Violation of voter-approved English immersion law

PHOENIX – State schools superintendent Tom Horne has announced that public schools that are not teaching English Language Learners in English as required by state law risk losing funds for this legal violation.

Horne stated, “Proposition 203, the voter protected initiative passed in 2000, specified that classes for English Language Learners must be taught in English: ‘all children in Arizona public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English and all children shall be placed in English language classrooms.’ Dual language classes, typically taught for half of each day in Spanish, are an obvious violation of this initiative. A reduction in structured English immersion from four hours to two is okay, but the rest of the day must be spent in regular classrooms with the English-speaking students, not in classes taught in Spanish.”

While this conclusion is obvious based on the wording of the voter-passed initiative, Horne also cites a memorandum from the Arizona Legislative Council that concludes: “If the 50-50 dual language immersion model allows students to be taught subject matter in a language other than English as part of structured English immersion, the model likely violates Proposition 203.”

He added, “I want to emphasize that these rules only apply to students who have not yet attained proficiency in English. Once they attain English proficiency, we encourage dual language, or any other programs, that will cause them to be proficient in more than one language. I personally have studied six languages. Knowing multiple languages is beneficial and develops the brain in ways that help learn other subjects.”

He concluded, “State law (A.R.S. §15-756.08) provides a District found in violation by the state board loses its access to English Language Learners funds.  Another statute (A.R.S. §15-754) provides that any parent can sue any school board member or other elected office or administrator responsible for the violation and that person can be personally liable for damages and fees and cannot be indemnified by any third party.  Any official found liable shall be immediately removed from office and cannot hold a position for five years.”

The full letter from Horne and the Legislative Council Memo are attached.

# # #

The new School Finance Budget System is now live and available to all districts and charters. The new system replaces Common Logon for all budget purposes for FY 2024 and forward. 

This Hot Topic provides links to help districts and charters get started using the new system. Please review the following information before contacting the School Finance Budget Team with questions. 

Click on the links below to learn about the new budget system: 

• To learn how to obtain access to the Budget System, please review the following Hot Topic by clicking here. 
• To learn about the basics of the Budget System, please review the following video by clicking here. 
• To learn how to update contact information, please review the following video by clicking here. 

• To learn how to upload files, please review the following video by clicking here. 
• To learn about due dates and submission windows in Budget System, please review the following video by clicking here. 

Users will be able to access the new budget system through ADEConnect (https://adeconnect.azed.gov/Apps) after having been assigned the appropriate permissions by the district or charter entity administrator. Please click here for more information about assigning permissions.

If you have questions after reviewing the links above, please email the School Finance Budget Team as [email protected].

There are several reports that districts and charters can access from schoolfinancereports.azed.gov and within the AzEDS system that summarize student counts and are useful in the budget preparation process:

• ADM20 - summarizes district/charter regular education student counts by grade level
• SPED20 - summarizes district/charter special education student counts by need
• ELL20 - summarizes district/charter English Learner student counts by program
• ADM30 - summarizes school-level regular education student counts
• GIFT10 - lists all students who qualify for the gifted program
• GIFT11 - breaks down those students to their individual gifted needs of Language Arts (Verbal) giftedness, Non-Verbal giftedness, Quantitative (Math) giftedness or Other giftedness

School Finance has manually calculated initial add-on payments for the new FRPL Group B weight in accordance with Laws 2022, Chapter 317. See FRPL Hot Topic post here: /finance/fy-2023-frpl-add-payment.

The reports may be run for a given Local Education Agency as the district of residence, which is the student count used in basic state aid calculations, or the district of attendance, which is the student count used in Classroom Site Fund calculations and certain other payments. The reports may be run for any date during the fiscal year from within the AzEDS system and data submission dates that were used in basic state aid payment calculations are also available without the need to log-in through schoolfinancereports.azed.gov.

Instructions to access the reports are below:

• To view ADM20, SPED20, and ELL20 reports for data used in basic state aid payment calculations:

1. First, navigate to schoolfinancereports.azed.gov
2. Next, select a Local Education Agency and then click “View Reports”​

​​​​​​i. ADM Reports: This section allows LEAs to view the report or download a PDF of the Data Capture Date used for the State Aid payment and linked to the BSA 55 for a given month.

ii. Additionally, from within BSA-55 reports, clicking the “AzEDS Execution Date” link in the top right corner of the report will display the same reports that appear under the ADM report category(click “next page” to view all reports).

• To run ADM20, SPED20, and ELL20 reports that were not used in basic state aid payment calculations:

1. First, navigate to AzEDS
2. Next, click on “Reports” and then click “ADM”
3. Select the desired report (ADM20, SPED20, or ELL20)
4. Select the Local Education Agency
5. Select data capture date and “District of Residence”
6. Finally, click “View Report”

• To run ADM30 reports 

1. First, navigate to AzEDS
2. Next, click on “Reports” and then click “ADM”
3. Select the desired report (ADM30)
4. Select the Local Education Agency
5. Select data capture date and report type “Limited” and  “District of Attendance”
6. Finally, click “View Report”

• To run GIFT reports 

1. First, navigate to AzEDS
2. Next, click on “Reports” and then click “Support Program”
3. Select the desired report (GIFT10, GIFT11)
4. Select the Local Education Agency
5. Select the School(s)
6. Finally, click “View Report”

Please contact the Budget Team at [email protected] if you have any questions about submitting budgets.  For questions regarding AzEDS reports, please contact the Analyst Team via HelpDesk.

Valid concerns received from parents and teachers

PHOENIX – Complaints submitted to the Arizona Department of Education through the Empower Hotline have revealed potential violations to state law and demonstrate that elements of Critical Race Theory are present in the public school system.

Superintendent Tom Horne said, “Despite those in ideological groups and some in the media that propagate the urban myth that CRT is not a part of the school system, we have evidence from the empower hotline, that there is enough CRT in our schools to constitute a problem, though it is obviously not universal. We also have evidence that schools have put systems in place to hide or attempt to hide critical personal information from parents about their child. This is in direct violation of Arizona law, A.R.S. §1-602.”

He explained, “For example, Mesa is our largest district. A teacher reported through the hotline that the Mesa school district has a training program for teachers that clearly states that certain Americans are ‘living under a system of white supremacy.’ That is a divisive and bigoted statement that has no place in education. We are individuals, entitled to be judged by what we know, what we can do, our character, and not the color of our skin. To its credit, Mesa is in discussion with the Department about this.”

Other concerns raised include a spreadsheet distributed in the Catalina Foothills school district with a list of pronouns chosen by students. The email and attached file clearly show the school withholding information from parents contrary to A.R.S. §1-602.

In the Chandler Unified School District, a lunch time Gay-Straight Alliance Club was created to discuss gender issues but also included the distribution of emancipation paperwork, which a parent only knew ab out because parents found it in their students backpack. Both of the above are examples of activity contrary to Arizona law.

Since its launch in March, the Empower Hotline allows parents to report inappropriate content being taught that detract from teaching academic standards. These include those that focus on race or ethnicity, rather than individuals and merit, promoting gender ideology, social emotional learning, or inappropriate sexual content.

Horne added, “Since its inception earlier this year, ADE has been compiling information regarding inappropriate activity occurring in Arizona schools through the Empower Hotline. These complaints have come not just from concerned parents but also from teachers. When parents saw during COVID what students were being taught on their laptop, they were outraged by CRT content, and went to school board meetings, where some were treated rudely.  The Employer Hotline directs them to a method to communicate their concerns.

Horne added: “30,000 crank calls and emails do not intimidate us or keep us from doing our job.”

Raising academic outcomes for students in the public schools and empowering parents to ensure that the educational needs of their children are being appropriately met, are the priorities of Superintendent Horne. All legitimate complaints received through the Empower Hotline will continue to be accepted and investigated.

On May 16, 2023, AzEDS IT and vendors met to discuss updates for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. An emphasis was placed on the CTED Data Updates for FY 2023. Since the meeting concluded, as of May 25, 2023, there is an important update regarding the use/implementation for Unaccompanied Youth need. Beginning in FY2024, this need will no longer be required to have a Primary Night-Time Residence (PNTR) submitted with the need. The need will be required to have a homeless need for every date of the Unaccompanied Youth need. The Homeless need will store the PNTR for the Unaccompanied Youth need. In summary, an Unaccompnied Youth need will be concurrent with a Homelss need. A Homeless need may exist with or without an Unaccompanied Youth need. The update on Unaccompanied Youth is displayed on Slide 57 of the attached presentation document and was added May 25, 2023. The meeting may be visited at https://youtu.be/mHdUftXBMvU

Base Level Amount 15-901

$4,914.71

$139.44/2.92% total increase

Transportation Support Level 15-945

2.13% increase to support per route mile

0.5 or fewer: $2.89

0.5-1.0: $2.37

More than 1.0: $2.89

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

3.20% increase to CAA

Grades PSD-8: $2,049.12

Grades 9-12: $2,388.21

9.38% increase to DAA (amounts below for student count 600+)

            Grades PSD-8: $549.45

            Grades 9-12: $600.86

            HS Textbooks: $84.93

Qualifying Tax Rate 41-1276

Unified School Districts and Common School Districts not within a High School District (Type 03): $3.3098

Common School Districts within High School District and High School Districts: $1.6549

Group B Add-On 15-943

Increased support level weight for FRPL to 0.022 (previously 0.018)

State Aid Rollover 15-973

$800,727,700 of the FY 2024 basic state aid appropriation to school districts is deferred until July 2024. 

This is equal to FY 2023.

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

Classroom Site Fund 15-977

$758 per weighted pupil

Prop 123 Additional Funding Laws 2015, 1^st Special Session, Chapter 1, Section 6

$75,000,000 (FY21-FY26)

Results-Based Funding

Results-Based Funding has been eliminated starting in FY2024.

Type 03 Adjustment

Type 03 adjustment has been eliminated starting in FY2024.

County Jail 15-913.1

The 72% funding cap has been removed. Additionally, the amount for capital outlay costs has increased $28, from $72 to $100.

One Time State Aid Supplement

$300,000,000 will be allocated by the Department of Education to all charters and districts on a pro rata ADM basis determined by weighted student count. This weighted student count will be based on district of attendance.

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

College Credit by Examination Incentive Program 15-249.06

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

Early Literacy Grants 15-249.09

Instructional Improvement Fund 15-979

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

Result Based Funding

Small School Capital Transportation 15-963

State equalization assistance property tax levy 15-994

Teacher Experience Index 15-941

Unorganized Territory 15-1001

1,000 police reports at district schools in 2022-23

PHOENIX – State schools superintendent Tom Horne has directed Arizona Department of Education staff to directly award a total of just over $1.2 million for school safety grants to the Phoenix Union high schools that applied for funds to have on-campus law enforcement officers.

The schools are Cesar Chavez, Maryvale, Metro Tech, North, South Mountain and Trevor Browne high schools.

Horne explained, “The school safety grants were specifically requested by six high schools; therefore, they will receive those funds individually in accordance with those applications. Our first responsibility is to protect the safety and the lives of students and staff. The worst tragedy would be for a maniac to invade a school and kill students with no police officer there to protect them. In addition, the police officers are there all year, befriend the students, so students view them as friends rather than as the enemy, and the police officers also teach courses.”

Horne also noted that data collected from the Phoenix Police Department during the 2022-23 school year showed a total of approximately 1,000 calls for service at Phoenix Union campuses. These include multiple calls for shots fired, assault, persons with a gun, sexual abuse of a juvenile, stolen vehicles, and numerous other reports to police.

Horne added, “Having armed law enforcement officers on campuses is a necessity today. Just recently it was reported that a student at Phoenix Union’s Bostrom High School brought a fully loaded AR-15 rifle to campus. That student also possessed a device that would have made that firearm fully automatic. Fortunately, a tragedy was avoided, but this points out the fact that dangers exist on school campuses that can only be addressed by armed law enforcement.”

# # #

88 percent less paperwork to get federal dollars / more rapid kindergarten assessments

PHOENIX – Cutting red tape and unnecessary administrative burdens on educators is one of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne’s primary goals so that they can spend more time on teaching academics to the students. Today Horne is announcing a major initiative in that effort.

Each year, federal law requires schools to file a Comprehensive Needs Assessment explaining the tools and strategies needed to improve academic performance in order to receive Title I money for low-income schools and other federal formula grants. Horne has directed that requirement to be reduced from a massive 168 questions to 20 questions.

Horne explained, “The previous Comprehensive Needs Assessment was weighed down with absurd measurements regarding Social Emotional Learning (SEL), which many teachers have complained is just a series of games that detract from teaching reading and math.”

He added, “The prior emphasis on SEL issues meant the report grew to an unmanageable 80 pages with 168 questions. Now there are 20 questions on six pages, all devoted to improving core academics.”

The department is also implementing a significantly updated tool for the yearly Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) pilot program. It reduces administration time by more than 80 percent, permitting rapid identification of critical student needs. Now teachers will be able to spend more time on classroom instruction.

These changes have been warmly received by many Arizona educators. Erik Francis, a consultant specializing in improving failing schools said, “For the last two administrations, the Arizona Department of Education has placed an unnecessary and unmerited burden of paperwork on schools. This has caused schools to be more focused on paperwork rather than implementing the goals, strategies, and action steps to serve schools. I am enthused to see the current administration is more assistive, open, and supportive than it has been in a decade.”

Mia Vega, the Superintendent of Legacy Traditional Schools, added, “Kudos to Superintendent Horne and AZED for streamlining forms and cutting red tape. Less time navigating bureaucracy means more time focusing on students for our educators.”

DATA MANAGEMENT ALERT       

ESS Statement of Assurances (SOA) due June 15, 2023

The FY24 Statement of Assurances application is open for submission. All PEAs must submit the IDEA Statement of Assurances (SOA) through the ESS Portal of ADEConnect. This is required before any FY24 activities in the Exceptional Student Services portal are allowable. The portal will block any PEA that has not completed the SOA after the deadline.

The application is now open for submission and closes on June 15, 2023.

The SOA must be submitted by the Superintendent, Charter Holder, or Special Education Director of your organization before FY24 IDEA funding applications are approved in the Grants Management Enterprise system.

• The PEA must assign the role of ESS Special Education: Signer in ADEConnect to the individual that will review, sign, and submit the Statement of Assurances.
• PEAs that do not apply for IDEA funds are still required to submit the SOA.

Please direct any questions to [email protected].

Horne submits filings to defend state law prohibiting biological boys from playing on girls’ teams

Female athletes praise stance

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has submitted a formal legal response in his defense of a lawsuit challenging the state law that prohibits biological boys from playing on girls’ teams. Horne is the only remaining defendant in the case since the other named parties have declined to defend the law.

In a news conference to explain the filing, Horne was joined by Marshi Smith, the 2005 NCAA and Pac-10 Conference Women’s backstroke champion who competed at the University of Arizona and is in the school’s athletic Hall of Fame.

Smith provided a letter that she and 44 other female athletes sent to the NCAA and the University of Arizona in March 2022 critical of the decision to allow males who identify as transgender to compete against women.

The letter states in part, “From the birth of the NCAA in 1906 until 1972, women had the fight to earn the law that provided equal opportunities for women in sports. It took a male to female transgender person one year to take the women’s swimming national championship title. This is not equality. Women’s standings, titles, records and scholarships are suddenly at risk again.”

Also lending support to this effort are triathlete Lauren Bondly, former UArizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood, and Shawna Glazier, a competitive cyclist who was defeated by a male who identified as a woman, won a cycling event, and then reverted to identifying as a male.

Horne stated, “I have sympathy for anybody who feels trapped in the wrong body, but I don’t believe that biological boys should be playing against girls. If there really are no differences between males and females then all sports would already be co-ed.”

In the Response to Plaintiff’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, Horne argues “The disruption and the unfairness caused to others by Plaintiffs insisting on unfairly competing against biological girls is undeniable. If the preliminary injunction were to be granted, a number of schools would permit biological males/transgender females to compete against girls. This would be devastating to girls who hope to excel but cannot because they are competing against biological boys and being deprived of scholarships. “

The response further states, “Biological girls forced to compete against biological males/transgender girls in contact sports, are at a particularly high risk of physical injury due to the average size, speed and strength advantages males have over females.”