by Staff Reporter | Sep 18, 2025 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
The Department of Education (ED) announced a significant new investment in school choice.
On Monday, ED pledged “historic” investments into charter schools, American history and civics programs, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).
The department repurposed funding from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs to fund these investments.
ED Secretary Linda McMahon said the funds were reserved for programs “which support student success.”
“The Department has carefully scrutinized our federal grants, ensuring that taxpayers are not funding racially discriminatory programs but those programs which promote merit and excellence in education,” said McMahon. “The Trump Administration will use every available tool to meaningfully advance educational outcomes and ensure every American has the opportunity to succeed in life.”
ED also pledged over $160 million to the American History and Civics Education National Activities — Seminars for America’s Semiquincentennial program. 2026 will mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America.
ED will award American history and civics grants for seminars that “directly commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Founding of the United States.” Eligible seminar programming must make a feature study of American political tradition: the ideas, institutions, and texts instrumental to this nation’s constitutional government and history. The seminars must also be based on “the first principles of American founding.” Eligible seminars must include the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
$500 million in grants will be distributed to charter schools for the 2025 fiscal year. Another total of nearly $500 million collectively will be sent as one-time investments to HBCUs and TCCUs.
As justification for the reallocation of millions in government grants, ED cited the poor student outcomes exhibited by the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores released earlier this month. Student NAEP scores reached “historic lows” throughout K-12.
Nationally, average NAEP scores were lower across all three assessments: science at grade 8, mathematics at grade 12, and reading at grade 12.
Arizona students scored lower across the various subjects than the average national scores for both fourth and eighth graders. Fourth grade math scores averaged 232, compared to the national average of 237; fourth grade reading scores averaged 208, compared to the national average of 214; and fourth grade science scores averaged 149, compared to the national average of 153.
Eighth grade math scores averaged 270, compared to the national average of 272; eighth grade reading scores averaged 254, compared to the national average of 257; and eighth grade science scores averaged 148, compared to the national average of 153.
McMahon called the NAEP results “devastating,” and indicative of a trend of generations unprepared for adult life. McMahon questioned the spending of billions annually with such dismal results, and pledged to claw back some of those funds to invest in individual states and educational choice.
“At a critical juncture when students are about to graduate and enter the workforce, military, or higher education, nearly half of America’s high school seniors are testing at below basic levels in math and reading. Despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening, and more high school seniors are performing below the basic benchmark in math and reading than ever before,” said McMahon. “If America is going to remain globally competitive, students must be able to read proficiently, think critically, and graduate equipped to solve complex problems. We owe it to them to do better.”
In May, ED pledged to increase charter school funding by $60 million for a program budget total of $500 million.
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by Terri Jo Neff | Mar 26, 2022 | Education, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law a bill which raises the passing score of the Arizona Civics Test from 60 to 70 percent while noting that Arizonans have “a real responsibility to equip the leaders of tomorrow with knowledge of our nation’s founding principles.”
House Bill 2632 was among several pieces of legislation the governor signed on Thursday and Friday. It allows students to take the mandated test as early as middle school and requires that schools make test score data publicly available online. The enhancements to the test become effective with the graduating class of 2026.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Quang Nguyen, said HB2632 is important to ensure future generations understand our government, history, and principles.
“There are far too many Americans who aren’t equipped with this vital information to make decisions,” said Nguyen (R-LD1). “We must have an appreciation of our federal structure, separation of powers and fundamental respect for natural rights.”
In 2015, Arizona became the first state in the country to pass the American Civics Act which requires high school students to pass a basic civics test before graduation. It was the first bill Ducey signed after becoming governor.
And in 2020, Ducey signed legislation to establish Sandra Day O’Connor Civics Celebration Day, a day in which most classrooms across the state devote to civics education.
The other bills signed by Ducey on Thursday were:
HB 2104 community property award; convicted spouse (Rep. Griffin)
HB 2108 taxi drivers; sex offenders prohibited (Rep. Biasiucci)
HB 2165 housing department; licensure; fingerprinting; penalties (Rep. Kaiser)
HB 2202 industrial commission; fee schedule; notice (Rep. Weninger)
HB 2434 surgical smoke evacuation; requirements (Rep. Shah)
HB 2480 vehicle serial numbers; removal; restoration (Rep. Carroll)
HB 2612 occupational regulation (Rep. Burges)
HB 2649 concurrent jurisdiction; Yuma proving ground (Rep. Dunn)
Then on Friday, the governor signed 17 more bills into law, including one which extends the temporary licenses of more than 2,000 health care workers until the end of the year.
Senate Bill 1309 was sponsored by Sen. Nancy Barto, who called it a simple, but necessary move to provide licensing boards with time to process full licenses or reissue licenses of health care workers. About 1,200 of those temporarily licenses have been given to nurses, who are in high demand.
“If these licenses were to expire, our critical health professionals would need to scramble to get relicensed,” said Barto (R-LD15). “This proactive bill ensures a timely renewal process to keep more people employed.”
Ducey’s signing of SB1309 was also welcomed by Dawna Cato, CEO of the Arizona Nurses Association.
“With an existing shortage of nurses, now is not the time to let temporary health professional licenses expire,” said Cato. “The Arizona Nurses Association fully supports the signing of this bill into law, as it helps the board process license renewals and will keep more of our frontline nurses where we need them – taking care of us.”
The other bills signed by Ducey on Friday were:
HB 2053 Department of Environmental Quality; continuation (Rep. Griffin)
HB 2057 Water Supply Development Fund; revisions (Rep. Bowers)
HB 2085 nursing facility provider assessments; continuation (Rep. Osborne)
HB 2106 unlawful disclosure; images; definitions (Rep. Biasiucci)
HB 2171 salvage vehicle titles; insurance companies (Rep. Wilmeth)
HB 2344 Military Affairs Commission; continuation (Rep. Payne)
HB 2556 Water Infrastructure Finance; sunset repeal (Rep. Griffin)
HB 2629 property tax liens; expiration dates (Rep. Barton)
HB 2659 organ transplants; disabilities; discrimination; prohibition (Rep. Kaiser)
HB 2714 Office of Tourism; continuation (Rep. Kaiser)
SB 1081 PSPRS; advisory committee (Sen. Livingston)
SB 1084 public retirement systems; administration (Sen. Livingston)
SB 1160 AZ529 plan; advisory committee; membership (Sen. Leach)
SB 1206 license plate design and color (Sen. Pace)
SB 1234 Board of Nursing; continuation (Sen. Barto)
SB 1639 control substances; medical records integration (Sen. Pace)
