Newsrooms: There is a correction to this release. The email is [email protected]. The previous release contained a typo.

For immediate release: November 14, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne announces Department of Education's Arts Supply Grant

Money available for “consumables” such as sheet music, paint, theatre props and more

PHOENIX - State schools Superintendent Tom Horne has announced a $10 million grant for public schools to purchase art supplies through the Arts Consumable Grant. These funds will provide successful district and charter school applicants with $1,000 per full time arts teacher to purchase arts consumables such as paints, brushes, sheet music, dance props, theatrical costumes, and much more. These materials will not only enhance the learning environment but also inspire students to explore their artistic talents and discover new passions.

Horne said, “I am a passionate supporter of arts education; it is an essential part of any successful school. There are studies that show learning how to play stringed instruments helps students do better in math, so there are both aesthetic and academic benefits to arts education. I am pleased to encourage schools to apply for these funds to support arts education throughout Arizona.”

All district and charter schools throughout Arizona are eligible to apply for this grant opportunity. The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2023.

For more information: [email protected]

# # #

For immediate release: November 9, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne warns schools to avoid antisemitic and anti-American UNICEF and Amnesty International materials

Organizations’ materials used at a recent Arizona high school student club event, making Jewish students feel unsafe

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has denounced antisemitic and anti-American materials provided by UNICEF and Amnesty International at a high school club event that made Jewish students feel unsafe.

Horne has also communicated to all district superintendents throughout Arizona urging them to “keep amnesty international and UNICEF, and their literature, off of your campuses. They generate antisemitism among impressionable young people.”

The Department of Education was recently contacted by several community members who had learned of antisemitic and anti-American materials being presented a lunchtime student club sponsored by those organizations last Thursday at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale.

Horne stated, “The materials presented to these students were profoundly antisemitic in particular and anti-American in general, in nature. Some of the material states that ‘Palestinians have been subject to killings, torture, rape, abuse, and more for over 75 years.’ This is a ‘blood libel’ similar to the blood libels used in the Middle Ages to get people to go out and kill random Jewish people.”

He added, “In none of this propaganda is there any reference to what happened on October 7. The fact that 1400 civilians were murdered does not begin to describe to horror of what Hamas did. They went house to house in the neighborhoods, machine gunning entire families, and sometimes killing fathers in front of their children and children in front of their fathers. They copied the Nazi technique of setting fire to houses so that people would burn to death, or if they came out of the fire house, killed them upon their exit. The actions of Hamas are a repetition of what happened during World War II. Yet the materials make no mention of October 7.”

Horne concluded, “Jewish students reported feeling unsafe because of the antisemitism among other students generated by these presentations. We all belong to a minority group of one kind or another. If Jewish people – and Americans in general -- can be targeted by UNICEF and Amnesty International, who is next?”

The full text of Horne’s email and copies of the materials presented at the meeting are attached.

# # #

For immediate release: October 23, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Newsrooms: Charts with data are attached.

Horne debuts new data analysis at State Board of Education meeting proving English immersion is superior to dual language

Proficiency rates soar with immersion method

PHOENIX – State schools superintendent Tom Horne revealed a new data analysis at today’s State Board of Education meeting that conclusively demonstrates that structured English immersion is far superior for the academic success of students as opposed to dual language.

Horne stated, “In 2000, the voters overwhelmingly passed an initiative to require structured English immersion, not bilingual education for English Language Learners. When I took office in 2003, my predecessors had not enforced that initiative. I was the first one to do so. We just completed current analysis comparing the five dual language schools with the best scores to the five structured English immersion schools. Both historic and current data demonstrate that structured English immersion is far superior for the academic performance of students as compared to dual language.”

He continued, “Lisa Graham Keegan, who was schools chief from 1995 to 2001 had reported to the legislature that, under bilingual education, only 4 percent of students became proficient in English in one year. After I had an opportunity to implement structured English immersion and teachers were trained in its implementation, the rate of proficiency in one year soared to 31 percent for the three-year average room from 2008 to 2011. “

Horne added, “Chart two in this analysis compares the five top English immersion schools in blue with a five top dual language schools in orange. One compares the top structured English immersion school on the right side with the top dual language school on the right side of the orange bars, the second highest on the right, with the second highest in orange, and so on. Generally speaking, the structured English immersion schools perform approximately three times better than the dual language schools.”

He concluded: “For people whose focus is on the academic performance of students, and who studied the data, it is clear that structured English version is vastly superior to dual language. Those advocating dual language are focused an ideology, rather than what is academically best for students.”

# # #

For immediate release: October 18, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne: Creative solution means school safety program can place officers on campuses despite pervasive officer shortage

Program brings in off-duty officers to schools in 11 counties

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne is unveiling a new program that will make it possible for every available campus law enforcement officer position to be filled, despite ongoing shortages of officers in many communities. As a result, more positions in the already-funded School Safety Program will be filled with armed law enforcement officers with no new funding required.

The department has contracted with Off Duty Management (ODM), a company that schedules off-duty officers to serve as campus School Safety Officers at multiple schools in 11 Arizona counties as part of Horne’s goal to make sure students, educators and staff are protected by armed and uniformed officers. The officers may come from participating police agencies outside of their normal service area. For example, a Peoria officer may be assigned a school located in Phoenix.

Horne said, “The problem of finding officers to fill these funded school safety positions has been solved and it is vital that schools have armed officers on campus to prevent a tragedy should a maniac try to shoot up a school. Since taking office in January of this year, I have overseen the funding for 301 officers under the School Safety Program. Today, pending the approval of districts, we can begin to fill those positions and bring as many as 138 School Safety Officers (SSO) to campuses in 11 Arizona counties because of our initiative to work with ODM, a company that specializes in finding off-duty officers and assigning them to campus safety duties.”

He added, “Using ODM means an off-duty officer from one jurisdiction can be assigned to a school that is within the jurisdiction of another law enforcement agency. With this innovation, an officer can be provided to a school even if the community where that school is located has a shortage of its own officers. Cross-jurisdictional sharing of resources makes perfect sense to use this strategy to protect children in schools.”

Among the components of this model are:

• The SSO model will be used in schools that do not have a dedicated School Resource Officer (SRO). The SSO shall perform the same duties as an SRO.
• The SSO shall work with school personnel to conduct site assessments of their respective schools and provide recommendations to reinforce a safe school environment.
• The SSO shall work with school staff and other appropriate personnel to ensure their assigned school has an updated Emergency Response Plan.
• Foster Partnerships with students, school staff, and parents to build meaningful relationships with law enforcement.
• ADE will provide 8 hours of asynchronous training within 60 days of joining the program. Work hours will be established by participating schools and it is expected that SSOs will be on campus for the entirety of their shift.

# # #

For immediate release: October 12, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne announces creation of public-private Arizona Education Economic Commission

Group will address workforce development in critical areas including chip manufacturing, health care, law enforcement, many others

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has joined forces with the private sector and representatives from the governments of Switzerland, Taiwan, and the Navajo Nation to create the Arizona Education Economic Commission, a collaboration between education and industry to encourage the development of workforce and economic opportunities for Arizona’s students.

Developed by the Arizona Department of Education, the Commission is a public-private partnership led by the private sector and includes representation from multiple disciplines including computer and related technologies as typified by the TSMC facility under construction in north Phoenix, manufacturing, health care, law enforcement and fire sciences, mining, aerospace, and other private sector entities central to Arizona’s economy.

The core mission of the Commission is to address the shortage of skilled workers in strategic industries and to give students and adults a pathway to valuable careers. Ensuring students have the academic skills needed to perform in the economy is top priority of Superintendent Horne.

Horne stated, “My obsession is to make sure that Arizona’s public school students are academically prepared to succeed in our economy, and the Arizona Education Economic Commission is critical to achieving that goal. It is especially important that as students begin to develop their career aspirations that the education system encourages and nurtures those goals. The advantages for students are tremendous. For example, the starting salary for a high school graduate working at the TSMC operation after an apprenticeship will be $ 70,000.”

He added, “The private sector desperately needs more skilled workers across all industries and creating this Commission with its goal of producing skilled graduates, creating jobs and driving economic growth is essential to meet those needs.”

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Director General Amino C.Y. Chi said, “I extend my deep gratitude to esteemed Arizona State Government and your Commission for cherishing our partnership and friendship. We believe this Commission will bring a lot of benefits to your esteemed state whether in industry or education system and Taiwan Government and my office, the Education Division, will put efforts as much as possible to cooperate with your esteemed state government.”

He added, “As a Founding member for the Arizona Education Economic Commission, you may be aware that Taiwan is very well known for its innovation, technology and vocational education, thus I am confident that our two sides can launch many possibilities to mutually benefit each other in the near future.”

The Honorable Jacques Pitteloud - Swiss Ambassador to the United States said, “Dear friends in Arizona, what a great initiative to create the Arizona Education Economic Commission. Switzerland is honored to serve as a Founding Member to this worthy and ambitious Commission. An exemplary model in Arizona and hopefully an inspiration to many other U.S. states to prepare tomorrows workforce and ensure economic growth with vision. I congratulate you on the creation of the Arizona Education Economic Commission.”

The AEEC will build scalable work-based learning and apprenticeship frameworks that will build on the natural relationship between Career and Technical Education and the private sector. It will utilize a results-based process guided by proven global best practices and driven by an international team of educational leaders and key industry executives. Initiatives from this Commission will help create and keep jobs in both metro regions and greater Arizona.

For more information: azed.gov

# # #

For immediate release: October 11, 2023
Contact: [email protected] (Horne)
[email protected] (Petersen)
[email protected] (Toma)
 

Superintendent Horne, Senate President Petersen and Speaker Toma issue response to Governor’s recent claims about Empowerment Scholarship Account costs

PHOENIX – Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, Senate President Warren Petersen and Speaker Ben Toma have issued the following joint statement in response to Governor Hobbs’ recent claims regarding the costs of the Empowerment Scholarship Account program.

Superintendent Horne stated, “The Governor’s calculation is in error. She is counting the $7,200 paid for each ESA student without offsetting the $13,000 paid per student that would otherwise be spent for that student to attend a public school. The overall numbers bear this out as the expenditures for all public school spending, including the ESA program are $72 million below budget.”

Senate President Petersen said, “Arizona families want choices for their children's education. ESAs are one of many choices the Legislature is prioritizing. The fact is, we budgeted for the 68,000 kids currently enrolled and have responsibly planned for incremental spending increases for this program in the years to come, as we do with a variety of other programs in our overall budget. We're always open to improving our state’s programs, but for the sake of Arizona families who want to choose the best educational settings to meet their children’s needs, ESAs are here to stay.”

He added, “Unfortunately, the immediate crisis negatively impacting our budget is the skyrocketing inflation caused by reckless policies being pushed by Democrats at the federal level. This is crushing Arizonans’ ability to have discretionary income. As a result, many of our citizens are struggling to pay for basic necessities, they’re spending much less, and now our state is limited in the tax revenues we’re able to generate. We will evaluate ways to cut spending to accommodate any budget shortfall, but our school choice program will not be on the chopping block.”

Speaker Toma stated, "Governor Hobbs continues to blast the ESA program as unsustainable and exceeding estimates. Neither are true. We remind the Governor that she leads the entire state of Arizona, and if she seeks changes to the ESA program, she ought to propose serious policies, not tweet vague threats. The State Legislature has yet to see any policy proposals from her office. Arizona will continue to responsibly fund students, not systems."

###

For immediate release: September 19, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne applauds four Arizona “Blue Ribbon Schools”
Recognition from U.S. Department of Education

PHOENIX – Four Arizona public schools have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education, also earning praise from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.

The recognition is based on overall academic performance or progress in closing student achievement gaps.

The schools are:

• Gilbert – Neely Traditional Academy, Gilbert Public Schools.
• Phoenix – Fireside Elementary School, Paradise Valley Unified School District.
• Tucson – Senita Valley Elementary School, Vail School District.
• Tucson – Sunrise Drive Elementary School, Catalina Foothills Unified District.

Horne said, “These schools can be justifiably proud of this accomplishment because it is based on academic excellence. My top priority as Superintendent is for continuous improvement in academic achievement, and Blue Ribbon Schools demonstrate that when schools lead students into challenging themselves, they will soar academically.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, it recognizes all schools in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

• Exemplary High-Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.  
• Exemplary Achievement Gap-Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students. Nominated schools also complete an extensive narrative application describing their school culture and philosophy, curriculum, assessments, instructional practices, professional development, leadership structures, and parent and community involvement. 

For immediate release: September 15, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Free state tutoring program web page now active

Detailed information regarding Achievement Tutoring Program

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Education has activated the Achievement Tutoring Program web page so parents of students in grades 3-8 who are not proficient in reading, writing or math can access free tutoring.

State schools chief Tom Horne announced last week that $40 million in federal funding designated to address pandemic-related learning loss is being made available to pay for the tutoring, which will be accessible through participating public school teachers or private vendors beginning October 2.

Students are eligible if they test below proficiency levels in reading, writing or math and are in grades 3-8. Since the federal dollars are specifically designed to address pandemic-related learning loss, children who were not of school age during the pandemic are not eligible.

The website contains frequently asked questions and basic information on how to access tutoring services. It can be accessed at azed.gov.

# # #

For immediate release: September 14, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne oversees effort to bring learning tablets to Navajo Nation
Ganado district pilot program for 300 devices

Newsrooms: For broadcast-quality b-roll of students receiving these pads in Ganado, please click here: https://youtu.be/l67a7CZQxT8?si=gwbdDnAII6cn_LAs

GANADO – Approximately 300 portable tablet devices have been delivered to students in the Ganado Unified School District on the Navajo Nation as result of a public-private partnership overseen by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne in cooperation with the non-profit organization My Life My Power and Smart Class Arizona founder Paola Tulliani Zen.

Horne said, “These devices are a valuable tool for these students and address a significant need for Navajo children. Sadly, the average proficiency rate in math and science for Navajo children is five percent, which is scandalously low. Children who are performing that poorly in the classroom have almost no chance of succeeding in our economy and this kind of technology will create new ways for them to improve academically.”

He added, “The tablets are already loaded with the materials the students need to study reading and math without any need for an internet connection. More than 90 percent of tribal communities in Arizona lack broadband internet service, so having preloaded tablets is an essential method to get vital educational resources to these students.”

The tablets were purchased by My Life My Power, a 501(c)3 Non-Profit that serves youth facing hardships and challenges. The Arizona Department of Education partnered with that organization and Smart Class Arizona to distribute them to the Ganado district at no cost to the public.

Tulliani Zen added, “We must transform schools with technology, making children ready for their future. We plan to implement pilot programs like the one in Ganado to demonstrate an increase in learning capacity among students provided with these fun, innovative learning pads.”

# # #

For immediate release: September 11, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne refutes Governor’s false allegations over management of federal grant money

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has sent a letter to Governor Katie Hobbs refuting her criticisms of the Department of Education’s management of the federal Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) program.

September 11 , 2023

Governor Katie Hobbs
1700 W. Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Governor Hobbs,

Last week, I publicized a quick response to a public letter from you criticizing me regarding the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) program. At that time, I promised a more detailed refutation. This is that detailed refutation.

As you are no doubt aware, Section B-5 of the United State Department of Education's official guidance for the EANS funds states: "By accepting an EANS award from the Department, a Governor automatically designates the SEA (State Education Agency, in this case the Arizona Department of Education) to administer the EANS program. The SEA will be the payee or fiscal agent in G5 for purposes of accessing Federal funds on the date of award." (emphasis added)

On April 17th of this year, the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budget (OSPB) wrote a letter to our department's Chief Financial Officer demanding that $22 million of non-obligated funds be reverted from the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to the Governor's Office. We initiated a process with OSPB to establish a contract which would follow USDOE guidance but would give you decision making power over the $22 million.

This also shows a fundamental ignorance by OSPB of the federal guidance. OSPB demanded that we revert funds. As the designated federal fiscal agent, ADE does not have physical possession of funds to revert. Rather, the money is held by the U.S. Treasury and when a grantee is awarded funding, ADE, as the federally designated fiscal agent, passes that money ultimately to the grantee.

Our office has been in consistent communications with OSPB since April, five full months, to collaborate on the best way to ensure these monies are spent in accordance with the law and to avoid reversion of funds to the federal government.

In your letter you stated, "As suggested by USDOE, the easiest method of collaboration is a simple written agreement between our Offices that will enable OSPB to disburse funds to ADE for disbursement to its non-public school grantees ... " If OSPB were dispersing funds to ADE, then OSPB would be the fiscal agent. But the above quoted guidance specifically says that ADE has to be the fiscal agent.

We proposed that simple agreement to you on June 12th. If you had agreed, you would have control over these funds now. You still would have had decision-making power for the $22 million of undisbursed money but the process would have been legal. Your proposal was not legal.

We proposed the solution on June 12th, but you responded that it was in violation of federal law. That was the exact opposite of the truth. We were following the above quoted guidance, and you would have been violating the above referenced guidance. Your statement that our proposal would violate federal law was a false statement. And there was no reason for you to argue about that because you still would have been given the decision-making power over the $22 million.

The Arizona Department of Education is prepared to act as the designated fiscal agent, and this process would not have had one minute of delay had your OSPB staff not erroneously insisted in July of this year that our draft lnteragency Service Agreement was out of compliance with federal law. In fact, it was your proposal that was out of compliance, and our proposal that was in compliance, as any reader can see by looking at the above quoted guidance from the federal government.

If you produce something in writing from the federal government that says that your proposal will be acceptable to them, we will gladly agree to it. In that case, it will be your responsibility to administer the program, and we can wash our hands of it. Alternatively, you can accept our proposal to make the transaction legal and you will still have decision-making power over the $22 million.

There is no reason that a meeting between our staffs could not have worked this out. There is no earthly reason for you to have publicized a personal attack on me over this technical issue that could have been resolved by a meeting of our staffs.

Sincerely,

Tom Horne
State Superintendent of Public Instruction