Education - AZ FREE NEWS

Arizona Education Board Declines To Approve New School Choice Handbook

Mar 29, 2025

By Staff Reporter | The Arizona State Board of Education (ASBE) declined to approve the new handbook for the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program. ASBE discussed the proposed 2025-2026 ESA Handbook during its meeting on Monday. Though it had the...

Sen. Kavanagh’s Bill Would Require Schools To Use Students’ Real Names, Biological Pronouns

Mar 27, 2025

By Matthew Holloway | A bill requring schools to use students' real names and biological pronouns is making its way through the Arizona legislature. SB 1002, sponsored by Arizona Senator John Kavanagh (LD-3), would prohibit school districts, charter schools employees,...

Hamadeh Partners With NFL Hall Of Famer To Launch Congressional Fitness Challenge For Kids

Mar 25, 2025

By Staff Reporter | Rep. Abe Hamadeh wants to include children in the Trump administration’s plan to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). Hamadeh partnered with former NFL player and Hall of Fame member Brett Favre to announce the new Congressional Fitness...

Arizona Lawmakers Consider Ban On Preferential Treatment In Public Institutions

Mar 23, 2025

By Jonathan Eberle | The Arizona Legislature is considering a constitutional amendment that would restrict preferential treatment and discrimination based on race or ethnicity in public education, government spending, and hiring practices. House Concurrent Resolution...

Horne Responds To Calls For Intervention In Primavera Online School Charter Revocation

Mar 22, 2025

By Matthew Holloway | Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne released a statement this week regarding the Primavera Online charter school, Arizona’s largest charter school operator. Primavera is facing revocation of its charter from the Arizona State...

Arizona Leaders React To Trump Dismantling Department Of Education

Mar 22, 2025

By Staff Reporter | After 45 years of existence, the Department of Education (ED) is coming to an end. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday dismantling ED: “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities.”...

Peoria Unified School District Adopts New Student Privacy And Anti-Discrimination Policies

Mar 18, 2025

By Matthew Holloway | The Peoria Unified School Board (PUSD) has adopted new Student Privacy and Anti-Discrimination policies to provide “clarity on critical issues that have remained ambiguous in practice for years.” Under the student privacy policy, the district...

Senate Bill Would Require Clear Tax Impact Statements On Ballots For School Bonds And Overrides

Mar 18, 2025

By Jonathan Eberle | The Arizona State Senate is reviewing Senate Bill (SB) 1091, which would require school district election ballots to include clear information on potential property tax reductions if voters reject budget overrides or bond measures. The bill, which...

Biggs Introduces Bill To End ‘Weaponization’ Of Dept. Of Education Against Christian Universities

Mar 14, 2025

By Matthew Holloway | Earlier this month, Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ5) introduced the Guarding Religious And Career Education (GRACE) Act. If enacted, it would direct Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to outright eliminate the DOE’s Office of Enforcement within...

New Dashboard Tracks School Closures In Arizona

Mar 13, 2025

By Staff Reporter | A new dashboard tracks the school closures taking place throughout Arizona. The dashboard comes from the Common Sense Institute (CSI), a nonpartisan organization which primarily produces research on Arizona’s economy. Since...

Average Arizona 8th Graders’ Reading Scores Lowest On Record

Feb 28, 2025

By Staff Reporter | The average eighth grader in Arizona has the lowest reading scores on record, and about the same mathematics scores as nearly 30 years ago. The Nation’s Report Card (NCR) 2024 Reading State Snapshot Report showed that Arizona’s...

Arizona House Passes Bill To Make School Lunches Healthy Again

Feb 26, 2025

By Daniel Stefanski | One chamber of the Arizona Legislature just passed legislation to protect kids’ meals at schools. On Monday, the Arizona House of Representatives passed HB 2164, that, if enacted, would “ban ultra-processed foods containing harmful additives from...