PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction and former Attorney General Tom Horne issued the following statement on the passing of former Attorney General Mark Brnovich:

“Mark Brnovich was an outstanding, dedicated public servant and a devoted family man. He will be missed. At one time we were political opponents, but we eventually became friends, for which I am grateful. My hope is that his family finds peace as they mourn this wonderful person.”

High court weighing legal restrictions

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne watched this morning’s U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments regarding transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ sports. The court is considering the constitutionality of laws in two states concerning this issue.

Horne stated, “I watched today’s arguments, and I was struck by the terrible irony that the three liberal female justices made statements that clearly show their hostility toward women’s sports.”

Horne is in court defending a lawsuit challenging Arizona’s law that prohibits biological boys from playing on girls’ teams. That case is still working its way through the courts.

He is also a former Arizona Attorney General who has successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
 

Reaction to State of the State address

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne says today’s reaction by legislative Democrats to Gov. Hobbs’ statements about school choice proves their opposition to parental school choice.

Horne said, “Arizona parents have made it clear they believe in being able to choose the best education for their children, whether districts, charters or Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. By their loud display today, Democrats proved they want to take that power away from mothers and fathers who know their children’s needs best and return education to a government monopoly that parents do not want.”

AZ Appeals Court restores lawsuit against Mesa Unified District

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is cheering a state Court of Appeals ruling that allows parents to sue public schools that fail to inform parents when a child intends to identify as a sex other than the one to which they were born.

Horne said, “Schools are not substitutes for parents and they have zero right to withhold information that parents are entitled to know. Arizona law is very clear on the right of parents and they should be informed when a child expresses a desire to be identified as a sex other than the one to which they were born. The Court of Appeals was unanimous in their decision allowing a lawsuit filed against the Mesa school district by a parent to proceed. I am very pleased that the Court made the correct ruling to defend parental rights and remind schools they should follow the law or risk legal action.”

Work to involve input from educators, other stakeholders

 PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is pleased that the state Board of Education has approved opening the process to review statewide teaching standards to remove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion terms to comply with a federal Executive Order.

Horne stated, “This is an excellent decision by the Board and I’m grateful for their understanding of how important this issue is. The president issued an Executive Order requiring DEI language to be removed from programs funded by federal dollars. It made it abundantly clear that federal education funding is at risk if DEI language remains in education programs. If Arizona does not comply with federal guidance, the state may lose an estimated $866 million to Arizona schools. That is a major funding cut, so starting this process is vital to addressing this situation.”

He added, “There is a philosophical issue at stake too. All people should be judged based on their character and ability, not their race or ethnicity. DEI language and programs promote the exact opposite, and they have no place in the classroom. These terms do not belong in teaching standards, which are meant to direct educators on the most effective ways to teach students' core academics. Every instructional minute is precious, and DEI efforts distract from that essential mission.”

The process will begin in early 2026 with the goal of providing draft material for Board consideration in September of 2026. The working group will build definitions for DEI-related language to determine what language should be revised or removed. The Board also approved language that any changes ensure high pedagogical standards be maintained.

The group will attempt to have representatives from all 15 counties, including teacher representatives from General Education, Special Education, and other educator subgroups. The department will work with key stakeholder groups to gather recommendations for the working group including Higher Education Institutions, County Education Superintendents, Arizona School Administrators, Arizona Rural School Association, Arizona Educators Association and Current Structured English Immersion Course Providers, among others.

Threat to sue ESA over funds use is hypocritical

 PHOENIX – State schools superintendent Tom Horne says Attorney General Kris Mayes’ threat to sue the Department of Education over the operation of the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program is hypocritical since her office has turned down several potential criminal referrals sent by the department.

Horne stated, “The Attorney General says she is investigating the ESA program over misuse of funds, but she knows perfectly well that the department is not misusing funds. Further, she is being hypocritical because we have referred multiple cases to her office for investigation and she has declined to take the cases. We have examples of at least three cases totaling $158,000 that she turned down. These included $14,000 for vaginal probiotics and other lifestyle items, $64,000 for crystals and more than $80,000 for technical items such as laptops. These funds should have been used for children’s educational needs.”

He added, “We have implemented counter-fraud measures. Every ESA purchase over $2,000 is audited before payment and we use risk-based auditing, which is provided in state law, to audit purchases under $2,000. The department has recovered more than $400,000 in funds to date. The Attorney General is well aware of this because we have communicated these and many other facts to her office.”

Horne concluded, “There are two people in this state who are trying to silently kill the ESA program, the Attorney General and Governor. There are families with three children, two of whom are doing fine in public school, but the needs of the third child are not being met. Now parents have the ability to place the child in a school that does meet those needs. I don’t understand how anyone can be opposed to that unless they are so immersed in ideology that they forget about the interests of students, but two such people are the Governor and Attorney General.”

Touts efforts of multiple schools to raise student achievement

PHOENIX – Using proven methods that emphasize rigorous academics in the classroom has pulled 108 schools out of “School Improvement” status this past year, Superintendent Tom Horne announced today. Horne is also celebrating the academic success of other schools that have consistently used programs based on core academic subjects that cause students to excel academically.

School Improvement status is conferred when a school needs to raise its academic performance based on federal student accountability measures. States are required to identify and intervene in the lowest five percent of Title I schools and other schools that consistently underperform. Schools must follow an improvement plan using evidence-based strategies.

Horne said, “The schools we are honoring today have proven that when students are challenged academically and class time is devoted to teaching core subjects like reading and math, test scores will go up, and students will succeed. This is exactly what Project Momentum, which is overseen by my department, is designed to do. When I took office for the third time in 2023, the governor decided not to continue Project Momentum through her office, so I immediately brought it into the Department of Education and funded it. It is a highly effective program that emphasizes academic knowledge and helps educators do the right work to ensure that all students succeed.”

He added, “As an example, the Cesar E. Chavez Community School is one of 108 Arizona schools that have improved to the point that it is no longer in School Improvement” status. I want to applaud the work of its Principal, Christina Chavez, and all the educators, students, staff, and parents who are doing the hard work to improve this school’s performance. Roosevelt district Superintendent Dr. Dani Portillo deserves tremendous credit for her ongoing efforts to emphasize academics and improve performance throughout the district.”

While celebrating the recent success of the school's leaving improvement status, Horne is also recognizing three Phoenix-area charter schools that have reported remarkable proficiency results in math and language scores well above the state average. This counters the incorrect assertion that knowledge is not important because facts can be looked up. The best way to learn is to acquire academic knowledge using core curricula, which Horne has promoted since the 1990s. 

They are:

American Leadership Academy Gilbert South K-6 campus:
Language: 65 percent – Math: 64 percent

Candeo Schools Peoria campus:
Language: 83 percent – Math: 79 percent

Challenge Charter School
Language: 70 percent – Math: 52 percent

In math, the state proficiency average is 31 percent and 40 percent for language arts.

Horne concluded, “These schools are proving that a commitment to making sure every instructional minute is used wisely gets outstanding results for the students. They should be very proud of their lasting commitment to academic excellence.”

Honors academic growth and excellence

PHOENIX – Six Arizona schools have been recognized as Blue Ribbon Schools by state schools superintendent Tom Horne and the Arizona Department of Education today.

The schools receiving honors are Academy of Math and Science in Peoria, Chinle Elementary School in Chinle, Tucson’s Empire High School, the Maricopa Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Saint John Bosco Catholic School of Phoenix and Tempe’s Ward Traditional Academy.

Horne said, “My primary focus as superintendent is on academic excellence, and these schools can be justifiably proud of this accomplishment because it is based on academic success. Students and educators should always work toward continuous improvement in academic achievement, and Blue Ribbon Schools demonstrate that when schools lead students into challenging themselves, they will excel academically.”

The Blue Ribbon School program is now overseen at the state level. It honors schools that have demonstrated academic excellence based on assessment scores or narrowing gaps in student performance by closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students. It has historically been open to public and private K-12 schools since 1982.

More than 1,000 have quit since July – 4,000 vacancies filled temporarily

 PHOENIX – State schools superintendent Tom Horne says a new Arizona Department of Education survey of public schools shows the teacher shortage remains in a catastrophic state. More than 1,000 Arizona teachers quit the profession since July of this year.  In excess of 4,000 teaching positions are vacant and being covered by long-term substitutes or other part-time methods, with almost 1,400 completely unfilled.

Horne said, “This is an intolerable situation and must be addressed immediately. Teachers have been underpaid for years, and they have also been discouraged by a lack of administrative support for classroom discipline. I have consistently advocated higher teacher pay, and when I give my annual state of education speech to the legislature, I urge the passage of a bill that would require school leaders to support classroom teachers in discipline matters. I am hopeful that these will be addressed this year as the deadline approaches for the reauthorization of Proposition 123 that I hope will include money to raise teacher salaries using state land trust funds without a tax increase.”

The survey was conducted in late August to all 629 Arizona districts and charters – with 523 or 83 percent of those in the state - responding. The survey reports that 763 career teachers resigned after July 1 of this year or didn’t report to work, and 292 teachers - for a total of 1,055 - have resigned since the start of the current school year.

It also reveals that just over 4,200 teaching positions remain vacant with about 30 percent being covered by long-term substitutes, nearly 24 percent filled by existing teachers working through preparation or planning time to cover a vacant position and nearly 23 percent covered by agency temporary personnel.

Horne concluded, “This survey is disheartening because the solutions are obvious. Just about any classroom teacher can tell you what is needed to thrive as educators and lead students to academic excellence. Better pay and robust support from administrators on discipline are vital.”