Education - AZ FREE NEWS

University Of Arizona Agrees To $2.5 Million Settlement, Endowment For Slain Professor

Jan 11, 2024

By Corinne Murdock | On Tuesday, the University of Arizona (UArizona) announced a $2.5 million settlement with the family of slain Professor Thomas Meixner. Former UArizona graduate student Murad Dervish fatally shot Meixner in October 2022. In a copy of the...

Gov. Hobbs Repeats False Claims About ESA Program In State Of The State Address

Jan 9, 2024

By Corinne Murdock | Gov. Katie Hobbs is claiming that the state’s school choice program is rife with abuse and in need of serious reform. In her State of the State address on Monday, Hobbs claimed the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program lacks...

Teacher Arrested For Sexual Abuse Of Minor Mocked Arpaio For Deporting ‘Super Hot’ Minors

Jan 7, 2024

By Corinne Murdock | A Phoenix-area Spanish teacher, 50-year-old Ernesto Moncada-Cota, was arrested earlier this week on allegations of a sexual relationship with a minor student. Law enforcement charged Moncada-Cota with six felony counts of sexual...

In 2023, 65 Arizona Educators Faced Discipline For Sexual Misconduct With Minors

Jan 5, 2024

By Corinne Murdock | 65 Arizona educators and 23 certified in Arizona faced discipline relating to sexual misconduct with minors in 2023. According to Arizona State Board of Education (ASBE) board meetings, 88 educators’ alleged and/or admitted behavior with...

Hobbs Announces Plans To Dismantle ESA Program

Jan 3, 2024

By Daniel Stefanski | Mere days before the start of the 2024 Arizona legislative session, the state’s Democrat governor is finally telegraphing her primary plan for the months ahead – though her proposal is likely dead on arrival with the Republican-led House and...

ESA Program Saw Significant Growth In 2023

Jan 3, 2024

By Daniel Stefanski | Arizona’s historic universal school choice program has seen significant growth in its first full year of operations. Last month, the Executive Director for Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, John Ward, sent three emails to...

Horne On ESA Report: “Nothing Is Being Withheld”

Jan 2, 2024

By Daniel Stefanski | The holiday season didn’t bring holly and jolly to the ongoing feud between Arizona’s Democrat Governor and Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction. In the days leading up to Christmas, Governor Katie Hobbs and Superintendent Tom Horne...

District Fails To Prove It Prepared Students For Technical Careers Despite Spending $1.4 Million

Dec 29, 2023

By Corinne Murdock | Another one of Arizona’s 14 career and technical education (CTE) districts can’t prove it effectively prepared students for high-need technical occupations despite spending over $1.4 million. A report issued last week by the Arizona...

Scottsdale Schools Extend Application Deadline For Sex Ed Committee

Dec 28, 2023

By Corinne Murdock | Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) extended its application deadline for a sex ed curriculum committee serving grades 6-9 to about mid-January. The district disclosed that it had received enough applicants to form the Sex Ed/Human Growth...

Tech Manager Indicted For Embezzling Over $124K From Arizona State University

Dec 19, 2023

By Corinne Murdock | Arizona State University’s (ASU) former information technology (IT) manager was indicted for embezzling over $124,000 from the institution over the course of over four years. According to the auditor general, ASU leadership was partially at fault...

Horne’s Task Force Releases Recommendations To Make Arizona Schools Safer

Dec 18, 2023

By Daniel Stefanski | Arizona’s schools chief is continuing his quest to make state schools safer. Last week, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne released a number of recommendations from his administration’s task force meant to strengthen school...

Man Behind Attempted Kidnappings And Sexual Assault At University Of Arizona Not Yet Found

Dec 16, 2023

By Corinne Murdock | An unidentified man believed to be behind a string of back-to-back attempted kidnappings and sexual assault at the University of Arizona (UArizona) has yet to be apprehended. So far, three female UArizona students have reported instances...