About the Arizona Department of Education
Superintendent of Public Instruction - Tom Horne
Tom Horne served twenty-four years in the state's third-largest school district board and ten years as president.
He served in the legislature and was chairman of the academic accountability committee. He was the State Superintendent of Schools from 2003 to 2011 and was elected State Attorney General. While Attorney General, he argued in every court: Superior Court, Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, and US Supreme Court.
He has served in every branch of government:
Executive: State Superintendent of Schools and Attorney General.
Legislative: Member of the legislature. On July 11, 2000, the Arizona Republic wrote that Tom Horne “raises the level of debate at the state Legislature by several notches all by himself.”
Judicial: judge pro tem in the Superior Court and the Court of Appeals.
Local: School Board Member and President.
He graduated Magna cum laude from Harvard College and with honors from Harvard Law School. He taught legal writing at ASU Law School. When not in public service, he was in the private practice of law, focusing on trial work.
In addition to being an avid supporter of music and the arts, he is also a classical pianist who has soloed with local orchestras, such as the Yuma Orchestra and the Scottsdale Philharmonic.
