Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced that his office will report Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) to the federal government for violating the “No DEI” pledge signed by district Superintendent Scott Menzel. The announcement came after SUSD adopted a DEI-oriented curriculum, despite objections from parents.
Horne explained, “Today I’m announcing that I will report to the federal government that the Scottsdale School District has violated the statement they signed that they would not teach DEI. They adopted a DEI-oriented textbook, or more than one book actually, over parental objections.”
— Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity (@ScottsdaleUnite) June 11, 2025
The superintendent was joined by Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan who expressed major concerns regarding the objectively anti-police narrative that the text in question indoctrinates students with.
“At a time when law enforcement agencies are expanding their focus on community outreach and de-escalation of conflicts, it is counterproductive for schools to push a misguided and inaccurate narrative that will make students fearful or suspicious of their local law enforcement officers,” Sheridan said. “The men and women who wear the uniform in Arizona, are among the bravest and most noble public servants in this great state. Many are first responders, who put their lives on the line each day to keep our youth and our communities safe.”
Horne cited several examples of what he called the “unbalanced political propaganda” in the text: “U.S. History Interactive” by the Savvas Learning Company.
“At page 1033: ‘many people, including Black Lives Matter activists argued that these separate events as Well, as well as the death of many Black people in earlier years was the result of deeply embedded racism.’ Nothing was said about what other people may be saying. Other people do not believe that racism is deeply embedded in the United States.”
“On the same page referring to the 2020 riots: protest marches were generally peaceful Horne pointed out that ‘we’ve all seen the video on television of a reporter saying that surrounded by burning buildings and attacks on police cars.’”
“At page 1025, referring to the incident at Ferguson: ‘one witness claimed that before being shot, Brown had raised his hands and said ‘don’t shoot!’ Horne pointed out: ‘To his everlasting credit, Eric Holder, the first African American United States Attorney General in history, conducted an objective investigation, and concluded that officer Wilson shot Ferguson in self-defense. Limiting the discussion to what one witness said was extremely misleading.’”
“At page 1026: ‘a basic tenet of democracy is that power should belong to the people. But what can people try if they feel they’re not being heard or if they live under an authoritarian system? Civil resistance, encompasses a broad range of lawful and nonviolent action aimed at returning power to the people. Use this video as a brief introduction.’
Horne pointed out: “the United States is a Democratic Republic. We do not have a monarch. Officials are elected by a vote of the people. This gives everyone the opportunity, if they disagree with what the government is doing, to campaign for the election of someone else. That is the solution to disagree with government policy. Students are being encouraged by the video to engage in civil resistance to a democratically elected government. The suggestion in this quotation that the United States is an authority system is a woke lie.“
“From Page 167: ‘renovations and improvements conforming to middle-class preferences has driven up the demand for housing and the cost of living in these neighborhoods, making it difficult for less affluent more vulnerable LGBTQUI plus populations to live there’.” Horne replied: “I will not comment on what QUIA plus means, but the suggestion that LGBT people are financially oppressed is extremely misleading. Many LGBT People are quite prosperous. The median income for men in same-sex marriages is $149,900. The median income for men in opposite sex married couples is $124,900.”
Horne also cited issues with a human geography book also used by SUSD: “APHUG 5: Human Geography: A Spatial Perspective, Bednarz et al., Cengage, 2022”
The text states: “Republican lawmakers in some states have packed African-American voters into a single district or small number of districts thereby creating majority Republican districts in the rest of the state.’”
Horne’s response was incredulous: “This was a civil rights project of the Democratic Party. The goal was to assure minority representation in Congress. The Republican Party had nothing to do with it.”
According to AZFamily, Scottsdale Superintendent Scott Menzel rejected Horne’s assessment saying, “To label them woke without having ever read what was the 1,250 pages in the textbook is a problem from my perspective.” Horne replied to reporters that he had read all the passages he quoted. Menzel claimed that content experts reviewed the text and made an informed recommendation conforming to Arizona state standards.
“We would never adopt a curriculum that was anti-police,” Menzel told reporters. “We do have historically situations where some people argue that we should defund the police. Here in Arizona we had people who removed school resource officers. That’s not something that we would ever contemplate, but from a historical perspective our students should be able to wrestle with why someone might have made that argument.”
In a statement released SUSD said, “Horne’s claims of indoctrination and a so-called ‘leftist curriculum being imposed’ on students are simply untrue and unsupported by fact,” without refuting the examples cited by Horne.
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.” The historic order stops short of total abolition of the agency, since law dictates that Congress must be the one to close it.
The order cited historic lows of reading and math scores among children as proof of ED’s decades-long failures, and contrasted the poor educational outcomes with ED’s high budget and massive staffing.
“While the Department of Education does not educate anyone, it maintains a public relations office that includes over 80 staffers at a cost of more than $10 million per year,” said the order. “Closing the Department of Education would provide children and their families the opportunity to escape a system that is failing them.”
The order further accused ED of operating like an inefficient bank with its management of over $1.6 trillion in student loan debt.
Trump directed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to undertake measures to close ED and return authority to the states, as well as terminate funding to programs and activities engaged in progressive ideologies including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and gender theory.
Reactions among Arizona leadership fell largely along party lines.
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), Tom Horne, praised the executive order, calling the agency an “unnecessary” entity dedicated to heaping more bureaucracy on the states.
“The Federal Department of Education was unnecessary and added bureaucracy for states,” said Horne. “Thank you President Trump for bringing education back to the states where it belongs.”
The Federal Department of Education was unnecessary and added bureaucracy for states. Thank you President @realDonaldTrump for bringing education back to the states where it belongs.
Congressional efforts to codify the executive order are also underway. South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds revealed to Fox News that he’s been in discussions with Trump to do just that.
“I am working on legislation that would return education decisions to states and local school districts while maintaining important programs like special education and Title I,” said Rounds. “We are discussing this legislation with Secretary McMahon, and we believe there is a very good path forward.”
Earlier this month, the Trump administration slashed ED’s workforce by nearly half (over 1,300 staffers). Thursday’s executive order will further reduce the remaining 2,200 employees.
Although Trump’s order does not close ED totally, Mayes claimed the executive order was “illegal.”
“The Department of Education cannot be dismantled via executive order,” said Mayes. “This chaos is not about efficiency — it’s destruction.”
Another day, another illegal action by the Trump administration. The Department of Education cannot be dismantled via executive order. This chaos is not about efficiency — it’s destruction. https://t.co/GRse4zJ096
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) March 20, 2025
Governor Katie Hobbs said Arizona stands to lose $1 billion in federal funds for certain programs, like special education, with the dismantling of ED.
Arizona could lose nearly $1 billion in vital education funding if the U.S. Department of Education is dismantled. This funding supports low-income schools, special education, Tribal and rural communities, and programs like FAFSA & Pell Grants. As Governor, I will do everything…
Senator Mark Kelly rejected Republican predictions of ED’s abolition leading to better schools and student outcomes.
“It will further undermine public schools, making it harder for kids from working families like mine or who need a little extra help to get a good education,” said Kelly.
I’m the proud product of a good public school education.
Getting rid of the Department of Education won’t improve schools or help kids in Arizona get ahead.
It will further undermine public schools, making it harder for kids from working families like mine or who need a little… https://t.co/f69s11Rebo
Senator Ruben Gallego claimed Trump was abolishing ED to enrich “his billionaire friends” and reduce school funding.
“He wants fewer resources for teachers and fewer opportunities for our kids — just so his billionaire friends can get richer,” said Gallego.
Donald Trump just gave the order to dismantle the Department of Education. He wants fewer resources for teachers and fewer opportunities for our kids—just so his billionaire friends can get richer.
— Senator Ruben Gallego (@SenRubenGallego) March 20, 2025
Rep. Eli Crane called the continuance of ED an “insanity,” referencing the decades-long decline of student outcomes.
“Thank you to President Trump for having the courage to do this,” said Crane.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
The Department of Education has failed our nation's students for decades. It's time to chart a new path.
Rep. Andy Biggs also touched on the disparity of high funding and low outcomes. Biggs said Trump was right to be “returning power” to Arizona and its parents.
“Taxpayer funding for public schools is at an all-time high, but test scores are at an all-time low,” said Biggs. “The radical Biden-Harris regime weaponized the Department of Education against their opponents.”
Taxpayer funding for public schools is at an all-time high, but test scores are at an all-time low.
The radical Biden-Harris regime weaponized the Department of Education against their opponents.
President Trump is rightfully returning power to the States and parents. https://t.co/Svw5fLSa9B
Rep. Yassamin Ansari predicted that children would be forced out of schools, teachers would be fired, and special education services would cease.
“This reckless and irrational move will devastate our future — all to give tax breaks to billionaires at the expense of our kids,” said Ansari. “We’re going to fight this illegal EO with every tool we have.”
With the support of Republicans in Congress, Donald Trump just followed through on his plan to gut the Department of Education.
This means kids kicked out of kindergarten, special education slashed, and teachers fired. This reckless and irrational move will devastate our future…
— Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (@RepYassAnsari) March 20, 2025
Rep. Greg Stanton called the order “a direct attack on Arizona kids,” and asserted it was illegal.
Trump's executive order to eliminate the Department of Education is a direct attack on Arizona kids. pic.twitter.com/tONhDthSXr
Senate President Warren Petersen reposted remarks made by Secretary McMahon to Fox News. McMahon echoed Trump’s questioning why federal education spending only continues to increase while outcomes have decreased.
“We have to let teachers teach. I have such respect for teachers. I think it is the most noble profession in the world, and I have seen what can happen when teachers are allowed to teach and be innovative and creative in our classrooms,” said McMahon. “For every dollar that goes into the school system, it’s been reported to me that almost 47 cents of that dollar is spent on regulatory compliance. Teachers they don’t want to stay, they’re leaving the profession, because they’re bogged down by regulation. Let’s lift that burden and let them do what they do best, which is teach.”
Let the states tailor education to local communities—and get results.
Let parents choose the best educational fit for their children.
America is now drowning in $36 trillion in federal debt.
While past efforts to reform our nation’s finances have failed, Washington, D.C. will have a new sheriff in town after Jan. 20, leading a posse with plans to take the bold steps necessary to clean up our fiscal mess. To achieve different results compared to past efforts will require Republican unity.
Thankfully, President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to restore America’s economic stability has close allies in Congress. In an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, Republican Kentucky Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, outlined his new Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“I don’t think there’s going to be any shortage of waste, fraud and abuse for that subcommittee to investigate,” Comer said.
Comer said DOGE will find healthcare savings, through reducing Medicare fraud and reforming areas like pharmaceutical patents and pharmacy benefit managers.
“One of the things I would encourage those to do — in this administration and Pam Bondi — we need to encourage our U.S. attorneys to focus more on Medicare and Medicaid fraud,” Comer said. “It’s not a priority for a lot of jurisdictions, and that’s something that needs to be a priority.”
Comer said Congress will adopt DOGE cuts through a legislative process known as “reconciliation” that doesn’t require a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
“You’ve got to do it on reconciliation, because you’ll never get 60 votes,” Comer said. “Democrats don’t want to cut anything, right? Nothing.”
Comer’s DOGE bears a similar name to Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump’s DOGE has set its own deadline at July 4, 2026 (America’s 150th birthday). Comer said he plans to keep his DOGE subcommittee throughout the entire 119th Congress, which ends in January 2027.
Ramaswamy told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo that DOGE is “the greatest effort to downsize government in our lifetime” and that, “We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright.”
Comer said the Department of Education is a prime example of a duplicative federal bureaucracy that has outlived its usefulness.
He said it is duplicative because each state has its own Education Department. Comer said it’s better to cut out the middleman and send federal education funding directly to the states in the form of block grants. Federal student loans can be administered by the Treasury Department.
Comer said he would love to bring Democrats on board, but he is no Pollyanna.
“I have yet to meet a Democrat in Congress that’s concerned about $36 trillion debt, that’s concerned about Social Security running out of money,” Comer said. “There may be one, but I haven’t met them or they’re very secretive on their opinions.”
This can’t wait any longer.
Our debt-to-GDP ratio, e.g. the size of our debt compared to our productive economy, was less than 31 percent in 1980, growing to nearly 57 percent by 2000 and mushrooming to 120 percent today, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. This is unsustainable and will bankrupt America’s future.
Conservatives have a golden opportunity to create a generational shift in America’s fiscal future. The only way these massive spending reforms will take place is if Republicans remain unified.
During Trump’s “off-season,” he garnered a fairly successful track record in primarying squishier Republicans who would be far less likely to use the political muscle we need to stop our fiscal drift. Comer is confident that Trump’s cost-saving agenda will pass, thanks to GOP unity.
“Obviously, I can only speak for the House,” Comer said. “We can get, I think, just about everything they want, passed out of the House.”
We’ve become awash in feckless spending, unmoored by excessive COVID-19 stimulus packages (riddled with fraud), followed by more in Green New Deal scams and pet project giveaways.
Trump and congressional Republicans earned a powerful mandate to rein in government spending, which will also lower inflation. It’s what the American people desire and deserve.
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 Politico coverage gauging university presidents’ sentiments toward another Trump administration, Crow voiced a desire for an ED overhaul. Crow made the remarks during the annual Higher Education-News Media Dinner-Discussion at the University of Pennsylvania Club of New York City (Penn Club), which he hosted.
Crow said that ED student loans largely prove to be a waste of taxpayer dollars, since a majority of recipients don’t graduate.
“The Department of Education is a mismatch of bank feeds that have been cobbled together over 50 years of congressional history or more,” said Crow. “If you look at the United States and our success, we have almost three quarters of a trillion dollars being spent on Pell Grants in the last few decades, and more than half of those individuals have never graduated from college.”
Crow went on to say that the federal student loans weren’t having their intended effects — more citizens with a higher education that, in all likelihood, would strengthen the economy, depress poverty, spur innovation, and raise the education level (and welfare) of subsequent generations — since most borrowers weren’t getting their degrees.
“Most of the people that have loans supported by the government of the United States have no diplomas, no certificates, no degrees of any kind,” said Crow. “Clearly, something is not yet perfected and so what we need is new designs, new models, new ways of doing things.”
Trump vowed to abolish ED in a campaign promise made last year. The proposal was released as part of his “Agenda47” platform outlining his plan for his second and nonconsecutive term.
In his campaign promise, Trump said he would revert education authority and responsibilities to the states entirely. The president-elect explained the low education outcomes weren’t worth the high rates of federal spending and bureaucracy.
“And one other thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington D.C. and sending all education and education work and needs back to the States. We want them to run the education of our children, because they’ll do a much better job of it. You can’t do worse. We spend more money per pupil, by three times, than any other nation. And yet we’re absolutely at the bottom. We’re one of the worst. So you can’t do worse. We’re going to end education coming out of Washington D.C. We’re going to close it up — all those buildings all over the place and yet people that in many cases hate our children. We’re going to send it all back to the States.”
Under the late Democratic president Jimmy Carter, the U.S. founded the ED in 1980 through legislation splitting the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare into two: ED, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
ED received about four percent of the fiscal year 2024 budget, and its budget sits at around $240 billion. ED provides over $150 billion in new and consolidated loans annually.
ED has the smallest staff of the 15 Cabinet agencies, consisting of about 4,400 employees.
Those employees are split among 17 offices within the department: Federal Student Aid; Institute of Education Services; Office of the Chief Information Officer; Office of Communications and Outreach; Office for Civil Rights; Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education; Office of the Deputy Secretary; Office of English Language Acquisition; Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; Office of Finance and Operations; Office of the General Counsel; Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs; Office of Postsecondary Education; Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development; Office of the Secretary; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; and Office of the Under Secretary.
South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds introduced a bill to abolish ED, the Returning Education to Our States Act. The bill proposed to shift certain programs to other departments.
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Arizona’s Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction is sounding the alarm about the state’s dwindling pool of teachers.
Earlier this month, Arizona’s school’s chief, Tom Horne, announced the results of a teacher retention survey “that shows alarming numbers pointing to a crisis in the teaching profession.”
According to the release from the Arizona Department of Education, “A survey of nearly 1,000 teachers who left the profession after 2023 shows large numbers of educators left because of lack of administrative support for classroom discipline and a desire for better pay. Teachers are leaving the profession within the first few years of teaching at an alarming rate, and there are more teachers leaving than are coming into the classroom. If this were to continue, we would ultimately end up with no teachers.”
Horne said, “This is a crisis, and it needs to be addressed immediately. In the most recent legislative session, I urged the passage of a bill that would require school leaders to support classroom teachers in discipline matters. Sadly, it did not get passed by the legislature and the crisis will not only persist but will just get worse.”
He added, “I have also consistently advocated for higher teacher pay, and yet legislative efforts have been rebuffed because of political disputes that do nothing to help improve the salaries of teachers. In short, just about any classroom teacher can tell you what they need to thrive as educators and lead students to academic excellence. Better pay and robust support from administrators on discipline are vital.”
The survey from the department collected responses from 945 Arizona teachers. Per the press release, “about 67 percent cited low pay. Nearly 64 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they left teaching because of student behavior and discipline problems. Almost 47 percent said they were dissatisfied with their administration and just over 45 percent were unhappy with working conditions.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
