FRPL:

School Finance has manually calculated final add-on payments for the FY23 SRC FRPL Group B weight in accordance with Laws 2022, Chapter 317. The files below describe the calculation process and details for each district and charter. The additional funding for districts and charters will appear as adjustments to the base support level in the FY23 SRC BSA 55 report.

FY 2023 SRC FRPL Add-on Payment Summary

FY 2023 SRC FRPL Add-on Payment Details

Gifted:

School Finance has manually calculated final add-on payments for gifted students in accordance with Laws 2021, Chapter 404. The files below describe the calculation process and details for each district and charter. The additional funding for districts and charters will appear as adjustments to the base support level in the FY23 SRC BSA 55 report.

FY 2023 SRC Gifted Add-on Payment Summary

FY 2023 SRC Gifted Add-on Payment Details

For immediate release: September 15, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Free state tutoring program web page now active

Detailed information regarding Achievement Tutoring Program

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Education has activated the Achievement Tutoring Program web page so parents of students in grades 3-8 who are not proficient in reading, writing or math can access free tutoring.

State schools chief Tom Horne announced last week that $40 million in federal funding designated to address pandemic-related learning loss is being made available to pay for the tutoring, which will be accessible through participating public school teachers or private vendors beginning October 2.

Students are eligible if they test below proficiency levels in reading, writing or math and are in grades 3-8. Since the federal dollars are specifically designed to address pandemic-related learning loss, children who were not of school age during the pandemic are not eligible.

The website contains frequently asked questions and basic information on how to access tutoring services. It can be accessed at azed.gov.

# # #

The School District Employee Report (SDER) On-Line Application is now open to accept employee data. This application is accessible through ADE Connect.

You must submit your SDER data by end of day on October 15, 2023.

The SDER manual can be viewed here.

The recorded SDER training can be viewed here.

SDER data is due by 4:30pm on October 15, 2023. 

The FY2024 Memo 24-018 that includes instructions for submitting data has been published in the memo section of the School Finance webpage.

If you have any questions about your SDER, please contact the [email protected]

Please note, Charter schools should not submit staff data or SDER data.

For immediate release: September 14, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne oversees effort to bring learning tablets to Navajo Nation
Ganado district pilot program for 300 devices

Newsrooms: For broadcast-quality b-roll of students receiving these pads in Ganado, please click here: https://youtu.be/l67a7CZQxT8?si=gwbdDnAII6cn_LAs

GANADO – Approximately 300 portable tablet devices have been delivered to students in the Ganado Unified School District on the Navajo Nation as result of a public-private partnership overseen by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne in cooperation with the non-profit organization My Life My Power and Smart Class Arizona founder Paola Tulliani Zen.

Horne said, “These devices are a valuable tool for these students and address a significant need for Navajo children. Sadly, the average proficiency rate in math and science for Navajo children is five percent, which is scandalously low. Children who are performing that poorly in the classroom have almost no chance of succeeding in our economy and this kind of technology will create new ways for them to improve academically.”

He added, “The tablets are already loaded with the materials the students need to study reading and math without any need for an internet connection. More than 90 percent of tribal communities in Arizona lack broadband internet service, so having preloaded tablets is an essential method to get vital educational resources to these students.”

The tablets were purchased by My Life My Power, a 501(c)3 Non-Profit that serves youth facing hardships and challenges. The Arizona Department of Education partnered with that organization and Smart Class Arizona to distribute them to the Ganado district at no cost to the public.

Tulliani Zen added, “We must transform schools with technology, making children ready for their future. We plan to implement pilot programs like the one in Ganado to demonstrate an increase in learning capacity among students provided with these fun, innovative learning pads.”

# # #

Reminder: Payment 4 will be based on data captured that is passing integrity and generating ADM in AzEDS. Actual data in AzEDS will be used to calculate ADM for Payment 4.

Please ensure data is reconciled and free of integrity errors prior to the data capture date. Review the following reports in AzEDS: 

• INTEG15 – ensure data is free and clear of membership ADM Integrity errors
• STUD10 – validate all students are listed in AzEDS
• ADM15 – ensure all students expected to generate funding are indicated as fundable
• ADM20, SPED20, and EL20 – ensure ADM amounts for each ADM type

Important Note: FY24 Calendars need to be submitted, approved, and certified for ADM and funding to be generated.

Please submit a School Finance HelpDesk ticket if data assistance is needed.

Please share the following math professional learning opportunities with general and special education teachers who teach mathematics. 

 Virtual Professional Learning Opportunities:
The following virtual sessions are offered via Zoom and are free to attend. Click the session link to view the session description and to pre-register. 

 Take a DIP into Slow Reveal Graphs (Elementary Grades K–5) 
Tuesday, September 12, from 4:00–5:00 p.m. 

Take a DIP into Slow Reveal Graphs (Secondary Grades 6–12) 
Wednesday, September 13, from 4:00–5:00 p.m. 

 Adapting Tasks for Deeper Learning (Secondary Grades 6–12) 
Thursday, September 21, from 4:00–5:00 p.m. 

Adapting Tasks for Deeper Learning (Elementary Grades K–5) 
Thursday, September 28, from 4:00–5:00 p.m. 

Math and Literacy Intertwined: Sounds Delicious! (Grades K–12)
Wednesday, October 25, from 3:30–5:00 p.m.

Note: Accommodations must be requested at least one week in advance of the webinar. Sessions will not be recorded. It is strongly recommended that you use a computer to access the webinar to enable full participation in the session. 

Please email Jenifer Fernandez or email Rob Hilliker with any questions.     

Please visit the ESS Math webpage to view more upcoming events and helpful resources. 

For immediate release: September 11, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne refutes Governor’s false allegations over management of federal grant money

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has sent a letter to Governor Katie Hobbs refuting her criticisms of the Department of Education’s management of the federal Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) program.

September 11 , 2023

Governor Katie Hobbs
1700 W. Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Governor Hobbs,

Last week, I publicized a quick response to a public letter from you criticizing me regarding the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) program. At that time, I promised a more detailed refutation. This is that detailed refutation.

As you are no doubt aware, Section B-5 of the United State Department of Education's official guidance for the EANS funds states: "By accepting an EANS award from the Department, a Governor automatically designates the SEA (State Education Agency, in this case the Arizona Department of Education) to administer the EANS program. The SEA will be the payee or fiscal agent in G5 for purposes of accessing Federal funds on the date of award." (emphasis added)

On April 17th of this year, the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budget (OSPB) wrote a letter to our department's Chief Financial Officer demanding that $22 million of non-obligated funds be reverted from the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to the Governor's Office. We initiated a process with OSPB to establish a contract which would follow USDOE guidance but would give you decision making power over the $22 million.

This also shows a fundamental ignorance by OSPB of the federal guidance. OSPB demanded that we revert funds. As the designated federal fiscal agent, ADE does not have physical possession of funds to revert. Rather, the money is held by the U.S. Treasury and when a grantee is awarded funding, ADE, as the federally designated fiscal agent, passes that money ultimately to the grantee.

Our office has been in consistent communications with OSPB since April, five full months, to collaborate on the best way to ensure these monies are spent in accordance with the law and to avoid reversion of funds to the federal government.

In your letter you stated, "As suggested by USDOE, the easiest method of collaboration is a simple written agreement between our Offices that will enable OSPB to disburse funds to ADE for disbursement to its non-public school grantees ... " If OSPB were dispersing funds to ADE, then OSPB would be the fiscal agent. But the above quoted guidance specifically says that ADE has to be the fiscal agent.

We proposed that simple agreement to you on June 12th. If you had agreed, you would have control over these funds now. You still would have had decision-making power for the $22 million of undisbursed money but the process would have been legal. Your proposal was not legal.

We proposed the solution on June 12th, but you responded that it was in violation of federal law. That was the exact opposite of the truth. We were following the above quoted guidance, and you would have been violating the above referenced guidance. Your statement that our proposal would violate federal law was a false statement. And there was no reason for you to argue about that because you still would have been given the decision-making power over the $22 million.

The Arizona Department of Education is prepared to act as the designated fiscal agent, and this process would not have had one minute of delay had your OSPB staff not erroneously insisted in July of this year that our draft lnteragency Service Agreement was out of compliance with federal law. In fact, it was your proposal that was out of compliance, and our proposal that was in compliance, as any reader can see by looking at the above quoted guidance from the federal government.

If you produce something in writing from the federal government that says that your proposal will be acceptable to them, we will gladly agree to it. In that case, it will be your responsibility to administer the program, and we can wash our hands of it. Alternatively, you can accept our proposal to make the transaction legal and you will still have decision-making power over the $22 million.

There is no reason that a meeting between our staffs could not have worked this out. There is no earthly reason for you to have publicized a personal attack on me over this technical issue that could have been resolved by a meeting of our staffs.

Sincerely,

Tom Horne
State Superintendent of Public Instruction

For immediate release: September 8, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne issues rebuttal to Governor’s false accusations

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne has issued to following statement in response to a letter sent today by the governor regarding the dispersal of federal Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) funds.

Horne stated, “Every word in the governor’s letter is a lie, including ‘the’ and ‘and.’

Due to her own actions, the governor now needs to take care of this problem, and not pass the buck to the Department of Education inasmuch as she arranged for the federal government to change the fiscal agent from the Department of Education to the governor. The governor arranged with the federal government to be the fiscal agent for this program for private schools. The Arizona Department of Education has no ability to pay anyone for work done, or to authorize further work, because the governor has now become the fiscal agent.

The governor’s statement about money that should be spent in education to educate children is hypocritical. One of her first acts in office was to take away $75 million that had been allocated for summer school to help students improve in reading and math. She also took away $17 million from Project Momentum, the school improvement project, which has shown itself to be the most effective in helping schools improve.

It was the Arizona Department of Education, out of the funds that are in its budget, that gave $10 million to Project Momentum because the governor’s attempt to destroy Project Momentum would’ve done terrible damage to students who in schools that need to have the benefits of school improvement.

We will follow up with a detailed letter, refuting each false claim in the governor’s letter.”

# # #

School Finance had to rerelease the K3 FY23 AFR and FY24 Budget files. Please download the latest files by navigating to this website.

If you have already filled out your K3 forms, please move your saved FY23 AFR and FY24 Budget files out of the folder, save the current forms into that folder, copy over the FY23AFR manually input data to the new AFR file, then copy over the FY24 Budget manually input data into the new Budget file.

The files are available for upload now in Budget System. Please submit your files at https://adeconnect.azed.gov/ .

Please note that to upload your FY23 K3 AFR, you may need to toggle to the “Last Five (5) Years” using this radio button at the top right-hand corner of the submission dashboard in Budget System:

Please email the School Finance Budget Team at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Thank you!

For immediate release: September 7, 2023
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne sues Governor, Attorney General
Seeks declaration that schools obey voter protected English instruction method

PHOENIX - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has filed a lawsuit against Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes for a judicial declaration that all schools must obey a voter passed and protected initiative that English language learners must be taught in English immersion rather than dual language.

The initiative, which passed by a margin of over 60%, states explicitly: “All children in Arizona public schools should be taught English by being taught in English, and all children shall be placed in English language classrooms”.

Horne stated, “Governor Hobbs is named as a defendant because of a court of appeals decision stating that the governor is a proper defendant in these kinds of cases because of the constitutional requirement that she see it to it that the laws are faithfully executed. Attorney General Mayes is named because the same case states that an action questioning the constitutionality of a law names the Attorney General. A law passed by the legislature in 2019 has been interpreted by some as authorizing dual language instruction. This is incorrect because the voter-protection law is part of the Arizona Constitution and any change to a voter-protected initiative must further the purpose of what voters intended. Dual language instruction is the opposite of the initiative’s purpose.”

He added, “The fundamental purpose of the initiative is that students be taught throughout the school day in English, so they become proficient in English quickly, and can succeed academically, and not that they be taught half a day in another language, which would stunt their ability to master English.”

The lawsuit also names as a defendant the Creighton school district, which is among the handful of districts defying the law established by the voter approved and protected initiative. The district’s rate of English Language Learners becoming proficient in English last year was 5.1%. This contrasts with some districts referred to in the complaint that have structured English immersion and who’s rates range from 23.87% to 33.03%.