Ducey announces aid package to keep K-12 schools afloat
Arizona students can attend class virtually in the coming academic year without public schools losing significant amounts of per-pupil funding, thanks to one of several measures rolled out by the governor on Wednesday to keep schools afloat during the pandemic.
Currently, the state relies on physical attendance to calculate enrollment and school funding, meaning staggered attendance or distance learning measures implemented to protect students and teachers would hurt schools’ bottom lines.
While a state funding pathway for online instruction does exist, it funds online learners at a lower rate than inperson learners and does not allow for hybrid models that combine classroom and virtual learning.
Gov. Doug Ducey’s new executive order gives schools the flexibility to offer hybrid options without major financial penalties and exempts certain procurement rules for COVID-19-related purchases.
The Governor’s Office unveiled the directive Wednesday afternoon alongside a $269 million funding package developed with input from district superintendents and school leaders. The state Department of Education simultaneously announced a supplementary $25 million in school funding.
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act will pay for both packages. Arizona’s education system is expected to receive $850 million in CARES Act funding overall, according to the Governor’s Office.
Grant funding comes with strings
The bulk of the governor’s $269 million package — about $200 million — will go toward a grant program designed to hold schools harmless for in-person or overall enrollment declines. Schools will not lose more than 2% of the funding amount they received last school year.
Schools can use the grants to reimburse themselves for expenses they’ve already incurred, according to state budget staff, as well as costs going forward, such as personal protective equipment.
A primer from Ducey’s office said the grant program is key because “school closures disproportionately impact students already struggling, especially students in low-income and rural communities.”
To qualify for a grant, schools must meet a series of accountability standards.
They must submit plans to the Arizona Department of Education detailing how they will track attendance for students learning remotely and how they will maintain regular contact with those students. They must track the attendance of all types of learners and provide updates monthly.
They also must comply with all state and federal financial transparency requirements, and conduct benchmark testing for students in math and English within the first six weeks.
Finally, if schools choose to offer both on-site and remote teaching, they must make the on-site learning option available for 180 days, the length of a standard academic year.
Ducey’s executive order makes exceptions to the 180-day requirement if, “due to a COVID 19 outbreak,” the state Department of Health Services directs a school to close temporarily to sanitize the facility.
“Today’s plan really is about two things: flexibility and funding,” Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak said.
Where will rest of the money go?
House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez, D-Yuma, called the governor’s efforts a step in the right direction, applauding the discretion given to local districts.
But she wondered if schools would really have enough money for adequate personal protective equipment. Even before the pandemic, parents often provided cleaning supplies, such as sanitizing wipes, for many classrooms, she said.
Fernandez also said the state needs to ensure that school districts can afford to provide training for educators on distance learning as teachers get used to working with students remotely for perhaps the first time.
The remainder of the governor’s aid package does include $6 million for the Arizona Teachers Academy to assist with the teacher shortage, as well as $700,000 for leadership development. But it was not immediately clear how much of that training would relate to distance or hybrid learning models.
The rest of Ducey’s package includes:
$40 million to expand broadband in rural communities.
$20 million to bring in extra support for high-need schools.
$1 million in “micro grants” to support innovative programs.
$1 million for vehicles for the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind.
$500,000 for Teach for America to provide tutoring to students needing extra help.
Nonprofit A for Arizona will oversee the innovation grant program and is expected to match the state’s investment through private donations. Schools will have roughly four weeks to submit proposals, with grants issued in July.
“Arizona school leaders are ready with the thoughtful plans in place to redesign their school model and implement creative solutions to serve all kids no matter the classroom setup,” the organization said in a statement Wednesday.
On the Department of Education side, the agency’s $25 million package includes $14.5 million in emergency funding for non-Title I schools, $6 million for the development and expansion of distance learning plans and $5 million to help make up for special education services lost during school closures.
Task force outlined needs
Both packages came in response to a series of reopening recommendations released by an Arizona Department of Education task force earlier this month. State Superintendent Kathy Hoffman convened the group this spring after the state shuttered schools indefinitely.
In its report, the task force — which included more than 100 educators, principals, school nurses, superintendents and charter school leaders — said it would be impossible for schools to continue educating students in the “uncertain and fluid environment” created by the pandemic without changes to state rules.
The task force also recommended schools immediately work to identify any learning gaps in material from the end of 2019-2020 school year once the new year begins, monitoring students with disabilities and English Language Learners closely to ensure they’re served equitably.
It said districts and charters should assess what technology individual students might need to work from home, such as additional devices or better wireless internet access.
Still, several questions remain, such as how a state with one of the worst student-to-teacher ratios in the nation can keep all students six feet apart. In her introduction to the the task force report, Hoffman acknowledged there were “many unknowns about the future of this virus and its impact on our state.”
“While our coming school year will also look different from years past, and as the entire world grapples with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, I take heart knowing that our schools will continue to be bedrocks of support, comfort, and stability,” she wrote.