Arizona Department of Education

06/10/2026

SuperintendentHorne urges more ESA staff in state budget--Current levels insufficient.
State schools superintendent Tom Horne is urging the Governor and state lawmakers to add more staff to the growing Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. The current budget agreement does not include much-needed personnel increases to serve ESA parents and students.

Horne stated, “The ESA program is popular and gives parents the opportunity to choose the best education for their children. It must be operated efficiently, but staffing to deal with the ESA program was determined when the program had 11,000 students. In the past three years, the program has expanded to over 100,000 students. Despite numerous requests by us, the legislature and Governor have not adjusted staffing to this almost tenfold increase in the number of students. We must do our work with employee levels designed for 11,000 students.

https://www.azed.gov/communications/horne-urges-more-esa-staff-state-budget

06/09/2026

Federal Grants Administrators and Title I Teachers converge at the summer ESEA 2026 conference at the Renaissance Center in Glendale this week. The Conference features targeted training sessions, personalized technical assistance, and intentional collaboration opportunities, helping Local Education Agencies implement federal programs that not only comply with requirements but also make a real difference in schools and their communities.

06/09/2026

Superintendent Horne announces $300K in grant funds to help recruit, train more teachers--apprenticeships help address chronic shortage.
A new $300,000 grant will be used by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to expand its existing teacher apprenticeship and mentoring program to address the ongoing teacher shortage crisis, according to Superintendent Tom Horne.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htp3bJ3oGu8

06/02/2026

A BIG shout out to the Roosevelt School District for a huge increase of kids in gifted education. They went from 3 2nd graders to 35 this year! The district overall has seen 87 % growth in gifted students, and amazing accomplishment. Congrats to all the students, parents and educators at Roosevelt!

05/20/2026

In this free series of six live webinars, we will dive into the disciplinary skills and processes standards for social studies. Sessions are made for Arizona teachers, designed by a former Arizona teacher.

Teachers will walk away with new resources and strategies to support all content and class levels. Attend one session or all sessions for new ideas and deeper understanding!

Open to all K-12 social studies teachers.

JUNE 24 SESSIONS
9 am | Teaching Change and Continuity in Social Studies |
11 am | Teaching Multiple Perspectives in Social Studies |
1 pm | Teaching Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning in Social Studies |
JUNE 25 SESSIONS
9 am | Teaching Relationships in Social Studies |
11 am | Disciplinary Literacy in Social Studies |
1 pm | Exploring Women's History with WAMS |
Register here: azed.geniussis.com/PublicStudentSignUp.aspx?aid=11359&utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendgrid.com

05/20/2026

The Arizona Civics Test Reporting Form is due JUNE 1, 2026. Thank you to the 120 schools/districts that have already submitted!

Arizona students are required to take and pass the Arizona Civics Test in order to graduate.
The test can be given in any grade 7-12.
Students must receive a score of 70/100 questions from the USCIS naturalization test (either the 2008 or 2025 version).
Student transcripts must reflect pass/fail, especially if tested in middle school. Reporting Form is due June 15

Public schools and charters who serve grades 7-12 must submit the Arizona Civics Test Reporting Form.*

*If you serve grades 7-12 in any capacity but did not test students, you must still complete the form.

05/15/2026

The Arizona Department of Education announces the 2026 Bookmark Contest. Design a bookmark that represents one of the Six Pillars of Character. This contest is open to all K–12 students. Artwork should be scanned and emailed to [email protected] by August 14, 2026. Winners will be announced on August 28 and invited to the Department of Education to meet Superintendent Tom Horne. For more details see Bookmark Summer Contest on our website https://www.azed.gov/character-education.

05/13/2026

Supt. Tom Horne congratulates the Arizona semi-finalists for the 2026 Presidential Scholarship Program! This recognizes and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. The Scholars represent excellence in education and the promise of greatness in young people.

https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/recognition-programs/us-presidential-scholars-program

05/13/2026

Dr. Holly Geyer of the Mayo Clinic and the co-chair of ADE’s School Training Overdose Preparedness & Intelligence Taskforce presented Supt. Horne with an award today for his leadership and dedication to preventing opioid overdoses on AZ campuses. Pictured with ADE School Safety Director Mike Kurtenbach.

05/11/2026

Peoria Unified School District leadership is embroiled in a dispute over an effort by former governing board president Heather Rooks’ attempt to have the Maricopa County Attorney and State Board of Education added to an internal investigation of alleged sexual misconduct. The Board opposed that and removed Rooks as president. Horne agrees with Rooks that full reporting is legally required.

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