For immediate release: September 27, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

U.S. Department of Education grants waiver for return of $29 million in federal funds

Department to begin reallocation process

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of schools Tom Horne has announced the U.S. Department of Education has granted a waiver that will return $29 million in federal Title I school improvement funds to the state.

The department is currently analyzing the details of the waiver and will go through the process to ensure all funds are distributed to schools and allocated effectively.

Horne stated, “I am grateful to the Arizona Department of Education staff who worked long hours to ensure this process was completed and that schools get all the funding they deserve.”

A copy of the letter is attached.

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For immediate release: September 24, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne statement on Goldwater Institute lawsuit over ESA curricula

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has issued the following statement in support of the lawsuit filed today by the Goldwater Institute on Empowerment Scholarship Account curricula approval requests.

Horne stated, “The Department of Education concedes the argument of the Goldwater Institute. When this issue first arose in July, my concern was that the Attorney General could force Empowerment Scholarship Account holders to return funds if they did not comply with her office’s interpretation of the law. This lawsuit will settle the issue in court and my sincere hope is that the arguments made by Goldwater will prevail.”

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For immediate release: September 5, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne expands statewide school safety partnership

Off Duty Management efforts equal more officers

PHOENIX - State schools superintendent Tom Horne has extended the Department of Education’s agreement with Off Duty Management through 2026 at multiple schools in six counties as part of Horne’s goal to make sure students, educators and staff are protected by armed and uniformed School Safety Officers.

Last October, Horne announced the partnership with Off Duty Management to facilitate the placement of armed, uniformed police officers in school campus officer positions despite an ongoing shortage of police officers in many communities.

Sixty districts or charters in Maricopa County will benefit from this program. Schools in Apache, Cochise, Pima, Pinal and Yavapai counties will also receive added staffing.

Horne stated, “The safety of school campuses is a priority for my administration. If some armed maniac should try to invade a school, the most effective response is to have well-trained armed law enforcement officers to protect everyone on campus. Our partnership with Off Duty Management is a vital part of ensuring safety. It is proving to be a successful, effective public-private partnership and the first of its kind in the nation.”

Mike Kurtenbach, Arizona Department of Education’s Director of School Safety, added, “This agreement with Off Duty Management is a complement to the School Resource Officer program and illustrates how police officers who work as School Safety Officers also are trusted role models for students, which brings a sense of safety to the school campus.”

Off Duty Management was founded by former law enforcement officers designed to support law enforcement initiatives. The company works directly with local law enforcement agencies and school districts to fill vacant School Safety Officer positions. Off Duty Management’s OfficerTRAK® software and mobile app make it easy for officers to schedule an off-duty job opportunity as a School Safety Officer at various schools in participating Arizona school districts.

Kurtenbach added, “By working with law enforcement agencies utilizing the Off Duty Management solution, an off-duty officer from one jurisdiction can elect to work in a school 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 and others in schools. More than 700 officers are trained and eligible for School Safety Officer assignments.”

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For immediate release: September 3, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne warns of crisis in attracting and retaining classroom teachers

Administrative support, discipline and pay are top issues

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne has released a teacher retention survey that shows alarming numbers pointing to a crisis in the teaching profession.

A survey of nearly 1,000 teachers who left the profession after 2023 shows large numbers of educators left because of lack of administrative support for classroom discipline and a desire for better pay. Teachers are leaving the profession within the first few years of teaching at an alarming rate, and there are more teachers leaving than are coming into the classroom. If this were to continue, we would ultimately end up with no teachers.

Horne said, “This is a crisis, and it needs to be addressed immediately. In the most recent legislative session, I urged the passage of a bill that would require school leaders to support classroom teachers in discipline matters. Sadly, it did not get passed by the legislature and the crisis will not only persist but will just get worse.”

He continued, “I have also consistently advocated for higher teacher pay, and yet legislative efforts have been rebuffed because of political disputes that do nothing to help improve the salaries of teachers.”

Horne concluded. “In short, just about any classroom teacher can tell you what they need to thrive as educators and lead students to academic excellence. Better pay and robust support from administrators on discipline are vital.”

The department surveyed a final total of 945 teachers statewide. About 67 percent cited low pay. Nearly 64 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they left teaching because of student behavior and discipline problems. Almost 47 percent said they were dissatisfied with their administration and just over 45 percent were unhappy with working conditions.

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For immediate release: August 26, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

State education funding comes in under budget, demolishes ESA budget myth

Most recent Fiscal Year ended with more than $4 million surplus

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne says the myth that the Empowerment Scholarship Program was ever a threat to Arizona’s budget has been thoroughly demolished.

For Fiscal Year 2024, which ended on June 30, the Basic State Aid payments for education programs at district and charter schools as well as the ESA program finished the year $4.3 million under budget.

Horne said, “Having a surplus of more than $4 million is proof positive that the critics who have claimed the ESA program will bust the not only the state’s education budget but the entire budget itself were always wrong. It was always a myth, and that myth is utterly demolished.”

He added, “Budget figures are stubborn facts and they do not stand up to the political posturing that ESA critics have consistently and wrongly thrown at the program. The universal ESA scholarships are a vital part of making sure that parents are able to choose the schools that best fit the needs of their children. For example, we have families with three children.  Two are doing fine in the neighborhood public school, but the needs of the third are not being met.  ESAs enable the parents to find a school that meets the needs of the third child.  How can anyone be so immersed in ideology that they would deny the parents that ability?”

He concluded, “Having choices such as charter schools, open enrollment for district schools and ESAs are a valuable tool for Arizona parents. As today’s announcement shows, these choices do not result in any part of the budget deficit.  It resulted from overly optimistic projections of state revenues. ESAs are enabling parents to find the best schools to meet their children’s needs. No rational person should oppose that.”

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For immediate release: August 22, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne announces renewed effort to have statewide school cell phone ban

Legislation approved last year fell to Governor’s veto

PHOENIX – Citing the need for teachers to be able to fully manage their classroom with minimal distractions, emphasize academic performance and create a safer campus environment, state schools’ chief Tom Horne says he will push legislation for a statewide school cell phone ban.

Horne stated, “Imagine being a teacher and trying to teach a class while students were scrolling on their cell phones.  That this has been permitted is outrageous.  It decreases student learning significantly and makes life hard for teachers who already have heavy burdens. No teacher should have to compete against phones for the attention of students. Classroom cell phone use has become so rampant that it is taking away precious instructional minutes and research shows that student academic performance is suffering. This is unacceptable, and statewide legislation is essential to eliminating these distractions.”

He added, “"This legislation passed the legislature last year but was vetoed by the Governor.  That veto was irrational and irresponsible.  People need to contact the Governor's office and urge that it is not vetoed next year.  Leaving this to districts means some teachers will still have to teach to classes of students scrolling on cell phones, which NO teacher should be required to do."

Horne is joined in his support by former Tucson public school teacher, Mitchell Rutherford, who left the profession because so many students were using mobile devices in the classroom that his ability to be an effective teacher was diminished.

Several state legislators, including Sen. Shawnna Bolick, Rep. Beverly Pingerelli, Sen. T.J. Shope, and Rep. Matt Gress are among those who have expressed support for legislation. Horne has also won the support of governing board members Susan Ward of Payson and Apache Junction district Superintendent Dr. Bob Papalardo.

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For immediate release: August 15, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne blasts “Save Our Schools” leader for supporting biological boys using girls’ locker rooms and showers

Social media post reveals stance

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne says “Save Our Schools” leader Beth Lewis owes her membership and Arizona educators an explanation for her support for having biological boys with male genitalia shower in girls’ locker rooms and using girls’ restrooms.

In a social media post last week, Lewis criticized three grandmothers who visited with Horne to share their concern that new federal Title IX guidelines would allow biological boys to use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.

Horne stated, “Beth Lewis mocked three grandmothers who visited with me last week and posted on X, asking, ‘Why do Tom Horne and these Grandmas care who my kids are sharing a bathroom with?’ Lewis’ position is astonishingly reckless toward the safety of vulnerable school children. I can assure her that there are countless parents and grandparents who are justifiably concerned about this because of the serious danger it poses to girls.”

He added, “Lewis owes her membership an explanation for this. These changes to Title IX regulations are outrageous since they allow biological boys to expose themselves to girls in bathrooms and locker rooms and invade the girls’ privacy. They will also cause unbelievable management challenges for campus administrators, teachers and coaches that will make their jobs much more difficult. Further, there will also be damage to public education parents as remove their daughters from schools that allow this.”

Horne also noted that the federal court in the ongoing Louisiana v. USDOE, described the impact of the new Title IX regulations stated: “Tennessee, for example, tendered a comment identifying numerous instances of males attacking females in public restrooms that were designated for females only. In Tennessee's view, the new rules would further enable such conduct…” In intimate spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms, Students retain “a significant privacy interest in their unclothed bodies. This necessarily includes “the right to shield one's body from exposure to viewing by the opposite sex.” Id. After all, in the words of former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the integration of an all-male military institution “would undoubtedly require alterations necessary to afford members of each sex privacy from the other sex in living arrangements.”

Horne concluded, “The courts see the tragedies that have already occurred because of policies such as the new Title IX regulations. Beth Lewis and SOS have no excuse for not understanding that as well.”

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For immediate release: August 12, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne announces waiver offer from federal government to avoid reverting funds

Word came late last week and will be submitted

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced today the U.S. Department of Education (USED) contacted the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) late last week to offer a waiver to recoup approximately $29 million federal Title I dollars that had been under-utilized during the Hoffman administration. The department has submitted that waiver request that will cover State Fiscal Years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

On August 8, USED contacted ADE Title I staff to encourage the department to apply for what is known as a Tydings waiver to allow excess funds that had accrued due to under-allocations that began in Federal Fiscal Year 2020. Prior to the August 8 notification, no requests had been mentioned by USED to ADE.

Horne stated, “I will always fight for more money for schools, so I am happy to submit this waiver request to the federal government. The under-utilization of about $29 million in federal funds began in Federal Fiscal Year 2020, but continued under the previous superintendent and the employee who incompetently handed these allocations no longer works at this department.”

He added, “The governor today is repeating false allegations. These dollars should have been sent to districts and charters years ago during the Hoffman administration, but they were allowed by previous staff to accumulate and potentially revert. In reality she is asking to investigate Kathy Hoffman’s administration, but the problem is being corrected by my administration.”

With the approval of this waiver request, the department will be able to increase funding to the most underserved districts and charters.

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For immediate release: August 6, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne calls for Azcentral / Arizona Republic to retract false story about federal funds

Information was withheld showing errors began prior to Horne taking office

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has sent a letter to the News Director of Azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic demanding the retraction of a story falsely blaming the Horne administration for the reversion of $29 million in federal funds.

The letter states, in part, “The story is false, and the reporter responsible for writing it dishonestly and, apparently with intent, withheld information given to him in advance of the story that clearly shows the story is false. This is unacceptable and cannot stand.

In an email from our communications director to Nick Sullivan at 9:41 a.m. on Friday, August 2 - three days prior to the story’s publication - your reporter was told, “The reverted funds represent federal school improvement dollars allocated in federal Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022 during the prior department administration. (That means the dollars had to be allocated by July 1, 2022, before I took office.) …

That should have either been the end of the story, or at least placed the responsibility on the administration that was in office at the time these errors were made. Instead, your publication printed a story claiming that my administration caused this problem, which is absolutely false.”

A full copy of the letter is attached.

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For immediate release: August 6, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne statement on dishonest Azcentral report on grant funds

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne issued the following statement in response to today’s reporting on Azcentral about reverted federal grants:

Horne said, “The mishandling and failure to notify districts of correct allocations with time for them to properly plan and spend the money resulted from an error by an employee of my predecessor before I took office. This person told the schools they had smaller allocations than they had.  We were constantly on the phone urging districts to spend as much of the money properly as they could.  

I have always worked to obtain as much money as possible for the schools, and I did not tolerate the incompetence of the employee, who was fired or resigned when told otherwise would be fired in March 2023.

The story on azcentral dishonestly withheld important information about this, which we gave the reporter.”

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