Education - AZ FREE NEWS

Arizona Department of Education Advertised 1619 Project Teacher Grants

Oct 9, 2021

By Corinne Murdock | In March, the Arizona Department of Education’s (ADE) Social Studies newsletter advertised grant funds for teachers who would implement the 1619 Project. The Pulitzer Center offered a $5,000 grant to 40 educators; applications were due in March....

Governor Ducey Spurns Biden Administration’s Threat for Funding Mask-Free Schools

Oct 6, 2021

By Corinne Murdock | Governor Doug Ducey refused to heed the Biden Administration’s warning that two of his programs rewarding mask-free schooling couldn’t be using federal COVID-19 relief funds. Almost immediately after receiving the Department of Treasury’s (USDT)...

Arizona Parents Spurn FBI Investigating Pushback, Protests Against School Boards

Oct 6, 2021

By Corinne Murdock | Arizona parents promptly pushed back against the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) announcement Monday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Attorney’s Offices would investigate the trend of protests against school boards and other...

Arizona’s 10-Year Anniversary Of Education Savings Accounts

Oct 2, 2021

By Corinne Murdock | 2021 marks the ten-year anniversary of education savings accounts (ESAs) in Arizona. The state’s ESA policy, formally known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, was established in 2011. As of this year, nearly a quarter of Arizona children are...

Court Strikes Down Bans on Masks, Testing, Vaccine Mandates; Critical Race Theory; and Vaccine Passports

Sep 28, 2021

By Corinne Murdock | On Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper ruled that many laws passed within the recent budget were unconstitutional. Cooper stated that the legislation violated the single subject rule of the Arizona Constitution. The case,...

Arizona School Boards Association Maskless At Conference While Suing For K-12 Mask Mandates

Sep 24, 2021

By Corinne Murdock | The Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) wasn’t strict with their mask mandate at a legal conference last week, despite their ongoing lawsuit against the state over its school mask mandate ban. Several days after the conference, ASBA pushed...

Governor Ducey Orders Flags At Half-Staff, Announces Plan To Strengthen 9/11 Education In K-12 Schools

Sep 11, 2021

PHOENIX, AZ — Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff tomorrow, Saturday, September 11, in remembrance of the nearly 3,000 innocent men and women who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Also on...

University of Arizona Ranks High for Most Diversity-Equity-Inclusion Staff

Sep 7, 2021

By Corinne Murdock | The University of Arizona (UArizona) ranked high for its number of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) staff compared with 65 other universities. Arizona State University (ASU) ranked toward the bottom. This data was published in a study by The...

Prop 208 Ruling Destroys Narrative That K-12 Education Is Underfunded

Sep 3, 2021

By the Free Enterprise Club | For over a decade, Arizona Democrats and the education lobby have been beating the same K-12 drum- that our schools are underfunded, spending is at historic lows, and that the legislature refuses to invest more in K-12. And every...

Arizona Standardized Testing Reveals Students Failing In English, Math

Aug 31, 2021

By Corinne Murdock | The latest Arizona Department of Education (ADE) statewide assessment results revealed that Arizona students are failing in English and math. ADE published the results Friday, culled from the 2020-2021 versions of AzM2 and MSAA - the two versions...

Scottsdale School Board President – Mask Mandate Imposer – Caught Maskless At Bar

Aug 31, 2021

By Corrinne Murdock | After another long week of defending his decision to impose mask mandates for Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) students, Governing Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg hung out at a bar maskless last Saturday. When asked, Greenburg...

ESA Users’ Personal Information Compromised Again

Aug 31, 2021

By Corinne Murdock | Another data breach in two years has Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) holders wondering if their information is secure with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). This past week, it was discovered that the state’s contracted payment...