For embargoed release: Jan 21, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
 

Newsrooms: EMBARGOED UNTIL 2 p.m., Jan. 21, 2025

Horne State of Education speech calls for expanded school safety program after near tragedy in Tucson

Highlights academic successes, teacher pay and use of AI for tutoring

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction opened his 2025 State of Education speech praising the actions of a Tucson Police Officer who arrested an armed suspect making threats on a school campus last week. Horne said the incident proves the importance of having armed law enforcement officers on school grounds and he urges lawmakers to expand the program.

Horne stated, “This brave police officer prevented the nightmare I have often talked about. 20 students and additional adults would have lost their lives, and the student’s parents would have had their lives ruined by uncontrollable grief. I know about this because I have lost a child. Those who have been opposing police in the schools need to rethink this issue. Think of the unimaginable tragedy that would have occurred if that School Resource Officer had not been there, or if he had been hired a little later.”

Horne talked of the need to keep biological boys out of girls’ sports and to ensure classroom time is devoted to academics and eliminating distractions such as Critical Race Theory. 

He commented, “I have required the districts and charter schools to answer questions about these kinds of philosophical issues and published their answers on the school report cards. Parents will be informed if the schools are serious about teaching academics or promoting woke ideology. This is important now that parents have choices.”

He added, “Biological males have no business in girls’ sports, showers, or locker rooms. I am fighting this battle in court as we speak and pledge to never stop fighting for the right of girls under title IX to compete, excel, and take their rightful place on the winner’s podium.”

The bulk of Horne’s remarks address specific initiatives that concentrate on classroom instruction and supporting educators.

Horne called for legislative funding for higher teacher salaries and the renewal of Prop 123, a voter-approved measure that adds school funding from the increased payout of the State Land Trust. He noted that higher salaries and passage of legislation to bolster administrative support for teachers will help recruit and retain teachers, which he noted is at a crisis point where more teachers are leaving the profession than are coming in.

Using AI as a tool is a top priority for Horne. On this he told legislators the Khanmigo program is, “the best program we have found for education application of artificial intelligence… It does not substitute for teachers; it helps them... Studies show the most effective means of teaching is one on one tutoring. We cannot afford to hire a million tutors for our million students, but Khanmigo gives every student a tutor. This is the future, and we are making the tools available today.”

Horne is seeking a requirement that high school students not be allowed to graduate unless they pass a graduation test with a reasonable cut off level with multiple chances to pass, or alternatively be certified for a trade in a career technical education program.

He spoke about each one of his 15 initiatives to improve academics in the schools. 

In the elementary grades, he pointed to the success of Move on When Reading, where Horne initiated the effort to close a loophole that formerly allowed Third Grade students who were not proficient in reading to be promoted to the Fourth Grade anyway. 

In the same vein, he also touted the formation of the Arizona Education Economic Commission (AEEC), a huge expansion of Career and Technical Education, with the goal of helping students who do not chose college obtain a skill that will enable the student to get a well-paying job out of high school.

Department efforts in the success of school intervention teams, data-driven instruction, creating the Arizona Digital Education Library, reducing red tape, Character Education, leadership training in all Arizona counties, and the defense of the voter-approved law that requires English to be the language of instruction were also highlighted by Horne. 

The full speech, 15 initiatives and a slide deck are attached.

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All school districts, charter schools, secure care facilities, and the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB) are required to annually administer the State Performance Plan Indicator 8 Parent Involvement Survey to parents of students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The survey open on January 20, 2025, via ADEConnect Data Surveys and will close on May 31, 2025.

Mail Merge Feature: The survey application has merged the individual student login codes and parent letters. This feature will make it easier for users to disseminate parent instructions.

Additional forms and guidance can be found on the Parent Involvement Survey Info for Schools website and in ADEConnect on the Data Surveys page.

If you do not already have access to the survey application or need to add additional users who should have the right to use this information and administer the survey, contact your entity ADEConnect administrator and ask to be assigned the Data Surveys: User Role. If additional assistance is needed to be assigned the User Role, use the Help Desk ticketing system via ADEConnect.

Please email the Parent Survey Inbox with questions.

In accordance with A.R.S.15-915.B, School Finance has recalculated state aid payments for school districts that have been impacted by the Qasimyar vs Maricopa County judgement. More information about this judgement can be found on the Maricopa County Assessor’s website. This judgement impacted tax years 2015-2023, which caused adjustments in fiscal years 2016-2024 state aid payments for impacted districts.

The sum of each fiscal year’s calculated adjusted amounts is included in the fiscal year 2025 January state aid payment as current month adjustments on the BSA-64 report. These reports can be found on the School Finance website.

The calculated amount for each fiscal year and district in Maricopa County can also be found on the spreadsheet linked below.

Please contact the School Finance payment at [email protected] for any questions regarding the adjustment. Thank you!

Qasimyar vs Maricopa County Judgement 15-915.B

Work of School Training Overdose Preparedness and Intelligence Taskforce, (STOPIT)

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is praising the efforts of the School Training Overdose and Intelligence Taskforce (STOP-IT) for its success addressing the epidemic of drug use among school-age children.

Horne said, “Today, more than 4,000 lifesaving Narcan kits are in Arizona schools because of the efforts of the STOP-IT taskforce, with more on the way. The results have been excellent and represent my ongoing commitment to the health and safety of school-aged children. They are to be congratulated for doing a tremendous amount of work in a short time and getting tangible results that will help protect children. We are grateful to the 20 medical societies, government agencies and state programs that have signed a letter of support promoting the integration of STOP-IT resources into our schools.”

To date, just under 4,400 kits have been distributed to 144 education agencies in Arizona through the Narcan request process, with 210 kits in the process of packaging for distribution to education agencies. An additional 2,000 kits have been allocated to school staff who attend trainings hosted by the Arizona Department of Education School Safety Unit or regional school safety consortia and to schools for subsequent distribution at community events.

STOP-IT co-chair, Dr. Holly Geyer, MD, FASAM Hospital Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine Specialist at the Mayor Clinic said, “Thanks to the incredible collaboration between STOP-IT members, this initiative has been able to complete the nation’s first comprehensive survey evaluating opioid overdose prevention/management practices completed in a state school system; secure a long-term, replenishable supply chain for naloxone in schools; hand-deliver thousands of naloxone doses across the state; create a resource-rich, evidence-based toolkit to help schools achieve regulatory compliance; build out best-practice mock overdose policies for schools to adapt; and create workflows for statewide reporting of opioid-overdoses on school campuses.”

She added, “We are also in the process of constructing the first state-of-the-art, metric-based education delivery platform to ensure standardized student training on the topic of opioids, addiction and overdose prevention.  STOP-IT successes have been recognized at a national level and organizations such as the National School Board Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and other have partnered to broaden public messaging. With minimal to no dedicated tax-payer funding, STOP-IT has proven itself to be an efficient, reproducible model for the many other states in need of overdose prevention planning in schools.”

The group established best practices for Narcan accessibility and use of the kits, created training curricula regarding fentanyl awareness and overdose prevention, developed reporting mechanisms to record overdose events and surveyed schools to get reliable data on the scope of the problem.

Among the most serious problems is the rise in fentanyl. More than 59 percent of all fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. comes through Arizona. Fentanyl in small doses can kill the average adult and the drug has been found to contaminate virtually all other drugs that are commonly abused.

Horne added, “Within the past three years, overdoses rose to the third leading cause of death in youth under age 18.  National studies have identified Maricopa County as having the second highest overdose death rate among youth in the country.  And according to the Department of Health Services, our state has recorded more than 1300 non-fatal overdoses and 224 deaths in our kids since 2017.  Those figures represent tragic situations for children and their families. As a state, we must do as much as possible to combat this scourge, which is why I am so proud of the meaningful progress made by the STOP-IT taskforce.”

More than 60 people representing a broad cross-section of representatives from schools, health care, behavioral health, law enforcement and multiple state agencies were essential to the success of STOP-IT. They include the Arizona Department of Education, Arizona School Resource Officers Association, Arizona Counter Drug Task Force, Arizona School Administrators Association, Arizona Association of School Business Officials, Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona School Boards Association, Arizona Society of Addiction Medicine, Inc., Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, Arizona School Counselors Association, Arizona Chapter of the American College of Physicians, Arizona Association of School Psychologists, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arizona Interscholastic Association, Arizona Nurses Association, Arizona Medical Association, Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Arizona Chapter of the National Safety Council, National Association of School Nurses, School Nurses Association of Arizona and the Substance Awareness Coalition Leaders of Arizona.

This email updates public education agencies (PEAs) regarding the October 1 Enrollment Data process.

The closing date for October 1 data submissions was December 11, 2024. The integrity process was initiated as usual but took longer than expected to finish, delaying the October 1 processing. As such, the October 1 processing finished on December 13, 2024, and included data submitted on December 12, 2024. We will be cognizant of these factors during the October 1 Non-Reconciliation Phase if they are needed for specific PEAs. Overall, this increased the data quality by allowing an extra day of data, allowing PEAs to further clean their data in AzEDS.

The October 1 Enrollment Data has successfully processed integrity rules and is finalized in AzEDS. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) encourages PEAs to review final October 1 reports in AzEDS or relevant applications. The October 1 data is now static and will be utilized for financial allocations, research, or other business purposes as appropriate. ADE appreciates the efforts of all PEAs in submitting timely and accurate data.

The ADE/ESS Academic Achievement and Inclusive Practices Unit invites all educators to our upcoming free virtual professional learning series on Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

This series is an excellent opportunity to deepen your understanding of UDL principles and how they can be applied to create more inclusive, accessible learning environments for all students.

These virtual sessions will focus on providing practical strategies that can be implemented across diverse classroom settings, supporting the success of all learners. We encourage your schools to take advantage of these no-cost virtual learning sessions to deepen knowledge and understanding and enhance instructional practices to ensure every student succeeds.

The registration links are in the attached PDF flyer or on the following website: January and February UDL Webinars.

Thank you for your continued dedication to fostering inclusionary education. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the facilitator at [email protected].

The ADE/ESS Dispute Resolution unit is excited to share details about ESS Facilitated IEP services available in Arizona.

Request Facilitated IEP Training

Are you looking to foster a culture of collaboration between school staff and parents to enhance student success? Are you interested in exploring strategies for building trust with families proactively? Would you like to explore new strategies and equip staff with enhanced tools to effectively lead IEP meetings? Complete the FIEP training request below, and our Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist will partner with you to provide professional development tailored to your team's needs. This training is available at no cost to PEAs, but spots are filling quickly. Submit your training request today!

Facilitated IEP Training | Arizona Department of Education

Request a State-Coordinated Facilitated IEP

Parents and public education agencies (PEAs) can request this no-cost, early resolution service when an IEP team is facing conflict or communication challenges. Participation is voluntary, meaning both parties must agree to work with a neutral facilitator who ensures the meeting stays focused on developing an IEP that is appropriately designed to provide the student with a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The goal is to strengthen the capacity of educators and families, fostering collaborative, student-centered IEP teams that can make well-informed decisions in the IEP development process.

Facilitated IEP | Arizona Department of Education

Fun Facts About Facilitated IEP Services

• Over 400 individuals participated in FIEP training across Arizona this past semester. 99% of participants reported that the training was well-organized, easy to follow, and offered hands-on learning experiences. 98% said the training was relevant to their daily work and were eager to apply the strategies presented.
• There were 81 FIEP requests in FY 2024, marking a 72% increase since FY 2022. Of the 81 FIEP requests in FY 2024, 85% of IEP teams reached full consensus by the end of the meeting.

For additional information, please contact Carrie McCulloch, Alternative Dispute Resolution Specialist, at [email protected] or (602)542-7579.

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT  

New Integrity Rule for FY 2025: -52012 

A new integrity rule for FY 2025 has been introduced into the integrity process on SPED data. This new rule is a continuation of our effort to validate SPED reporting further to ensure clean data for the state.   

A new one-sheet Integrity Tool is available on our AzEDS SPED Reporting webpage for troubleshooting tips. It has been added to our SPED Integrity Rules Reference document.

PLEASE NOTE: This alert is not an indication your entity is failing this rule. Please check your INTEG15 report in the AzEDS Portal to determine if your entity is failing any SPED Integrity Rules.  

Integrity Rule -52012:

This rule will serve as a WARNING to ensure that incidents identified as serious bodily injury meet the criterion for federal reporting.  

Please contact [email protected] with any questions regarding these new rules.    

Remarks made at State of the State

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne issued the following reaction to Governor Hobbs’ criticism of the state Empowerment Scholarship Program during her State of the State remarks.

Horne said, “Under my leadership, the department has done a full-court press against waste and fraud. I hired both a program auditor and an investigator, which had not been done before. I require that every expenditure be for a valid educational purpose and have been attacked for doing that.

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The Governor needs to pay more attention to what is going on. She gets an ‘F’.”

The window for districts to submit transportation route data is now open. Districts (not charters) must submit transportation route data within 12 days of their 100th day (or 200th day where applicable) per A.R.S. § 15-922. School Finance will collect district transportation data via a new ADEConnect application. 

The following resources have been created to assist in submitting transportation data via the new application:

Transportation Data Submission Video

Transportation Manual

Transportation FAQ

Please review these resources before submitting your transportation data. If additional assistance is needed, please submit a HelpDesk ticket.