by Corinne Murdock | Aug 20, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Governor Doug Ducey’s program offering up to $7,000 in grants for low-income K-12 parents wanting to relocate their students due to their current school’s COVID-19 protocols began Friday. Eligible families have a total household income at or below 350 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, and show proof that their current school has COVID constraints, including: mask mandates, quarantines, vaccine mandates, or discrimination based on vaccination status. The grant funds may be used for a variety of education-related expenses beyond tuition like transportation, online tutoring, and even child care.
Ducey announced the $7,000 booster on Tuesday. The governor’s office cited Yale University research that found COVID-based school closures disproportionately harm low-income students. More affluent students reportedly didn’t exhibit any significant impairments.
“We are committed to keeping all Arizona kids on track, closing the achievement gap and equipping underserved students and families with the tools they need to thrive,” said Ducey. “Our COVID-19 Educational Recovery Benefit will empower parents to exercise their choice when it comes to their child’s education and COVID-19 mitigation strategies. It will also give families in need the opportunity to access educational resources like tutoring, child care, transportation and other needs. We know that historically disadvantaged communities bear the brunt of excessive and overbearing measures, and we want to ensure these students are protected.”
Parents interested in learning more about these grants can review or apply for the program here. Applicants are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
These grants were just one of three plans increasing education funding that the governor introduced Tuesday.
Another plan that Ducey announced was $163 million in grant funding for district and charter schools that remain open all year. Ducey explained that the goal of this funding incentive is to increase funding to $1,800 per student.
The third plan Ducey issued offers up nearly $65 million to a variety of learning programs across all education levels: K-12 literacy, adult education, and teacher professional development. Like the plan offering up to $7,000 per student for low-income families, $3.5 million of these funds will help launch 50 new micro-schools: an alternative learning model to public and private schools for low-income families.
AZ Free News inquired with State Representative Michelle Udall (R-Mesa), the House Education Committee Chair, about this latest in education funds for parents. Udall didn’t respond by press time.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by AZ Free News | Aug 19, 2021 | Education, News
On Thursday, Holocaust survivors, students, lawmakers and educators joined Governor Doug Ducey as he signed legislation strengthening instruction about the Holocaust and other genocides in Arizona’s schools. House Bill 2241, sponsored by Rep. Alma Hernandez, requires young Arizonans to learn the enduring lessons of the Holocaust and the tragic consequences of religious and racial intolerance.
“Arizona has long been a leader on civics education, but it’s clear we need to extend our curriculum to more closely cover the horrors of the Holocaust,” said Governor Ducey. “This bill is a step in the right direction but our work is far from over. Antisemitism and other forms of hate are real, and we must do more to make sure this never, ever happens again. My thanks to Representative Alma Hernandez for leading this effort, along with Speaker Bowers and all of the survivors who have dedicated their lives to spreading awareness.”
Governor Ducey was joined by Senate President Karen Fann, House Speaker Rusty Bowers, legislators, Holocaust survivors, members of Arizona’s Jewish community, Holocaust education advocates and students at the Arizona State Capitol for the ceremonial signing.
“I can’t begin to express how proud I am to see this important legislation get signed,” said Representative Hernandez. “Thank you to the Holocaust survivors, advocates, students and community leaders who supported House Bill 2241. This is a big win for not only Arizona’s Jewish community, but for the future of our state. My thanks also goes to Governor Ducey for his continued support in our efforts to reject antisemitism and expand Holocaust education.”
According to a Pew Research Center study conducted in 2019, fewer than half of respondents could correctly answer multiple-choice questions about the number of Jewish individuals who were murdered during the Holocaust or the way that Adolf Hitler came to power.
“This important bill will strengthen our youth’s understanding of a dark time in history,” said Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers. “I’m grateful to Representative Hernandez for her effort in leading this bill in the legislature. It was an honor to work with my colleagues to get this done, and I’m grateful to Governor Ducey for signing this bill into law.”
Antisemitism has been on the rise in recent years with 18 incidents in Arizona already this year. Last year there were more than 2,000 incidents of antisemitism around the country and 23 incidents in Arizona, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
“These antisemitic acts are disgraceful and unacceptable, and we’re going to do everything we can to ensure Arizonans of the Jewish faith are treated with respect, dignity and humanity,” the Governor said during the signing ceremony.
by Terri Jo Neff | Aug 18, 2021 | Education, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Starting this Friday, low-income families with K-12 students will be able to apply online for up to $7,000 in immediate relief to support educational opportunities which will close the achievement gap and better equip underserved students.
Gov. Doug Ducey announced Tuesday an initial $10 million investment for Arizona’s COVID-19 Educational Recovery Benefit program. The funding – on a first come, first serve basis – will provide choice for families facing financial and educational barriers due to unnecessary closures and school mandates which do not comply with state law.
“Our COVID-19 Educational Recovery Benefit will empower parents to exercise their choice when it comes to their child’s education and COVID-19 mitigation strategies,” Ducey said. “It will also give families in need the opportunity to access educational resources like tutoring, child care, transportation and other needs.”
According to the governor’s office, Ducey has been working for weeks to create an additional program to provide more education options for families.
Eligible families can have a total household income up to 350 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. In addition, applicants must demonstrate the student’s current school is isolating, quarantining, or subjecting children to physical in-school COVID-19 constraints such as mask mandates or preferential treatment of vaccinated students.
“We know that historically disadvantaged communities bear the brunt of excessive and overbearing measures, and we want to ensure these students are protected,” Ducey said.
The COVID-19 Educational Recovery Benefit program has the full support of Senate President Karen Fann and House Speaker Rusty Bowers.
“Educators, families and state leaders are working hard to get students back on track, and the Educational Recovery Benefit program will make sure kids have every opportunity to grow and thrive,” said Fann.
Bowers noted the desire to keep children “safe, healthy, and achieving” during the pandemic, adding that with the new program, “we can do it all at the same time.”
Grant applications can be submitted starting Friday. Additional information is available at https://arizonatogether.org/educationalrecoverybenefit/
by AZ Free News | Aug 14, 2021 | News
Today, Governor Doug Ducey is recognizing National Navajo Code Talkers Day, now an official state holiday, to honor the Navajo Code Talkers who answered the call to protect our nation.
“Arizona is proud and grateful for the incredible work of the Code Talkers,” Governor Ducey said in the video. “Their bravery and ingenuity was instrumental in helping the Allied Forces claim victory in World War II.”
Navajo Code Talkers Day celebrates the selfless sacrifice of these brave men, including Arizona’s remaining Code Talkers: Thomas Begay, John Kinsel Jr, Samuel Sandoval and Peter MacDonald.
Governor Ducey on March 29 signed legislation sponsored by Senator Jamescita Peshlakai that makes National Navajo Code Talkers Day a legal state holiday every year on August 14. Under the legislation, if National Navajo Code Talkers Day falls on a day other than Sunday, the Sunday following August 14 is to be observed as the holiday.
The United States government recruited and enlisted more than 400 Navajo men to serve in standard communications units. The Navajo Code Talkers used their unbreakable code to assist in every major operation involving the United States Marines in the Pacific theatre, including during the battle of Iwo Jima where they successfully transmitted more than 800 messages without error.
Navajo Code Talkers Day was established through a presidential proclamation by President Ronald Reagan on August 14, 1982. In 2014, Arizona passed legislation declaring every August 14 Navajo Code Talkers Day in Arizona.
Governor Ducey has issued five proclamations to honor the Code Talkers since 2017.
by Corinne Murdock | Aug 12, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
25 Arizona House and Senate Republicans led by freshman State Representative Jake Hoffman (R-Phoenix) called for Governor Doug Ducey to do something about the school districts defying state law with their mask mandates. The news release on Wednesday revealed that Republican legislators have urged Ducey privately to take action, to no avail. This public statement appears to be their next step in convincing Ducey to enforce the law.
It’s been over a week since the first school district called a mask mandate: Phoenix Union High School (PXU). Other schools followed suit soon after: most recently, Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD). Ducey hasn’t taken action – though his spokespersons have relayed Ducey’s finger-wagging statements of disapproval in response to those school districts.
The legislators proposed that Ducey respond to the districts’ actions by withholding federal funding, authorizing temporary Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) for families, inform families of the law, and take legal action.
Hoffman’s statement explained that the ban on mask mandates included a retroactivity clause that puts it in effect – contradicting school districts’ insistence that the law can’t take place until 90 days after the end of the legislative session, per Arizona statute. He noted that the school districts’ behavior undermined lawful government and bordered on anarchy.
“Under Arizona’s constitutional form of government, local governments do not have the authority or power to usurp state law simply because they disagree, yet that is precisely the kind of illegal activity in which many local governments are presently engaged. The Arizona legislature, with the Governor concurring, very intentionally enacted the laws at hand to protect Arizonans and Arizona children from the threat of government mandating them to wear a mask or be injected with a vaccine,” wrote Hoffman. “A resounding message must be delivered to any local government or subdivision of the state considering defying state law – lawlessness will not be tolerated.”
https://twitter.com/AZHouseGOP/status/1425545781558218754
House Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham (R-Gilbert) signed onto the statement admonishing Ducey. He told AZ Free News that he also supports law enforcement stepping in to enforce the law. Grantham hinted that this debacle sparked a legislative priority for next year – adding more teeth to legislation.
“It’s unfortunate that some of our government-funded schools have chosen to blatantly ignore state law and the will of the majority of Arizonans by instituting mandates regarding students wearing face coverings,” relayed Grantham. “I support executive action by the governor to include withholding of taxpayer dollars and expansion of school choice funding options giving more educational choices to parents. I also support any efforts by law enforcement to enforce state law and I encourage parents and teachers to follow state law when sending their children to school and when on school grounds. Next year I will make it a focus to hold those who violate state law accountable and ensure appropriate funding reductions are in place for districts that purposely violate the law.”
State Representative Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale) also signed onto the statement. He reiterated to AZ Free News that disagreement with the law isn’t justification for violation of it. Chaplik wrote the legislation that effectively banned mask mandates in schools. He, too, asserted that the power to act is in Ducey’s hands.
“Just because some don’t agree with policy and law, we should not disrespect and violate it while also teaching children these illegal tactics,” said Chaplik. “We passed this policy due to the inconsistencies of results with mask use and the unknown long term health issues that can impair our children. We need to stop this madness. The legislature did its job and now the executive branch needs to enforce the law.”
As of press time, Grantham and Chaplik said that they haven’t seen or heard any responses from Ducey.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
