Governor Orders Progress on School Facilities
Supreme Court finishes off debt relief, and oh yeah, happy 4th!
Hobbs Issues Executive Orders on School Facilities
Gov. Hobbs late Thursay issued two executive orders, concerning school facilities—one to implement the $1M appropriation for in-person school facilities inspections included in the FY24 budget, and one to begin the process of revising the minimum adequacy guidelines.
Executive Order 2023-14 Improving School Facilities Inspections
Directs the division of school facilities within the Arizona Department of Administration to inspect or contract with qualified outside personnel to inspect all public district school buildings in the state at least once every five years.
Requires the inspections to be conducted in person.
Directs the department to report anually the number of buildings inspected and what percentage of buildings statewide that number represents.
Allows schools scheduled to be inspected to seek a waiver of inspection if they have been inspected within the preceding three years and a report of the inspection is provided to the department. The department may determine whether the inspection meets the statutory requirements and waive the required inspection.
Creates the governor's Minimum Adequacy Guidelines Modernization Committee to student and make recommendations for updates to the guidelines, consisting of the following members:
A representative of an urban school district
A representative of a rural school district
A representative of a large school district
A representative of a small school district
An educator from an urban school
An educator from a rural school
A school architect
A contractor or contractors with experience building and/or maintaining public district schools in rural and urban areas
One representative or designee from each of the largest associations in the state comprised of members of: school district governing boards, teachers, school administrators, school business officials, and rural schools
Such other members as the governor deems appropriate
Charges the committee with conducting stakeholder meetings and and consulting with experts to develop its recommendations, which shall include, without limitation, recommendations for establishing minimum guidelines for safety and security at all public district schools
Requires a report to the governor on or before July 1, 2024
Directs the school facilities division within the Arizona Department of Administration to facilitate the School Facilities Oversight Board's review and potential adoption of the recommendations upon the submission of the committee's report.
The Arizona School Boards Association has been pursuing revisions to Arizona's school capital funding system for many years, as the state has lost track of the capital needs of school districts and the minimum adequacy guidelines have proven inadequate to meet today's safety and technology demands. Gov. Hobbs' executive orders start us down the path of ensuring all Arizona students have access to a safe, modern school building as required by the Arizona Constitution. We look forward to participating in this work and thank Gov. Hobbs for moving it forward.
Read the full Hobbs press release here
Supreme Court Rules Against Biden Student Loan Forgiveness
The U.S. Supreme Court last week issued its opinion in Biden v. Nebraska that the U.S. Department of Education lacks the authority under its emergency powers to unilaterally forgive student debt. This effectively ends the legal avenue the administration hoped to use to cancel that much debt. President Biden almost immediately promised a new effort that involves putting his plan through the federal rulemaking process, but that will take additional time, barring more legal challenges.
Meanwhile, payments on federal student loans are set to resume on October 1.
ASBA has been following debt forgiveness/relief programs because of their potential to impact large numbers of educators and school staff in Arizona. We will continue to follow up with additional news.
Happy 4th of July! Be Free, but Be Smart
We here at ASBA GR are fond of the 4th of July. It is America’s 247th birthday after all. I guess it follows that government nerds would like…well…government. And while readers may differ on how well things are going at any given moment, we can (hopefully) all agree not being subjects of the British Crown is pretty great. Ironically, one of our friends from across the pond, Winston Churchill, pretty much sums it up for us:
“No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
As good stewards of Arizona’s public resources, we would be remiss if we did not remind you to exercise common sense if you are outdoors enjoying the holiday. Use a designated driver, be careful with fireworks, grills, campfires, and vehicles, and always use a life vest when operating boats or personal watercraft. Have a safe and enjoyable fourth!