the Chinese government passed and signed into law within the first 60 days of my administration.
Unfortunately, right now our country is stuck with too many weak politicians like Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, who has failed to stand up to China and protect Arizonans.
Through subversion, cutouts, and espionage, China has attempted to infiltrate the United States and develop surveillance capabilities within our own borders. The CCP’s most recently emergent strategy is to purchase land in the United States, preferably near sensitive military sites and energy infrastructure, to garner intelligence.
At the federal level, I cosponsored the No American Land for Communist China Act to address this problem. Many states are also taking action to proscribe purchases to prevent potential probing by the Chinese government. Arizona’s Legislature recently passed, with exclusively Republican votes, Senate Bill 1109, which safeguarded the United States.
The bill makes clear that the purpose is to protect critical infrastructure, and to, “…protect this state from global security threats and halt or reverse the influence operation of the Chinese Communist Party that poses a risk to the national security of the United States.”
As you might expect, you cannot find a Democrat who supported this national security bill. Nor would you be surprised to see that Governor Hobbs vetoed the bill.
Why would Governor Hobbs permit our nation’s enemy, and make no mistake that China’s hegemonic ambition defines it as more than an economic competitor, to purchase lands in our state?
Arizona has one of the largest nuclear power plants in the United States. We have multiple dams that ensure Arizona’s water needs are met, as well as military training facilities used by our services and allies. Our state is home to a huge aerospace and defense complex, with military bases housing advanced military machinery and personnel. Our state’s high-tech industry has grown businesses and fostered talent from across the state and country to become a global giant.
Protecting these assets takes strong leadership, but Governor Hobbs has shown to be weak and indecisive when it comes to protecting Arizonans.
She has failed to recognize the CCP threat that has come across our border, which includes Chinese students attending universities that have been arrested for spying on U.S. military bases. The Chinese military has made scale mock-ups of U.S. aircraft carriers ostensibly to train on how to defeat them. And Chinese bellicosity over Taiwan included a demand that the Chinese military prepare to go to war.
And we’ll never forget the most pronounced example of Chinese surveillance in America when a spy balloon was permitted to float over U.S. airspace, oddly taking a course that flew directly over several sensitive United States military assets before being destroyed over the Atlantic Ocean.
Joe Biden failed to act and keep our nation secure, just like his good friend Governor Katie Hobbs has failed to protect the best interests of Arizonans.
The comparisons between Hobbs and Biden are too similar to ignore: weak, timid, and unable to take action that puts our citizens ahead of foreign threats.
Arizona needs a strong, decisive leader who knows what it takes to keep our state safe. It’s clear now that Katie Hobbs would rather protect the CCP than Arizonans.
Rep. Andy Biggs serves Arizona’s Fifth District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is currently running for Governor of Arizona in the 2026 election.
by Tamra Farah | Jun 10, 2025 | Opinion
By Tamra Farah |
Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee (51) has announced her candidacy for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, challenging incumbent Tom Horne (80) in the 2026 primary election. Both candidates are Republicans. Both are statewide elected officials. Yee is term-limited as Arizona Treasurer. Voters will decide which candidate is best equipped to lead the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and address the state’s K-12 educational challenges. Here are some notes on the job itself and the candidate’s positions.
The Role of the Superintendent
It is a big job. The superintendent oversees the ADE, manages education policy, administers state and federal funds, and ensures compliance with standards for approximately 1.1 million students across more than 200 districts, 400 charter school holders, and over 550 charter school campuses. The primary responsibilities fall into three categories: choice, policies, and academics.
The Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) is the banner issue on choice. Current policy issues include merit-based programs such as school report cards and cultural hot buttons such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Academics consist of all scholastic initiatives. The role demands collaboration with the State Board of Education, engagement with parents and administrators, and a focus on student well-being, school safety, and parental choice.
CHOICE: Empowerment Scholarship Accounts
Educational choice has long been an Arizona value. In fact, the Arizona legislature expanded the ESA program in 2022 to include all Arizona K-12 students. It has grown during Horne’s term, from 12,000 to approximately 85,000 students between January 2023 and mid-2024, or from 1.1% to 7.7% of Arizona’s 1.1 million K-12 students. However, the program faces scrutiny. A 2024 Heritage Foundation survey reported that 65% of parents struggle to contact ADE staff, and 63% have difficulty getting answers about ESA issues.
The survey revealed that nearly half (49%) of the respondents in the Heritage Foundation’s December 2024 survey experienced curriculum request denials due to insufficient curriculum documentation, attributed to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ (Democrat) July 2024 directive requiring ESA purchases to be tied to a specific curriculum. Superintendent Tom Horne criticized these requirements, stating, “We are supporting the Goldwater Institute in challenging it in court, and we’re hoping to get that overturned so that we won’t have that silly rule anymore,” referring to the September 2024 lawsuit (Aguirre v. State of Arizona), which argues that Mayes’ restrictions violate state law and the ESA handbook, which does not mandate such documentation for supplementary materials. Horne is not a plaintiff in the case.
In general, the poll found that 66% of ESA parents indicated dissatisfaction with the department’s “program administration” and found it cumbersome or difficult to tap into the benefits of the ESA. For example, reimbursement delays were frustrating parents and, in some cases, caused economic hardship. The 2023 transition from debit cards to ClassWallet and staffing shortages led to manual review backlogs. The Heritage survey found that 88% of respondents said they would prefer access to a debit card to make purchases using their child’s ESA funds rather than ClassWallet’s online payment system, or to pay out of pocket and submit a claim for reimbursement. In addition, 77% of parents experienced long wait times for approvals, and 86% for reimbursements.
In my interview with Horne, he addressed these issues, stating, “The complaint related to delays in reimbursements is valid, and I took it very seriously. Most of the requests are under $2,000. Requests over $2,000 get checked out before they’re paid. Requests under $2,000 are paid without checking them out, subject to later risk auditing. In addition, our parent user group sets amounts for specific requests that would be approved without question. Those two things solved the problem. The amounts have become controversial. The parent user group are fearful that if we lose, those delays will occur again.” I asked Horne how many or what percentage of the parent user group might allegedly fear delays under a new superintendent. His assertion, without data to back it up, is questionable.
In my interview with Yee, she positions herself as a longtime supporter of school choice, including as an Arizona State Senator. She states that she understands the intent of the ESA to provide parents with an easy-to-use mechanism for choosing the best education for their kids, explaining, “As a former member of the Arizona legislature, I sponsored and supported the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to expand the school choice options for families in Arizona. Arizona has long been a national leader in parental rights and giving families various options for school choice that best fits their child’s unique educational needs.”
Yee added, “As the future superintendent and a longtime school choice advocate with a proven conservative track record, I will protect and preserve school choice in Arizona and ensure the ESA program is run efficiently and effectively and will work with the legislature to provide fiscal accountability at all levels of our education system that the taxpayers deserve.”
Yee believes that Horne has created unnecessary burdens for ESA families, stating, “Empowerment Scholarship Accounts were created by the legislature, and it is important that the functions of administering ESAs are strictly and only determined by the law—not by a rogue superintendent who continues to overreach his authority by creating arbitrary policies out of the Department of Education by unelected bureaucrats.”
POLICIES: Addressing DEI
Though policies include teacher certification, school safety programs, and a host of compliance issues, the hot button issue is DEI. Both candidates have addressed DEI policies in schools, particularly considering the federal mandate under President Trump requiring districts to eliminate DEI practices or risk losing funding. Horne said, “I’m working very hard to implement President Trump’s education action. I’ve told the schools if they don’t sign a statement that they’re not doing DEI, their funds will be cut off.”
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes publicly opposed Horne’s enforcement of the Trump administration’s April 3, 2025, U.S. Department of Education mandate requiring schools to eliminate DEI programs or risk losing approximately 11% of federal funding. Mayes argues that Trump lacks legal authority to withhold funds, as stated in her April 17, 2025, response to the Kyrene School District case. The mandate, rooted in a directive, cites Title VI, and the 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ruling was blocked by federal judges, supporting Horne’s reference here to a district court ruling: “I’m very satisfied as a former attorney general that [it] will be [confirmed] overall on appeal and while other superintendents in other states have objected to it, I have enthusiastically supported President Trump’s program.”
Horne relies on a parent hotline for DEI compliance monitoring, explaining, “I have a hotline that parents can contact me and let me know when schools that said they weren’t doing DEI are doing DEI. It’s not a formal follow-up or proof they’ve done it. It’s just random parents who may or may not call the hotline…and we do report when we get a message on the hotline; we report to the federal government so that they can take it into account and cut funds.” When later asked, Horne said the hotline call data indicated “572 [districts and charter schools] have signed and 23 have refused. Some of those who have signed are probably not honest about it, so we’ll be watching for that.”
Asking Yee what she would do as it relates to DEI, she highlighted her efforts against DEI as State Treasurer, stating, “I have a solid record on fighting back against radical DEI policies as the State Treasurer of Arizona. This legislative session, my office moved forward an anti-DEI bill in the legislature to ensure that DEI is not used in the hiring, promotion, or training of state employees in Arizona agencies. As the head of the Arizona Treasury, I hire based on a person’s individual skills, experience, and merit.” She pledged effective action as superintendent, adding, “I support President Trump’s requirement to remove federal funding from schools that continue to promote DEI in school administration and inside the classroom. As superintendent, my administration will not only clean up woke DEI policies from day one, but we will ensure funding is removed immediately from any schools that ignore this federal mandate because we must get back to the basics of focusing on reading, math, and student success in our classrooms.”
ACADEMICS: Scholastic Proficiency
Arizona has not performed with distinction academically since its public school systems were included in the National Rankings. Under Horne, academic proficiency has not improved; rather, it declined. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Arizona’s 4th-grade reading scores dropped from 215 (Basic) in 2022 to 208 in 2024, below the national average of 214 (a proficient score is 238). Data for 2023-2024 is not yet available on the ADE website, but further details can be found at nationsreportcard.gov.
Horne outlined his efforts, stating, “I have 15 initiatives [to help] the schools improve academic results. I’m personally involved in every one of those 15, so I’m quite busy, and I’ll give you a couple of examples. We have solutions teams to go out to the schools; these are highly qualified teachers and principals who go out to schools to help them.” He highlighted a program targeting the bottom 5% of schools, noting, “One of the projects they made was the bottom 5% of schools—90 some schools—and after they worked with them, 70% of those schools are no longer in the bottom 90% and that demonstrated in part that poor kids can learn as well as rich kids as long as they are properly taught. We adopted a school in a very poor area, and we sent people out every week from my department to work on fifth grade…showing the teachers how to teach them and doing some teaching themselves, and we increased their math courses by 27%.” Horne was unsure if the information he provided related to his “15 initiatives” is available for stakeholders to review on the ADE website, and at this writing, it cannot be confirmed through a search of other available sources.
Yee focused on foundational skills, drawing on her experience, saying, “My policy background in education began in the 1990s, where I helped develop academic content standards in reading and mathematics. It was important, even back then, to fight the woke educators who wanted to teach whole language reading with pictures only, because they thought that phonics would be too emotionally challenging for these young children. The result was illiterate children who were inappropriately being moved onto the next grade level, struggling with severe achievement issues because they never received basic, traditional skills in the classroom. We need to get back to the basics of reading and math in order for children to succeed.”
Candidates for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
Yee’s and Horne’s campaign websites and other public sources provide background information about past experiences related to offices held and department leadership.
As Treasurer of Arizona since 2018, Kimberly Yee has increased total investment earnings to over $4.5 billion. She led the Treasury’s historic, record-high performance for earnings under the state land endowment, distributing over $2.43 billion to Arizona schools. In 2022, she was elected to her second term as State Treasurer of Arizona, garnering more votes than any other statewide elected official.
Bringing years of experience to public budgeting and executive agency management, Yee is a longtime financial education advocate and sponsored legislation to add financial literacy to the K-12 academic standards in schools. She has been the administrator of the statewide AZ529 Education Savings Plan for higher education since October 2020. In just 54 months, Arizona 529 accounts have increased by 54,178 new accounts, with $2.46 billion in assets under management, helping families save for higher education and workforce development.
In her early career, Yee focused on public policy in K-12 and higher education, emphasizing school choice as a senior research analyst for the Arizona Senate Education Committee. Also in the 1990s, she helped draft laws expanding open enrollment, charter schools, and homeschool protections. During two gubernatorial appointments under Republican governors, she worked on childcare, K-12 academic standards, and vocational education for career and college readiness. Elected to the Arizona Legislature in 2010, she was unanimously chosen as Senate Majority Leader, the second woman in that role after Sandra Day O’Connor. Congressional Quarterly’s Roll Call recognized her as one of the “25 Most Influential Women in State Politics.”
As the former Chairwoman of the Arizona Senate Education Committee, Yee sponsored legislation recognizing traditional district and charter schools and expanded eligibility for Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, particularly for low-income students. She has also earned numerous awards and recognitions, including as the recipient of the Friend of the Taxpayer Award, the Friend of the Family Award, the Golden Apple Award, and multiple School Choice Champion Awards. She was honored as one of the 48 Most Intriguing Women in Arizona in a book sponsored by the Arizona Centennial Legacy Project.
Tom Horne first served as Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2003 to 2011 and was re-elected in 2022. As Superintendent, he implemented Structured English Immersion, increasing English proficiency rates for English Language Learners from 4% to 31% in one year, stating, “At 31% in one year, within three or four years everyone becomes proficient.” Historical reports from Horne’s earlier tenure support similar improvements. No specific 2023–2025 ADE data confirms this exact figure. Horne states he was a key advocate for banning ethnic studies through Senate Bill 1069 (2010), arguing that public schools should “develop the student’s identity as Americans and as strong individuals” rather than “promote ethnic chauvinism.”
Horne implemented social studies standards annually, ensuring students “learn lessons in five areas, including American history, world history, geography, civics and government, and economics” from kindergarten through high school. Horne replaced bilingual education with Structured English Immersion, increasing English proficiency rates for English Language Learners from 4% to 31% in one year. He also worked with the State Board to require reading proficiency before third graders advance to fourth grade.
Horne’s campaign website currently refers to “appointing Christine Accurso to manage ‘educational choice to help shape and mold the futures of their precious children.’” However, Mrs. Accurso resigned from her position directing ESAs after seven months in 2023. Strangely, Horne’s campaign website has not been updated. Horne’s site also emphasizes accountability, which appears to be lacking in his performance, stating, “There are two kinds of accountability. There’s academic accountability; you want to see results for putting in more resources. And then there’s financial accountability; the money goes toward teachers’ salaries rather than administration because a school can be no better than the teachers in the classroom.”
Horne served on a school district board for 24 years and served as Arizona Attorney General from 2011 to 2015. During a campaign finance investigation in March 2012, the FBI observed a hit-and-run in a Phoenix parking garage. The FBI concluded Horne left the scene to hide an affair with Carmen Chenal, a subordinate earning $108,000 as an assistant attorney general. Horne was not criminally charged.
In his reeletion bid in 2014, Horne lost to Mark Brnovich in the Repbulican primary for Arizona Attorney General. Brnovich’s campaign highlighted ethical issues and scandals surrounding Horne, including the FBI investigation into alleged campaign finance violations from Horne’s 2010 campaign and the extramarital affair. Brnovich also brought attention to a whistleblower claim by former staffer Sarah Beattie that Horne used his Attorney General’s office staff for campaign work, violating state law.
Horne’s legal background includes graduating magna cum laude from Harvard College and with honors from Harvard Law School and serving as a Special Assistant Attorney General and Judge Pro-Tem.
Looking Ahead for the Arizona Department of Education
The 2026 primary election for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, set for Tuesday, August 4, followed by the general election on November 3, will shape the future of the state’s education system.
As our state looks forward to the 2026 election, Arizonans should carefully research each candidate. If the ESA program can be administered effectively and efficiently, more families will likely benefit from it. It would be wise to ensure that the next superintendent can operate in a fiscally responsible manner while prioritizing improvements in student academic achievement. Arizona’s 1.1 million students and the state’s future deserve strong leadership at the Department of Education.
Tamra Farah leads AmericanStrategies.org, bringing twenty years of experience in public policy and politics as a journalist while focusing on protecting individual liberty and promoting limited government. She has engaged with ten local, state, and federal candidates and organizations, such as Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks, Moms for America, and Arizona Women of Action. Farah frequently appears on conservative radio, television, and in print media.
