Superintendent was lone defender of AZ law

PHOENIX – Today’s U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. are being cheered as a victory for protecting girls’ sports in all states, including Arizona, according to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.

Arizona has a law protecting girl sports from biological males. Two large New York law firms sued to declare it unconstitutional. Four defendants were named, including Horne. The other three conceded. Horne was the only defendant who carried the fight forward to keep biological boys out of girls’ sports. Because the state Attorney General refused to participate, Horne defended the Arizona law out of the Department of Education budget.

Horne stated, “The news has been full of stories about girls who worked hard on their sports, hoping to make the team, or even earn a college scholarship or qualify for the Olympics. But then they had to compete against biological boys and their advantages in birth in size, speed and strength. The girls’ dreams were shattered and they were devastated.“

Horne added: “Girls have also been injured, including a brain injury, from having to compete against larger and stronger males. I am committed to making sure that Arizona schools follow state law protecting girl sports.”

Carryover dollars will cover upcoming fiscal year

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne is directing the use of approximately $53 million in School Safety Program carryover dollars from previous years to ensure all first position requests for armed school officers and mental health professionals will be funded for FY27.

A school makes a first position request based on their preference for an officer or mental health professional.

With the Superintendent’s action, for the upcoming school year 560 first position requests for officers will be filled. This represents significant growth in the program since it began with 113 funded officers.

Horne said, “School safety is of the utmost priority, and I am committed to providing armed officers to every school that makes a request. Well-trained, armed officers are the first line of defense if a maniac attempts to get on campus to harm people. We are answering all first position requests for assistance in helping to keep their campuses safe for the upcoming school year. Using carry forward dollars, we will be able to grant every first position request in FY27.” 

Horne added, “This is one-time additional money which is an important distinction, because all of the positions approved by the State Board on May 18th will receive funding for the full three years, in line with the grant cycle. Another legislative appropriation will be needed next year to continue funding for the added positions requested and funded this year.”

Funding is also being provided to support 523 mental health professionals. The safety legislation provides dollars for both categories depending on the choice of the district or charter school.

ESS/Program Support and Monitoring (PSM) is proud to announce the release of the SY 2026–2027 Programmatic Monitoring Manual. This manual is intended to assist public education agencies (PEAs) in participating in and preparing for programmatic monitoring activities. The forms associated with programmatic monitoring activities can be found on the PSM website under Differentiated Monitoring Activities. 

Please contact your PEA’s assigned specialist with questions.  

The $75 million additional funding provided by Arizona Senate Bill 1735 for FY 2026 will be distributed in two payments: $37.5 million by December 26, 2025, and $37.5 million by June 24, 2026. Individual school district and charter allocations are based on the share of statewide weighted attending Average Daily Membership (ADM). The second$37.5 million payment was calculated based on the same ADM that was used for the FY26 June Classroom Site Fund (CSF) payment.

The file linked below will show the payment amounts per entity. Districts are listed first by county, followed by charters alphabetically.

FY2026 Prop 123 Payment 2 Worksheet

Please contact the School Finance Payment Team at [email protected] for any questions.

The second payment of the Free Reduced Priced Lunch (FRPL), District Additional Assistance (DAA), and Charter Additional Assistance (CAA) will be appropriated on Wednesday, June 24th. These one-time supplemental payments were split into two payments- one in December and another in June. Please view this Hot Topic for more information.

Please see the attached spreadsheets for each payment at the bottom of this Hot Topic for information about the payment amounts.

For school districts, these funds can be allocated to either Maintenance and Operations fund 001 (M&O) and/or Unrestricted Capital Outlay fund 610 (UNR/UCO).

If you have any questions regarding the payment amount, please contact [email protected]. Thank you!

Free Reduced Priced Lunch (FRPL) Worksheet

District Additional Assistance (DAA) Worksheet

Charter Additional Assistance (CAA) Worksheet

Please be aware of scheduled maintenance, affecting ADEConnect and related ADE application systems:

ADEConnect and related application systems will be unavailable on Saturday, June 27th, 2026 (from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM)

BUDG-25 reports for all school districts have been posted to the School Finance website.  FY 2026 June BUDG-25 reports have been calculated using the FY 2026 June BSA-55 information.

• District BUDG-25, BUDG-75, and BSA-55 reports are available to download from this School Finance website. For further instructions on how to navigate the website, please view this Hot Topic.

Please contact the Budget Team ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

Thank you!

The ADE/ESS Academic Achievement & Inclusive Practices team is pleased to announce the K–12 State Braille Transcriber Project.

This no-cost professional learning opportunity provides virtual instruction, individualized coaching, and collaborative learning designed to prepare participants to become certified Braille transcribers. Through coursework aligned to the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) curriculum, participants will build the knowledge and skills needed to support students with visual impairments through high-quality, accessible instructional materials.

Participants will deepen their understanding of:

• Braille transcription and production
• Special education requirements, including IDEA, FAPE, and LRE
• Individualized Education Program (IEP) considerations for students with visual impairments
• Effective practices for supporting access, participation, and progress

Professional development hours are available for participants who successfully complete program requirements.

If you have staff members interested in expanding their expertise and supporting students with visual impairments, we encourage them to apply. 

Application

For questions, please contact the Academic Achievement & Inclusive Practices team.

Thank you for your commitment to ensuring equitable access and meaningful learning opportunities for all students.

Base Level Amount 15-901 & 15-943

2.00% / $102.27 total increase

• $5,215.53

Transportation Support Level 15-945

2.00% increase to support per route mile:

• 0.5 or fewer: $3.07
• 0.5-1.0: $2.52
• More than 1.0: $3.07

District Additional Assistance (DAA) & Charter Additional Assistance (CAA) 15-185 & 15-961

2.00% increase to CAA:

• Grades PSD-8: $2,174.54
• Grades 9-12: $2,534.38

Qualifying Tax Rate 41-1276

Unified School Districts and Common School Districts not within a High School District (Type 03): $3.0256
Common School Districts within High School District and High School Districts: $1.5128

State Aid Rollover 15-973

$800,727,700 of the FY 2027 basic state aid appropriation to school districts is deferred until July 2027.

This is equal to FY 2026.

Does not apply to charters or school districts with less than 4,000 ADM.

Classroom Site Fund 15-977 & JLBC FY2027 Estimate

$883 per weighted pupil

($41 Increase)

State Aid Supplement

One-time supplemental proportional funding for School Districts and Charter Districts based on weighted student counts. The additional amount received by each charter and district will increase budget capacity; districts can use their apportionment in either Maintenance & Operation or Unrestricted Capital Outlay funds.

$75,000,000

One Time Supplement for CAA & DAA

One-time supplemental funding for Charter Additional Assistance (CAA) and District Additional Assistance (DAA) will be allocated on a proportional basis. The additional amount received by each charter and district will increase budget capacity; districts can use their apportionment in either Maintenance & Operation or Unrestricted Capital Outlay funds.

CAA statewide amount: $5,858,000
DAA statewide amount: $23,142,000

One Time Supplement for FRPL

One-time supplemental funding for Free and Reduced Priced Lunch (FRPL) will be allocated on a pro rata basis using FRPL weighted ADM. The amount apportioned to each charter and district will increase budget capacity; districts can use their apportionment in either Maintenance & Operation or Unrestricted Capital Outlay funds.

FRPL statewide amount: $37,000,000.00

School Finance Fiscal Operations – Related Statutes

Arizona Department of Corrections 15-1372

Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections 15-1371

Arizona Online Instruction 15-808

Certificates of Educational Convenience   15-825   15-976

Charter Equalization 15-185

Classroom Site Fund 15-977

County Jails   15-913.01

County Juvenile Detention 15-913

County Small School 15-365

Definitions 15-901

Determination of equalization assistance payments from county and state funds 15-971

District Cash Advance of State Aid   15-973

District Equalization 15-943

Instructional Improvement Fund 15-979

Optional Two Hundred Days of Instruction (5% base level increase) 15-902.04

Small School Capital Transportation 15-963

Teacher Experience Index 15-941

Unorganized Territory 15-1001

The Arizona Department of Education School Finance team, in coordination with the Auditor General’s Office, anticipates the release of the final FY2027 District and Charter Expenditure Budget Forms by Friday June 19, 2026.

These final budget forms will incorporate all changes resulting from the enacted state budget and any applicable updates in State law.

IMPORTANT: Districts that have already proposed their budgets using the FY2027 preliminary budget forms should NOT utilize the final forms for budget adoption, unless the district chooses to repropose their FY2027 budget with the final forms.

Entities that have not yet proposed their FY2027 budgets should utilize the final budget forms upon release.

Districts have the following options to choose from when proposing and adopting their FY2027 budgets:

Additional guidance and supporting documentation will be provided at the time of release. School Finance will continue to communicate updates through Hot Topics as needed.

Thank you!