A data breach exposed the personal information of thousands of Arizona students enrolled in the state鈥檚 school voucher program, according to Gov. Katie Hobbs, but the state鈥檚 top education official says it鈥檚 not a problem.

Earlier this month, ClassWallet, the online financial administration platform that handles payments for Arizona鈥檚 Empowerment Scholarship Account program, suffered a data breach that jeopardized the names and disability categories of thousands of Arizona students. The incident triggered an investigation by the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, according to a sent from Hobbs, a Democrat, to Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, a Republican, on Friday.

Over 60,000 Arizona students are currently enrolled in the ESA program, more than in the , Mesa Unified. A recent enrollment explosion was the result of a universal expansion passed last year by the GOP-controlled legislature. Previously, only public school students who met specific criteria, such as being a foster child, being part of a military family or having special education needs, qualified for a voucher that roughly equals the cost of teaching them in a public school. That voucher can then be used for homeschooling efforts or private school tuition.

The expansion has been widely denounced by Democrats and public school advocates as bankrolling the education of wealthy Arizona families at taxpayer cost. The initial wave of new applicants last year were found to be and, as of June, those students continue to make up .

Hobbs, a long-time critic of the expansion who earlier this year , rebuked Horne in Friday鈥檚 letter about the data breach. She requested a detailed response by Aug. 3 explaining his administration鈥檚 actions regarding the breach, preventative measures in place for the future, how the department has notified parents, what laws may have been violated by the exposure of private educational information and whether or not the department has referred the problem to the state attorney general for investigation.

鈥淚t is my responsibility to ensure the safety and security of our state, our agencies, and our people,鈥� Hobbs said, in a press release accompanying the letter. 鈥淎rizona students and families deserve to know that proper measures are in place to protect their personal information.鈥�

In a letter released shortly after Hobbs鈥� request, Horne shot back that the incident was a nonissue and no cause for alarm. Once a breach was identified, Horne said, his office contacted ClassWallet. The company responded with assurances that the problem had been resolved internally and only one user had actually been affected.

鈥淧arents were not notified because of the finding that it was a unique and isolated incident that affected no other users and was corrected right away,鈥� Horne wrote.

Horne criticized Hobbs for not seeking answers to her questions about possible legal violations with the state department of homeland security.

鈥淪ince the department of homeland security is part of your office, we would have thought you would have checked with them before writing your letter that is full of wild exaggerations,鈥� he wrote.

Data breach spat caps week of ESA scrutiny

The news of a data breach comes on the heels of a week of renewed criticism leveled against the ESA program and closely shadows the Aug. 1 deadline for the education department to select a vendor to oversee the program鈥檚 financial administration 鈥� which until now has been ClassWallet.

On Monday, Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, issued a consumer warning notification for parents considering taking advantage of school vouchers. She advised that leaving the public school system puts students in danger of losing critical non-discrimination protections.

鈥淔amilies should know that when they accept an ESA, they lose protections from discrimination related to a child鈥檚 learning abilities, religion and sexual orientation,鈥� Mayes .

Under state law, schools that accept vouchers aren鈥檛 required to abide by the same policies or laws that public schools do. Public school advocates have warned the loophole allows institutions that accept vouchers to discriminate against LGBTQ Arizonans while receiving state funds without legal repercussions, as happened in the who were told they weren鈥檛 welcome on their daughter鈥檚 private school campus earlier this year.

Also on Monday, two high ranking program administrators, Director Christine Accurso and her assistant, Operations Director Linda Rizzo, suddenly resigned, raising eyebrows among critics of the program. In her letter, Hobbs questioned their departures so soon before the first school year when school vouchers will be widely available.

鈥淎s students and parents prepare for a new school year, the sudden and unexpected departures of Director Accurso and Linda Rizzo raise concerns and questions about the administration of the ESA voucher program and the protection of student data under your supervision,鈥� she wrote to Horne.

The ballooning cost of ESA vouchers to the state, and ultimately, taxpayers, also received renewed attention this week, after Hobbs鈥� office released a funding analysis sounding the alarm over skyrocketing costs. In June, the is likely to grow to 100,000 students in the next year and cost $900 million 鈥� hundreds of millions of dollars more than the $500 million allocated to the program in this year鈥檚 state budget.

An early of the voucher program鈥檚 impact, released while the expansion was being considered, estimated that it would cost just $65 million in fiscal year 2024.

outpaces even the education department鈥檚 whopping estimate, pinning the cost to Arizonans at more than $943 million and warning that the current funding level is set to fall short by more than $300 million in the upcoming year. The report notes that the rapidly increasing price tag of the voucher program means that more than 53% of new K-12 education spending in fiscal year 2024 will benefit ESA recipients, who represent just 8% of all Arizona students.

GOP leadership, however, remains skeptical of both financial reports and is .

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on and .

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne doesn鈥檛 have the power to punish schools for using dual language instructional models, according to Attorney General Kris Mayes.

But this won鈥檛 be the end of the matter, as Horne is preparing to sue schools teaching students in two languages.

Last month, Horne, a Republican and long-time foe of bilingual education, from schools using the 50-50 dual language model. The model is one of four instructional strategies approved by the Arizona State Board of Education in 2020 to teach students not yet proficient in English. Under it, students are taught in English for half of the school day and in their native language for the other half.

As many as across the state, including , employ the 50-50 model and were poised to lose critical funds if they didn鈥檛 retire the teaching method. With the start of classes just weeks away, school officials and public education advocates over the uncertainty sowed by Horne鈥檚 statements.

But on Monday, Mayes dismissed the threat to schools, saying Horne doesn鈥檛 have the legal authority to withhold state dollars or make any decisions about the model鈥檚 validity.

鈥淭he Superintendent鈥檚 and the (Arizona Department of Education鈥檚) role鈥s limited to monitoring and referring school districts and charter schools to the Board,鈥� Mayes in a formal opinion issued in response to a request from Democratic legislators.

Mayes, a Democrat who was elected in 2022, concluded that Horne is responsible for overseeing and reporting on the implementation of English learner programs in Arizona, but no state law gives him the authority to take action against schools or decide the fate of certain programs.

The most a state superintendent can do, under , is compile reports on noncompliant schools and refer them to the State Board of Education. Only the State Board of Education has the power to modify or invalidate a teaching method. And until the board decides to eliminate the dual language model, Mayes said, it remains an option for schools seeking a way to teach their English language learner students.

At the heart of Horne鈥檚 criticism of dual language programs is that they violate the English-only standard set up in Proposition 203, a law overwhelmingly passed by Arizona voters in 2000. It prohibits teaching English learners in any language other than English until they鈥檝e achieved proficiency. The only exception is for students whose parents fill out a yearly waiver allowing them to be taught in a bilingual program.

But four years ago, state lawmakers, alarmed over the dismal academic outlook of English learners, that gave the State Board of Education permission to branch out into new, research-backed teaching models. One of those was the dual language model that鈥檚 increasingly popular today.

Mayes points to the laws which govern English language learner programs as evidence that only the State Board of Education has the power, given by the legislature, to do away with a teaching model.

鈥淭he Board has sole statutory authority to delete or modify an SEI (Structured English Immersion) model,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淣either the Department nor the Superintendent has statutory authority to reject an SEI model approved by the Board or to declare its illegality. Nor does the Superintendent or the Department have authority to withhold monies from school districts or otherwise impose consequences on schools for utilizing the Dual Language Model.鈥�

Mayes declined, however, to rule on the question of whether a conflict exists with the provisions of Prop. 203, writing that such a 鈥渇act-dependent analysis鈥� is outside the scope of interpreting Arizona law in a formal opinion.

鈥淭his Office declines to attempt such a fact-dependent analysis in the context of an official request for an Opinion, which does not involve public hearings or other taking of evidence,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淭he Board has approved the Dual Language Model as a model of SEI instruction, and school districts and charter schools remain entitled to rely on that approval.鈥�

Doug Nick, a spokesman for the Department of Education, which Horne leads, said the next step is likely to take place in court.

鈥淲e are in the process of reviewing the opinion and we expect to deliver a court challenge,鈥� he told the Mirror.

Shortly after Mayes issued her opinion, the State Board of Education affirmed that it would neither modify the teaching models currently in use across the state nor punish schools for implementing the 50/50 dual language method. Making any changes to currently approved teaching models or even eliminating them requires a majority vote of the board鈥檚 11 members, which includes Horne.

鈥淭he Board will not be taking action to change the approved models,鈥� Executive Director Sean Ross said in an emailed statement. 鈥淭he Board will also not take action against schools for using the approved models.鈥�

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For the second year in a row, Arizona Republicans have sought to restrict the behavior of LGBTQ students, and for the second year in a row, students across the state walked out of class to protest that hostility.

On Friday, students at eight Arizona schools gathered to express their support for LGBTQ youth on the , held to acknowledge the erasure of LGBTQ people. At Chandler High School, dozens marched to nearby Dr. A.J Chandler Park, where they discussed their fears and called on schools to implement better safety measures and more inclusive policies.

Tamaiah Briggs denounced Republicans lawmakers and others who make students feel unwelcome in school.

鈥淓very student has the right to feel safe in the space where they go to learn,鈥� the 15-year-old said. 鈥淎rizona legislators, teachers and administrators: you have a duty to make your students feel safe.鈥�

That concern has been a key focus of , the student group that organized the walkout and has led other to call out discriminatory laws. The group was launched last year as a response to anti-LGBTQ laws approved by Doug Ducey鈥檚 administration, including one that now that best match their gender identity and another that .

Dawn Shim, who founded the organization, noted that its advocacy work is far from over, in light of the legislature鈥檚 continued attacks. The GOP legislative majority has advanced several measures intended to , that include any mention of pronouns, consistent with their gender identity and who request pronouns opposite of their biological sex. All of those measures are fated to meet Gov. Katie Hobbs鈥� , but Republican lawmakers have continued to back them.

鈥淎s students, (anti-LGBTQ bills) compromise our safety and our mental health, both of which are burgeoning crises across the nation amongst teens,鈥� Shim wrote in an emailed statement.

In an attempt to fight back, Support Equality Arizona Schools issued a list of demands for Arizona public schools, including better systems for trans students to submit their preferred names and pronouns, more inclusive bathroom policies and equitability training for teachers.

The pronoun ban bill being considered and unanimously approved by GOP lawmakers is particularly concerning for 14-year-old Rhig Yates, who is transgender and uses 鈥渉e鈥� and 鈥渢hey鈥� pronouns.

鈥淲e should all be ourselves and we should not be forced to come out to people when we don鈥檛 want to,鈥� he told a crowd of students on Friday.

Yates experienced the anxiety of being forced to come out when he shared his preferred pronouns with a middle school teacher, who then told his parents. While his family wasn鈥檛 hostile, he warned that not all students can count on not being kicked out or hurt by transphobic parents.

鈥淪ometimes secrecy is required,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd the bill that has been made won鈥檛 help, it鈥檒l only make situations worse.鈥�

Even with assurances that the measure is doomed to fail, Yates worries anti-trans rhetoric at the Capitol will bleed into classrooms and hurt trans and questioning students. Research from the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide prevention organization, found that anti-LGBTQ legislation and speech from politicians

鈥淚t鈥檚 awful that people continue making these comments and rules that continue to oppress us,鈥� Yates said. 鈥淭hey are literally killing people with what they say.鈥�

Corinne Collins, an organizer with Support Equality Arizona Schools, lamented that lawmakers haven鈥檛 shown any inclination to stop advancing discriminatory legislation, despite ample testimony from the community. Members of the student-led group have been regular fixtures at the state Capitol this session, calling on lawmakers to halt anti-LGBTQ measures with little success.

鈥淚 have a fear that legislators aren鈥檛 absorbing what we鈥檙e telling them,鈥� she said.

But she firmly dismissed the idea of giving up, saying it鈥檚 important to continue advocating for the LGBTQ community, especially trans people who have been at the center of GOP attacks.

鈥淭rans people are just people,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are just trying to live their lives, they aren鈥檛 predators, they aren鈥檛 dangerous people. They are people.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on and .

Republican lawmakers want to put Arizona teachers behind bars if they so much as recommend a book to students that is considered too 鈥渟exually explicit.鈥�

On Thursday, Senate Republicans advanced a measure punishing teachers who 鈥渞efer students to or use sexually explicit鈥� materials with a class 5 felony, which carries with it a prison sentence as long as two years.

The only exception included in the bill is if the school has first obtained written parental consent, and the material has serious educational value for minors or possesses serious 鈥渓iterary, artistic, political or scientific value.鈥�

Critics warned that threatens to jeopardize the free speech of teachers and criminalize honest mistakes.

鈥淲hat if a teacher has a book on their desk? Or what if they refer to a classic novel in conversation with a student or another teacher?鈥� asked Sen. Anna Hernandez.

The Phoenix Democrat pointed out that the bill makes no distinction between kindergarten and high-school aged students, who are likely ready for more serious literature 鈥� and some of whom are legally adults.

She warned that the legislature鈥檚 relentless vilification of teachers will have a detrimental effect on a state already struggling to staff classrooms. A February survey from the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association found that as many as , continuing a seven-year streak.

鈥淚f this type of legislation continues, there will be no one else left that鈥檚 going to be willing to teach our kids,鈥� Hernandez said.

But Republican lawmakers shot back that it aims to protect children from harmful content.

鈥淭his bill actually protects children and their fundamental Christian values,鈥� said Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale.

Kern added that teachers are being run out of the state due to intimidation, citing the recent decision by Washington Elementary School District , which trains young teachers, over an anti-LGBTQ 鈥渟tatement of faith鈥� that all its students are required to sign and abide by.

鈥淭his bill is about stopping the sexualization of Arizona children,鈥� said Sen. Jake Hoffman, who sponsored the measure. 鈥淭here is nothing more important than protecting the innocence of our state鈥檚 kids.鈥�

Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican, claimed schools all over Arizona are 鈥渟exualizing鈥� students, but didn鈥檛 specify where. His proposal builds on legislation he that was signed into law, which simply prohibited such materials from being used in classrooms unless parental permission was obtained first. It defines sexually explicit as a depiction of sexual conduct or as broadly as physical contact with a person鈥檚 clothed or unclothed body, including their genitals, buttocks or breasts.

Initially, last year鈥檚 measure would also have , but that language was removed after widespread outcry. Still, critics worried it could lead to the removal of classic literature, and at least in response.

Sen. Christine Marsh, D-Phoenix, a former teacher, worried that adding criminal penalties to already unclear legislation would worsen the censorship of important books, and could negatively impact educational quality.

鈥淭eachers are going to have anxiety levels go up, and (they will) err on the side of extreme caution, which means that a whole lot of literature that probably doesn鈥檛 fall under that category 鈥� but teachers are afraid that it will 鈥� is not going to end up getting taught,鈥� she said.

Sen. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, a former school board member, said that plenty of laws already exist to punish the exposure of minors to pornographic materials. Schools are that protect students from encountering explicit material online, or risk forfeiting state funding.

And it鈥檚 a class 4 felony, which is punishable by up to , to , something depicting nudity or sexual conduct that isn鈥檛 considered suitable for minors and has no serious literary, artistic, scientific or political value.

The measure was approved by the state Senate with only Republican support on a vote of 16-13, but is unlikely to make it past Gov. Katie Hobbs 鈥� a possibility that Hoffman denounced ahead of time, saying that if she vetoed the bill, it would mean she 鈥渨ill have aided in the sexualization of Arizona children.鈥�

Hobbs has vowed to support only bipartisan legislation and has against schools as distractions from the real issues facing educators across the state.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on and .

CHANDLER 鈥� On any given day Steve Kanner, a school counselor at Arizona’s Hamilton High School, can be found speaking to a classroom of students or having a one-on-one conversation with a student.

Hamilton High has a ratio of 400 students to one counselor; the average ratio in the state of Arizona is 650 students to one counselor for K-12, according to the聽听(础厂颁础).

Hamilton High School, which is in the Chandler Unified School District, has 10 counselors, two social workers and three psychologists. Hamilton brought on extra counselors and social workers when the school, along with other schools across the country, received federal funding during the pandemic. School districts could decide how to appropriate funds within certain parameters.

Chandler Unified used some of the funds to hire new school counselors and social workers. In the fiscal year 2021-2022, Chandler Unified had 93 school counselors and 19 social workers. For the fiscal year 2022-2023, the district has 98 counselors and 23 social workers.

Some of that funding聽, and the extra counselors brought on by schools using the funding may be let go, ASCA Executive Director Jill Cook said: 鈥淥ur hope is as federal funding may wane that schools in the state will find ways to keep these positions in schools.鈥�

Cook emphasized the difference between school counselors today and guidance counselors from years ago.

鈥淲e are no longer guidance counselors who maybe do clerical work, just work on the college application process for students or work on disciplinary issues. Today鈥檚 school counselors work with all students in a school and spend 80% of their time in direct and indirect services to students,鈥� Cook said, noting classroom instruction, small group work, individual counseling and consultation and working with families take up most of their time.

Based on several studies, ASCA recommends a ratio of 250 students to one counselor at K-12 schools. As of 2022, the national average was 408 students to one counselor, according to ASCA.

Using a variety of studies, ASCA draws a connection between a lower student-to-counselor ratio and increased standardized test performance, attendance, GPA and graduation rates and decreased disciplinary infractions. Studies also show lower ratios increase the likelihood of students having conversations with school counselors regarding college and postsecondary plans.

鈥淲e are now starting to get these research results that show the impact of having this comprehensive approach to this work and what it can mean for students in a school,鈥� Cook said.

School counselors today wear many hats beyond just helping with academics, according to Mandy Tietjen, who has been a school counselor at Hamilton High for six years.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 see the days that we鈥檙e in classes, all six periods presenting, the one-on-one sit-downs we鈥檙e having for registration for the last five weeks, where we鈥檙e meeting with every student. The meetings we鈥檙e having with families because they want to talk about college or maybe their kid won鈥檛 get out of bed and come to school,鈥� Tietjen said.

School counselors鈥� role is to help students navigate their high school years, work toward meeting personal goals and social-emotional needs, and communicate with families, Kanner and Tietjen said.

Tietjen said counselors are like a communication hub for parents and students. They can answer parents鈥� questions and connect them with teachers if needed.

Kanner has worked in the district for 27 years.

鈥淓very day I try to come in and do the best job I can and not really think about how many students I have,鈥� Kanner said. 鈥淏ecause if we鈥檙e in the classroom, I鈥檓 just thinking of the class, or if I鈥檓 talking to a student one-on-one, I am just focused on the student.鈥�

Their day-to-day is based on the students and their needs.

鈥淚 always have my to-do list, but first thing in the morning, a student walks in and says, 鈥榊esterday my dad got diagnosed with cancer,鈥� and your to-do list goes back behind you, and now we鈥檙e present, and we鈥檙e talking about that, and we鈥檙e on the phone with the parents, and we鈥檙e talking to social workers, and we鈥檙e coming up with resources,鈥� Tietjen said.

School counselors are important for school function and students鈥� experience and success, ASCA鈥檚 Cook said, and school administrators agree.

鈥淲e are thankful for our counselors every day,鈥� Chandler Unified School District Superintendent Franklin R. Narducci said in an emailed statement. 鈥淪chool counselors help our students dream big. We are proud of the work CUSD counselors do. We know it is not easy and sometimes goes unnoticed.鈥�

Kanner highlighted the continuity counselors maintain with their students as an important part of their job. Tietjen agreed.

鈥淥ur kids see the same counselor, the same administrator all four years, and we鈥檙e able to communicate,鈥� Tietjen said. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 a discipline issue, we have a little insight about that and what social-emotional needs could be supported.鈥�

Kanner and Tietjen hope their school and others can keep on counselors who were hired with pandemic relief funds.

鈥淭here鈥檚 only so much time in a day, and if you took away one of our people, then that means less time,鈥� Tietjen said. 鈥淓verything equates to how much we have to give each individual student.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on and .

Lawmakers are hoping to convince teachers to stay in Arizona with a $10,000 pay raise, but the proposal comes with caveats that opponents say renders it purely performative.

Schools in the Grand Canyon State are well into their seventh year of operating under a teacher shortage. As many as and more than 1,800 teachers have called it quits since January. Rep. Matt Gress, who ran on a to revitalize teacher pay, introduced to help retain those who still remain.

It phases in a $10,000 raise by 2025 under a new 鈥淧ay Teachers First Fund.鈥� Gress, who served as budget director for Gov. Doug Ducey, said it would make up for the unsuccessful plan that Ducey championed. The Phoenix Republican touted his bill as a legislative fix for school shortcomings.

鈥淲e鈥檙e doing the job that most schools failed to do,鈥� he told colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 20.

A found that teacher salaries across the state have only increased by an average of 16.5% since 2017, with less than half of all districts meeting the 20% goal. The report notes that funding allocated to schools to achieve that goal was dependent on enrollment numbers and not on how much was needed to increase teacher salaries to that point, resulting in some districts receiving less than others.

And because the money wasn鈥檛 explicitly directed towards teacher salaries, it could have been spent on other school needs. Teacher population dynamics may have also swayed the data: districts which saw both a decrease in teacher salary experienced a related decrease in teacher experience, indicating new hires who are often paid less. And some districts also allocated the money to pay raises for school support staff, not just teachers.

Democrats on the panel were skeptical of the bill鈥檚 actual impact on teachers.

Rep. Judy Schwiebert, D-Phoenix, a retired teacher, worried that eligibility provisions in the bill leave out critical support staff and may end up helping an unequal amount of teachers. Only those who spend 50% of their time in the classroom are eligible for pay increases, and schools with smaller class sizes would be funded at the rate they would have been if they had a teacher to student-to-teacher ratio of 15:1.

Gress rebutted that his bill aims to help teachers, not support staff like bus drivers or aides, and the ratio was included to ensure that smaller schools don鈥檛 benefit from disproportionate funding compared to those with fewer teachers but more students.

Former teacher and Tucson Democrat Nancy Gutierrez pointed out that the total funding allocation is likely to repeatedly push schools over the constitutional spending cap that has threatened to waylay them two years in a row. The bill allocates $1.1 billion towards raises, and this year schools faced massive layoffs and closures when a record approved by voters in 1980.

Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, who chairs the committee, reassured Gutierrez that the legislature has successfully overridden that cap and saved schools across the state from making debilitating budget cuts in the past.

The cap has been waived in 2002, 2008, 2022 and this year, but this session saw resistance from a more conservative legislature, with members calling for increased transparency in exchange for letting schools spend the money already in their bank accounts.

That demand was also baked into the language of Gress鈥� proposal. To qualify for the pay increases, schools would be required to participate in the state鈥檚 , which gathers information on revenue, enrollment and spending. The bill is also tied to the passage of a different to include staff demographics, salaries, funding comparisons to other schools in the district, the cost of planned projects and their funding sources.

Republican lawmakers applauded that inclusion. Rep. Barbara Parker, R-Mesa, said it gives the legislature more input on where its funding approvals are being spent, something she said has been sorely lacking.

鈥淲e write the blank checks,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 often get any accountability or say where that money goes. (I tell people) it is your school boards and your school districts that determine if that money gets to the end of the row and gets to you.鈥�

While school boards do allocate where to spend revenue and funding, their decisions are subject to various federal and state expenditure reports.

Rep. Michael Carbone, R-Yuma, said it works to resolve the discrepancy between teacher and administrative pay 鈥� a widely blamed gap conservative lawmakers have pointed to as an explanation for low teacher salaries, despite the fact that .

Democrats disapproved of the calls for transparency, noting that schools are already highly accountable. They advocated, instead, for measures that truly address funding issues, such as a fix for the recurring battle with the school spending limit, which Republicans have shown no interest in. Rep. Athena Salman, D-Tempe, dismissed the measure as nothing more than an attempt to garner positive media attention.

鈥淭his is an exercise in futility and a bit of political theater,鈥� she said.

But Gress shot back that his measure is a step towards improving conditions for teachers. He added that holding schools accountable is imperative, and warned that no resolution for the school spending limit would occur without it.

鈥淭his provides a pathway forward, and I can assure you I am never voting to permanently lift the AEL unless we have accountability included,鈥� he said.

The measure passed out of the committee 10-5, with one Democratic lawmaker, Phoenix  representative Amish Shah, voting to support the intent of the bill, though he said he had reservations about the bill鈥檚 lack of coverage for special education teachers, who often have shorter days than their colleagues and may end up being excluded from potential pay raises.

Shah introduced his own measure to mitigate the teacher retention crisis. His proposal, , targets the high health insurance premiums that often persuade young teachers to leave the profession for better fringe benefits elsewhere.

鈥淧eople leave the education system when they realize how expensive the coverage is for their dependent,鈥� he said, on Feb. 20, during the same committee meeting.

The problem, Shah said, is that teachers facing high premiums for their dependents can鈥檛 resort to insuring them under the state鈥檚 low income option, because it bars coverage for those who qualify for insurance through a state agency employee. His bill would remedy that for teachers who make $75,000 or less and whose schools can prove that subsidizing their premiums would be a retention factor.

Grants would cover 50% of the teacher鈥檚 annual insurance cost if costs under $6,000 or just 90% of the total 鈥� whichever is less.

鈥淭hey still have a little bit of skin in the game, but also we鈥檙e not handing out $5 to each person in an attempt to retain,鈥� Shah explained.

Marcus Osborn, a lobbyist for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, spoke in favor of the bill. Osborn also served as a member of Madison Elementary鈥檚 school board, and shared that in his eight-year tenure, one of the top requests was dependent care. The bill鈥檚 subsidy program, which ends in 2028, would help establish data around that anecdote, which could inform future policy around teacher health insurance.

While the proposal won resounding bipartisan support and passed out of the committee 12-3, Republican lawmakers on the panel made clear their votes weren鈥檛 an indication of future support.

Rep. Tim Dunn, R-Yuma, said he was uncomfortable with approving subsidies for only teachers among all of the state employees the legislature oversees. Livingston, who co-sponsored the measure, said it was a step in the right direction, adding that he would be in favor of putting all of Arizona鈥檚 teachers on the same health insurance legislators are on to drive down costs for everyone.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on and .

For the first time in Arizona, Indigenous undergraduate students will get the opportunity to take classes at a major public university without worrying about how to cover tuition.

The University of Arizona announced that it is launching a first-of-its-kind program that will cover tuition and mandatory fees for full-time Indigenous undergraduate students who are from any of Arizona鈥檚 22 federally recognized tribes.

鈥淪erving Arizona鈥檚 Native American tribes and tribal students is a crucial part of the University of Arizona鈥檚 land-grant mission, and the Arizona Native Scholars Grant program is another important step among many to do that,鈥� University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins said in a press release announcing the program.

The ANS grant is geared toward full-time undergraduate students studying on the University of Arizona鈥檚 main campus in Tucson.

The grant will make up any difference between a student鈥檚 tuition, mandatory fees, and all other financial aid the student receives, such as a Pell Grant or merit scholarships, according to the University of Arizona鈥檚. The grant can be awarded for up to four years.

鈥淚 am so proud that this university has found a way to help hundreds of students more easily access and complete a college education, and I look forward to finding ways to take these efforts even further,鈥� Robbins said.

The program will be funded through a reallocation of financial aid dollars and will be administered by the University of Arizona鈥檚 Enrollment Management, according to the university.

鈥淭he Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation is proud to partner with UArizona in its ongoing efforts to honor Native heritage and support Indigenous students,鈥� Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation Chairman Ned Norris, Jr. said in a statement to the Mirror. 鈥淭his program will help ensure that students from the Nation and other tribes have the opportunity to access the world-class education opportunity available close to home at the University of Arizona.鈥�

Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis applauded the University of Arizona鈥檚 鈥渓andmark decision鈥� on providing free tuition to Indigenous students.

鈥淨uality education will continue to lift our Tribes and our people and help create the next generation of Arizona tribal leaders,鈥� Lewis said in a statement to the Arizona Mirror. 鈥淭his important acknowledgment of UA鈥檚 responsibility to the sovereign tribal nations of Arizona should be emulated across the state and nationally.鈥�

The program begins in the fall for new and continuing full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates who will be eligible for the Arizona Native Scholars Grant program.

Education Director of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Serina Preciado said the University of Arizona announcement is important to the tribe because Indigenous students do not enroll at the rate that other subgroups do within colleges and universities,

鈥淭he experience of Pascua Yaqui students is that they live in multi-generational households and they are contributing to the household income,鈥� she said.

This means that a lot of young Indigenous students are faced with the choice of either helping out the family by working or making the personal choice to thrive in a higher education setting.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 not a choice that they have to make anymore, at least not if they attend the university,鈥� Preciado said. 鈥淲e hope that that (this) becomes something that gets alleviated across the state and in the country.鈥�

Preciado said the new program also contributes to the intergovernmental agreement the Pascua Yaqui Tribe entered into with the University of Arizona in 2021, where the university committed to helping the Pascua Yaqui tribal members reach their higher education goals.

鈥淭he state and the country have a huge obligation to Native American communities,鈥� Preciado said. 鈥淚f you look at the rates of poverty and the kind of social conditions that are happening on reservations and in tribal communities across the state and the country, we know that education is a solution to a lot of these issues, but there has not been a significant, tangible significant investment in Native American education at a higher education level.鈥�

According to the university, serving Arizona鈥檚 Tribal Nations and students is a key part of the university鈥檚 strategic plan, and is central to the plan鈥檚 Arizona Advantage pillar, which highlights the university鈥檚 role as a land-grant institution.

鈥淭he University of Arizona is committed to recognizing and acknowledging the history endured by Native American communities,鈥� said Kasey Urqu铆dez, University of Arizona鈥檚 vice president of enrollment management and dean of undergraduate admissions, in a press release.

鈥淲e are committed to promoting access and success for Indigenous students,鈥� she added. 鈥淭his program is part of our continual commitment to serve our Indigenous Wildcats.鈥�

Preciado said that by the university offering free tuition to Indigenous students in Arizona, they stand up and begin to repair the legacy of universities as land grabbing institutions.

The University of Arizona is a land-grant university, meaning it鈥檚 one of many institutions across the country to receive land grants from the Morrill Act, that sought to provide a 鈥渓iberal, practical education鈥� for the working class.

Fifty two modern land-grant universities received land grants traceable to the Morrill Act, according to .

鈥淭he United States took the land that supplied the grants from nearly 250 tribal nations, through 162 treaties or seizures,鈥� the investigation reported. 鈥淟and-grant universities were built not just on Indigenous land, but with Indigenous land.鈥�

The University of Arizona鈥檚 main campus is based in Tucson, which is the original homelands of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O鈥檕dham Nation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a significant step to take to move beyond land acknowledgments,鈥� Preciado said, and the university is showing that it values Indigenous communities and people.

This move can be seen as more restorative rather than performative, she added because more often than not, Indigenous communities have to experience performative land acknowledgments.

鈥淭his is a really big step, big movement from the university,鈥� Preciado said, because Indigenous students need access to these types of resources everywhere.

鈥淲hen we talk about valuing tribal communities, we mean it, and they鈥檙e putting their money where their mouth is,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e implore universities across the country to make this commitment to Native students.鈥�

For students to be eligible for the ANS grant, they must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and provide tribal identification.

Native American tribes鈥� federal legal status allows universities to administer scholarships and grants to tribal members, the university said. More than 400 students enrolled at the University of Arizona last year that meet the criteria for the new program.

But the program does leave out non-traditional students, such as Indigenous undergrad students taking courses online or taking courses at the main campus on a part-time or less than part-time basis.

Levi Esquerra, the University of Arizona鈥檚 senior vice president for Native American advancement and tribal engagement, said the ANS program may later expand to graduate students, University of Arizona Online students, and students at other campuses. The university will also look to potential donor support to help fund the program.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez applauded the new program, saying that it will open doors for more Indigenous students.

鈥淭his is a wonderful initiative for our young people and the University of Arizona. It not only opens doors for Native Americans to pursue higher education, but it will also add to the cultural and academic diversity of the university,鈥� Nez said in a statement to the Mirror. 鈥淲e have many bright and intelligent Navajo people who are eager to earn a degree but often lack the financial resources to do so.鈥�

Nez said that Ribbons recently visited Window Rock, the Navajo Nation capital, and they had the chance to have a conversation about different ways they could support Navajo students.

鈥淚鈥檓 proud of the University of Arizona for taking this big step forward and I hope to see other universities follow suit,鈥� he added.

For a full breakdown of the application process, visit the .

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on and .