Errata: in Tuesday’s update, the chamber status erroneously stated the Legislature had adjourned until Thursday. In fact, they did have a floor session Wednesday, but did not take action on any bills. They then adjourned until Tuesday in observance of the MLK holiday.
Horne Delivers State of Educaton Remarks
Newly (re) elected Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne delivered the customary state of education remarks to the Senate Education Committee Wednesday afternoon. Horne previously served two terms as superintendent from 2003-2010.
Horne expressed unequivocal support for overriding the Constitutional Aggregate Expenditure Limit, which is a strong point of agreement between the superintendent and ASBA.
Horne also other focused on several areas, which will sound familiar to those who remember his previous tenure as superintendent:
Test Scores/School Improvement—Horne lamented falling test scores and indicated he would be reconstituting “school improvement teams” which hadn’t been used in quite some time. The technical term is “solutions teams,” and he neglected to mention that the department had not been funded for solutions teams in quote some time. How he will pay for these teams remains to be seen. Horne also expressed a preference for a high-stakes testing requirement for graduation, saying that without it, there is nothing to motivate students to do well on the test. Arizona’s testing requirement for graduation was repealed in 2015.
School Takeover/Alternative Operation—Horne stated he would not hesitate to use existing statutes to bring low-performing schools before the state board of education for possible takeover if they did not improve after “being offered assistance.”
English Learners—During his previous tenure, Horne was an architect of the state’s Structured English Immersion (SEI) model to teach students English, and he expressed his opposition to bilingual education. Although we have reformed the models of instruction to address some of the challenges, the SEI approach remains the foundation of English Learner instruction in Arizona.
Student Discipline—Horne offered a general idea that student discipline had degraded, and offered an anecdote in suport of his assertion that there’s “too much of a problem with administration not supporting teachers.” Horne said he wanted to “bring back traditional education to the schools,” but he did not elaborate on what that entails.
School Safety/School Resource Officers—Horne expressed a strong preference for School Resource Officers in every school, and, failing that, some sort of armed security presence to deter potential school violence. This will be key given that FY2023 is the year that new applications are awarded for the 3-year school safety grant cycle.
Executive Budget Released Today
Gov Hobbs is set to release her first executive budget proposal at 5 p.m. today. ASBA will provide a summary of key points after it is released.
Chamber Status
The House of Representatives is adjourned until Tuesday at 1:15 p.m. (MLK Holiday)
The Senate is adjourned until Tuesday at 1:15 p.m. (MLK Holiday)