Education - AZ FREE NEWS

Horne Responds To Letter From Hobbs Blasting ESA ‘Risk-Based Auditing’

Dec 26, 2024

By Matthew Holloway | Earlier this month, Gov. Katie Hobbs sent a letter to Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, rebuking him for the implementation of a risk-based auditing approach to approving Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program reimbursements....

Group Counters Hobbs’ False Claims About ESAs

Dec 17, 2024

By Daniel Stefanski | Amid an increased flurry of attacks on Arizona’s school choice opportunities, a prominent organization is countering with the facts. Citizens For Free Enterprise responded to another derogatory statement about Arizona’s historic Empowerment...

Sen. Petersen Defends ESAs Against Anti-School Choice Activists

Dec 12, 2024

By Daniel Stefanski | An influential Arizona Republican lawmaker is combating arguments from an anti-school choice organization. This week, Senate President Warren Petersen responded to a post from Save Our Schools AZ, which highlighted a local media report about...

Maricopa Judge Dismisses Dual Language Challenge For Lack Of Standing

Dec 11, 2024

By Staff Reporter | The Maricopa Superior Court dismissed a challenge to a school district’s dual language program, citing lack of standing. The plaintiff, Patricia Pellett, is a Scottsdale Unified School District parent, and not part of the district she challenged,...

Arizona Receives $34.8 Million Grant For Building New Charter Schools, Improving Existing Ones

Dec 11, 2024

By Matthew Holloway | Arizona’s charter schools are about to receive a fresh infusion of taxpayer dollars in a federal grant from the United States Department of Education. The grant is expected to fund the establishment of two dozen new charter schools and bolster...

No Arizona Schools Tested Their Emergency Plans Or Met State Minimum Standards

Dec 10, 2024

By Staff Reporter | None of Arizona’s schools have fully implemented and tested their emergency plans, nor did they fully meet the state’s minimum standards. The Arizona Auditor General published a new report on Monday finding that no schools throughout the...

Arizona Grows Education Savings Accounts To Over 47K

Dec 7, 2024

By Staff Reporter | Arizona grew the number of Education Savings Plan (or “AZ529”) accounts to nearly 47,600 over the last four years. Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee reported that assets of those accounts increased nearly 50 percent to $2.4 billion within the...

Rep. Gress Introduces First Bill Of Legislative Session

Dec 6, 2024

By Daniel Stefanski | The first piece of legislation in the Arizona House of Representatives for the upcoming 57th Regular Session was introduced by a soon-to-be second-term Republican lawmaker. Last week, state Representative Matthew Gress announced that he had...

Arizona Department Of Health Calls For Removal Of Guns From Family Homes

Dec 5, 2024

By Staff Reporter | The Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) called for the removal of guns from all homes with children. AZDHS made the recommendation for family homes to have their firearms removed in their latest Arizona Child Fatality Review Program...

Arizona Indicts Two Utah Residents For School Choice Fraud Of $110,000

Dec 4, 2024

By Staff Reporter | Two Utah residents have been indicted for defrauding Arizona’s school choice program. The alleged culprits, Johnny Lee Bowers and Ashley Meredith Hewitt (aka “Ashley Hopkins”), were indicted for the theft of about $110,000 from December 2022...

ASU President Critical Of Department Of Education Amid Talks Of Its Dissolution

Dec 1, 2024

By Staff Reporter | Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow may not be in outright support of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Department of Education (ED), but he does seem to favor the idea of reform at the very least. In...

National Education Association Promotes Gender Transition Guide For Children Following Election

Dec 1, 2024

By Staff Reporter | The National Education Association (NEA), a teachers' union and the nation’s largest labor union, has continued its promotion of gender transitions for children. NEA posted the guide by Advocates for Youth on Transgender Day of Remembrance last...