Policy Statement: Indian Education
In early 2020, the Arizona Department of Education and Superintendent Hoffman received a request regarding a Policy Statement on Indian Education, originally adopted by the Arizona State Board of Education in 1985, and last revised and adopted by the Arizona State Board of Education on August 26, 2002. The request and recommendation were that the statement be brought forth as a renewed commitment to strengthening and furthering Indigenous education in Arizona.
On October 25, 2021, Superintendent Hoffman presented to the Arizona State Board of Education, requesting their renewed commitment to Indigenous education through the Policy Statement on Indian Education (2002).
The Department is pleased to announce that the State Board of Education renewed its commitment to Indigenous Education and supported an updated policy statement. This renewed policy statement aligns with the following steps that the Department has taken to ensure that there is actionable progress taking shape through the Office of Indian Education:
- Elevated position of OIE Director to Deputy Associate Superintendent.
- Established the Superintendent’s Indian Education Advisory Council with quarterly meetings.
- Leveraged federal recovery dollars to expand the OIE team from one to 5 full-time employees.
- Developed program collaboration and training to build culturally responsive processes that support Indigenous students and families.
- Allocated federal recovery dollars to support Arizona’s Indigenous educator pathways and trainings offered through our three state universities ($1 million to each program).
- Engaged in Discovery Education partnership to provide culturally relevant curricular resources.
- Developed pilot programs to address the digital divide and increasing leadership capacity.
- Providing opportunities for Indigenous stakeholder information and resource sharing.
