Incident at Carl Hayden High School shows need

PHOENIX – A knife fight between two female students at Carl Hayden High School Monday shows the Phoenix Union district board made a major mistake by denying the school’s request for an armed officer to be paid for by the Arizona Department of Education earlier this year.

Horne said, “The safety of students, teachers and staff members at schools is not negotiable and a knife fight on the Carl Hayden campus Monday shows the dangers are increasing. This needs to stop immediately. The Phoenix Union governing board needs to reverse a terrible decision they made earlier this year when they rejected requests from the leadership of both Carl Hayden and Betty Fairfax high schools for armed officers on campus.”

He explained, “Yesterday, Phoenix Police reported that two female Carl Hayden students were in a knife fight that resulted in injuries. This proves the need for armed officers and demonstrates the utter lack of concern by the members of the Phoenix Union government board who rejected the request for officers that had been endorsed by the two schools and district administration. It was an outrageous dereliction of responsibility, and the board needs to reconsider this matter immediately.”

Issues statement

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne issued the following statement rebutting an effort by Attorney General Kris Mayes to take credit for the end of a federal review of grant funding.

Supt. Horne said:

“Attorney General Mayes issued a statement claiming that the federal government released school funds because of a lawsuit that she joined against the federal government. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The federal government never canceled those funds. It delayed paying them in order to do a study to make sure they were being used properly for education purposes.

On July 25, I issued a press release pointing out that when the pause occurred a lot of people panicked thinking the money would go away entirely.  I said at the time that this was merely a positive review.

The federal government released the funds upon conclusion of the study, as had been foreseen, and not because a court case was filed. One thing we know for sure about the Trump administration is that if they wanted to cancel the funds, the response to the lawsuit would’ve been to appeal it up the chain to the United States Supreme Court, if necessary. They do not just throw in the towel when sued, if anything, a lawsuit like that gets their back up.

In this case they never intended to cancel the funds but only to have a pause for a study. I clarified this for the public and that is exactly what happened.

Also, the funds were released on July 25. The Attorney General‘s release today is behind the times.”

Nationally Recognized for Academic Achievement

PHOENIX - The Arizona Department of Education has selected Ed Pastor Elementary School in Yuma and Tsaile Elementary School in Chinle as National Distinguished Schools for the State of Arizona.

The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA) has been recognizing high achieving, federally funded schools through the National ESEA Distinguished Schools program since 1996. This program celebrates schools nationwide that have made significant academic progress by effectively utilizing Title I federal funds to enhance student educational outcomes.

Horne stated, “I want to offer my congratulations to these two schools for their dedication to academic excellence. The educators and students have done a great job taking their education seriously and making the gains that are needed to earn this distinction, and they should be proud of their efforts.”

Each year, the program highlights the success of schools in one of three categories:

· Category 1: Exceptional student performance and academic growth

· Category 2: Closing the achievement gap between student groups

· Category 3: Excellence in serving special education populations of students such as homeless, migrant, English learners, among others.

Ed Pastor Elementary School is a is a Category 3 winner and Tsaile Elementary School is a Category 2 winner. Both have demonstrated extraordinary success in improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap. Both schools will receive a check for $10,000, a digital package, and statewide recognition on the Arizona Department of Education Distinguished Schools website.

More information about the National ESEA Distinguished Schools program, including the 2024 honorees, is available on the ESEA Network website: www.ESEAnetwork.org/ds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyvzv9sNMNc

For immediate release: March 19, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne statement on process involving Primavera online school

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has released the following statement regarding the Primavera online school and its status before the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools:

Horne stated, “The legislature chose to divide jurisdiction regarding charter schools between the Arizona Department of Education and the Charter Board. The current issue is within the jurisdiction of the Charter Board. I have no power or influence over that. If I were to try to influence it, the Charter Board would resent the trespass on their turf, and it would do more harm than good.

There is likely to be an appeal to an administrative law judge, and the school needs to marshal its evidence to present to the administrative law judge. If I am asked for any data or other information that the department has, I will of course immediately provide it regardless of which side requests it.”

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