Is 2020 the Year the Arizona ELL Law Comes off the Books?

Will the political stars finally align to repeal the law (Proposition 203) mandating English Only Instruction for students with limited English Proficiency in 2020? Proposition 203, passed in 2000, has not yielded the hoped-for outcomes as English learners have fallen behind in both English acquisition and mastery of other core and elective subjects children cannot … Read more

The Good, the Bad, and Likely Unconstitutional Education Ideas of John Filmore.

There is no question that Legislative 16 House Representative John Filmore has ideas on advancing state education policy. What is the question is how good they are. The Arizona Mirror and Eastern Arizona Courier, in a series of articles, has reported that the Apache Junction legislator and House Education Committee Vice-Chair has offered a series … Read more

New Children’s Action Alliance C.E.O. Siman Qaasim discusses the Organization’s Priorities going into 2020.

Children’s Action Alliance (CAA) is a non-partisan non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all of Arizona’s children. Similar in their goals to the nationally known Children’s Defense Fund organization, CAA, with offices in Tucson and Phoenix, has advocated for children’s causes to the legislature and state government agencies for the last 31 years. … Read more

Jay Lawrence is at it Again.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman and most of the public servants entrusted with deciding which schools receive school safety grant monies in the coming weeks are pragmatic public servants that recognize that there is not a one size fits all approach to ensuring children and educators are in a safe education environment. Arizona Legislative … Read more

U.N. climate reports: current efforts are not nearly sufficient to avert climate catastrophe

An alarming United Nations report released Tuesday said global temperatures are on track to rise as much as 3.9°C by the end of the century, meaning only drastic and unprecedented emissions reductions can stave off the most devastating consequences of the climate crisis. ‘The science is screaming’: UN report warns only rapid and transformational action can stave off global … Read more