Arizona Legislature adopts sweeping education reforms
by Matthew Ladner, Ph.D.

This session Arizona lawmakers enacted some of the most far-reaching K-12 education reforms in state history. The changes have received little attention from any Arizona media so far. But you can bet you’ll hear much more as the state implements the new laws.

Ten years ago Florida implemented a set of education reforms that transformed their schools from among the worst performers on national tests to among the best. Several of the bills that Governor Brewer has signed into law are modeled on Florida’s success.

1. Arizona now will annually issue schools a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F.
2. The state now will have a robust program for experts in math, science and other areas to teach their subjects without first getting a teaching certificate from a college of education.
3. Lawmakers have curtailed social promotion by holding back some third graders who have yet to learn the basics of reading.
4. Legislators expanded the sources available to launch new charter schools.
5. Lawmakers increased the size and transparency of the state scholarship tax credit program and changed to the date for claiming the tax credits from December 31 to April 15.
6. The Legislature also specified school districts cannot use “years on the job” as the only criteria when deciding which teachers to keep. The Arizona Department of Education will be required to develop teacher and principal evaluations that include how well students score on specific tests.

Each bill contains important policy changes that will improve education by holding educators accountable to parents and taxpayers. The “A” to “F” school labels and teacher evaluation reforms could revolutionize Arizona’s public schools if properly implemented.

We have many people to thank for these remarkable changes. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Patricia Levesque, the executive director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education, spent their valuable time here in Arizona. Key philanthropic and business community leaders aided with both their money and their time. Governor Jan Brewer and her staff made it a priority to win legislative approval of the Florida-based reforms. The chairmen of the Senate and House education committees, Senator John Huppenthal and Representative Rich Crandall, personally introduced several of the key bills. Most of the measures gathered strong, bipartisan support.

This year, Arizona lawmakers demonstrated with action, not just words, that they will not accept Arizona permanently sitting near the bottom of student achievement rankings. We will not see overnight improvement, and much hard work lies ahead. We have, however, taken the first vital steps to turning our school performance crisis around.

Dr. Matthew Ladner is vice president for research at the Goldwater Institute.

LEARN MORE:

Goldwater Institute: New national test scores show urgent need for education reform

Goldwater Institute: Teachers union pushes for larger class sizes taught by bad teachers

Goldwater Institute: Demography Defeated: Florida’s K-12 Reforms and Their Lessons for the Nation

We have also changed our timeline and ADDED A NEW DISTRIBUTION CYCLE. We will now be making scholarship distributions in February, May, August and November — 4 TIMES PER YEAR! You must complete an application every year beginning March 1 and all of the applications will go out-of-date after February 28.

Please contact us if you have any questions about our new application process and timeline.

MEETING NOTICE

On Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 1:30 pm in SHR1, the Senate Committee on Education Accountability and Reform will hear two school choice bills — HB 2663 and HB 2664.

Arizona House moves to improve tuition tax credit program
by Matthew Ladner, Ph.D.

Through the magic of public access television, I recently watched debate before the state House of Representatives on bills to reform the tuition scholarship tax credit program. I’m happy to report that legislators engaged in a substantive discussion and adopted amendments from both parties.

Congratulations to Representative Rick Murphy for bringing an important and helpful bill, HB2663, to the House. His bill will strengthen oversight through several steps, including empowerment of the state Department of Revenue to revoke the designation of “Student Tuition Organization” for rogue scholarship groups.

I was also impressed with the level of debate from House Democrats. In years past, I’ve had the impression many of these elected officials were content to complain about the scholarship tax credits, but they were not serious about doing anything to address their concerns. In this debate, I saw serious proposals offered.

For instance, Representative Steve Farley offered a floor amendment to allow the Department of Revenue to collect a fee from STOs to fund better oversight. Farley made a convincing case that state government is moving towards user fees during this economic downturn, and scholarship groups ought to be included. The amendment wasn’t adopted. But a fee of less than one-half of 1 percent on the total amount each STO raises each year should provide sufficient funding and merits further consideration.

Other amendments would have required that scholarships funded by the individual tax credits go to students from low-income families, and would have forbidden STOs from considering any recommendations from donors about who should receive scholarships. Reasonable people can and have disagreed on these subjects.

Only the Internal Revenue Service can ultimately determine the legality of donor recommendations. I’ve seen legal opinions going both ways. In the meantime, HB 2663 specifies that donor recommendations cannot be the sole reason any student receives a scholarship, and scholarship groups must consider financial need as a part of their criteria.

No one is getting everything they desire from these reforms. But this bill represents a positive step towards improving transparency and accountability in the program if the Senate and the governor also approve it.

Dr. Matthew Ladner is vice president for research at the Goldwater Institute.

LEARN MORE:

Goldwater Institute: State budget cuts should include education bureaucrats

Goldwater Institute: Fortune Favors the Bold: Reforms for Results in K-12 Education

Goldwater Institute: Arizona’s education stagflation

Arizona Legislature: House Bill 2663

Join the Arizona STO Association (ASTOA) and its members and supporters on the Senate Lawn at the Arizona State Capital to celebrate and show support for Arizona’s many school choice programs.

ASTOA and its members will showcase the positive impact Arizona’s school choice programs, and in particular the tuition tax credits, are making in the lives of Arizona families. Come out leaders so that our state’s leaders will know that school choice matters and that their continued support is important for our children’s educational futures. We look forward to seeing you there!

Please note: In addition to the application, ALL families must also submit a copy of page 1 & 2 of their most recent tax return and a copy of each student applicant’s most recent report card.