ARIZONA

Lisa Studness & Valerie Wrenholt

Background Information
        Educational reform was a central issue in Arizona's 
elections last November.  By providing resounding victories 
for pro-school choice Governor Fife Symington and 
Superintendent Lisa Graham, the voters sent a strong message.  
The education status quo is no longer acceptable, and the 
need for fundamental reform is urgent.  Though Arizona has 
many good public schools, overall it is not doing nearly as 
well as it should.  Arizona ranks 35th nationally on student 
reading scores, and 44th in graduation rates.  The need for 
reform is greatest in low income communities.  Good schools 
offer the surest escape from poverty, but most low-income 
children are consigned to the worst schools.  Choice gives 
parents a chance to get their children out of bad schools and 
into good ones.  (The Arizona Republic 2/15/95)
        In general, there has been strong support for charter 
schools in Arizona.  Charter school proponents argue that the 
laws and regulations of public schools  make schools 
homogeneous and fail to provide the best education possible 
for each individual student.  Each child learns very 
differently, and so may require different teaching styles, 
curriculum, etc.  Many see charter schools as laboratories 
for innovation.  Supporters also argue that charter schools 
provide new professional opportunities for teachers.  Charter 
schools give teachers more say and provide a way to bring new 
teaching methods to classrooms.  Proponents see charter 
schools as a means of bringing competition to the field of 
education, contending that schools that do a good job will 
have plenty of students and those that do a poor job will be 
forced to shut their doors.  
        Opponents believe that there is a flip side to less 
regulation and governmental interference.  Allowing districts 
the options of dropping courses such as environmental studies 
or Spanish might be making education less relevant to what is 
happening in our world (The Phoenix Gazette, 4/10/95).  
Others argue that charter schools help only a very small 
percentage of the population, and therefore are not a worthy 
cause.  There has also been concern that charter schools 
would drain the best students and talent from school 
districts.  

Legislation
         The Arizona School Improvement Act, passed in 1994, 
provided for the creation of charter schools as alternatives 
to traditional public schools.  The law established a new 
State Board for Charter Schools as a granting body for 
charters and appropriated $1 million to assist charter 
schools with start-up costs.  An unlimited number of charter 
schools are allowed by local board sponsorship, while the 
state Board of Education and state Board of Charter Schools 
can approve 25 charter schools a year each.  The length of 
the charter is five years, and any public body, private 
person, or private organization can organize a charter 
school.  
        Arizona gives charter schools a great deal of autonomy 
from state and district rules.  Charter schools are legally 
independent, and so they are not subject to district rules.  
Although Arizona charter schools are exempt from many state 
laws and regulations, such as teacher certification, 
compliance reviews and mandated classes, they are subject to 
federal, state and local laws dealing with health, safety, 
civil rights, insurance and special education.  In addition, 
charter schools cannot deny admission to students based on 
academic or physical abilities.  
        Charter schools can be sponsored by a school district, 
the state Board of Education or the state Board of Charter 
Schools.  The law also allows public schools to issue 
charters, but so far, only one has done so.  In addition, a 
bill has been approved by the Senate that would allow 
universities, community colleges, and county school 
superintendents to issue charters.  Rejected applications may 
be resubmitted to the same body.
        Arizona charter schools are eligible to receive grants 
up to $100,000 for each of two years.  In state-sponsored 
charter schools, state and federal funds flow from the state 
to the school. If a district sponsors the charter school, 
federal, state, and local funds flow through the district to 
the school.  The amount of funds available to the school must 
be the minimum per pupil expenditure in the district.  
        Under the charter-school law, schools are required to 
maintain high levels of student academic achievement or risk 
losing their charters.  The application process for a 
proposed charter school requires information about how 
schools plan to measure student improvement.  Charter schools 
must design a method to measure student progress toward the 
outcomes adopted by the state board of education and must 
report annually on such testing.

Results of Law 
        Since September, when the law took effect, the state 
Board of Education and state Board for Charter Schools have 
given preliminary approval to about 30 charter-school 
applications and about 50 more are now under consideration.  
However, before actually receiving the charters, the 
applicants must undergo background checks and detailed 
scrutiny as to how the schools will be run.  The schools, 
many of which would be started from scratch, have to find 
their own facilities, hire a teaching staff, and develop a 
curriculum.  They receive no money for building or 
maintaining schools but can apply for $100,000 from a state 
stimulus fund in their first year of operation.   If all the 
proposed charter schools actually opened next fall, it is 
estimated they would have 8000 students, slightly less than 1 
percent of the total public school population in Arizona.  
Based on this projection, the Legislature is expected to 
approve $16 million in charter-school funding in next year's 
state budget.   (The Arizona Republic 1/95-4/95; 
Congressional Quarterly Magazine, 2/95)
        Four charter schools are ready to open in September 
1995.  For example, Foothills Academy, a private school, will 
go public as a charter school, focusing on college prep 
academics, leadership skills and the environment.  Parents 
now pay $4400 per year in tuition and fees for their children 
to attend the two-room schoolhouse.  The public status, which 
means the school will get between $4300 and $4400 per pupil 
from the state instead of charging tuition, is expected to 
draw between 20 and 50 more students to the 23-pupil academy, 
which serves students in grades 6 through 12.  It also means 
students from varied socioeconomic levels can attend the 
school  since the absence of tuition will draw pupils from 
many areas.  Although it will be a public institution and 
will need to serve a greater number of students, the school 
plans to keep its high standards.  Strict behavior codes 
include automatic expulsion for drug use and an arduous 
application process that includes a six-page application and 
multiple interviews. The school's goal is to provide an 
alternative to gifted students who may need a different kind 
of an environment.  Many of the students came from schools 
where they had been frustrated by the slower pace. Most 
parents were thrilled that the academy received charter 
status because a much wider range of students will have 
access to the its wonderful resources.
        There are many charter schools under consideration.  The 
creators of EduPreneurship, which uses economics to teach 
core subjects like writing and math to fourth-through sixth- 
graders, wants to lease two buildings for a 99 student 
school.  There is apprehension that the School board won't 
approve the $30,000 lease, given the denial of a similar 
lease to the New School for Performing Arts last month.  The 
New School's proponents had sought to lease 10 classrooms for 
a year-round high school offering intense performing and 
visual arts training coupled with academic classes.  The 
three board members who rejected that lease cited the 
surrounding community's opposition to the new school and a 
fear that it would siphon talent and state funding from 
district schools.  However, proponents argued that this 
economics school would not drain students from the district 
because the school would be a commuter school, drawing 
children from many areas.  
        In one district, Deer Valley, taxpayers were glad that 
the school board voted against the proposed charter school. 
The Deer Valley group wanted to open a school for 
kindergarten through 10th grade that, emphasizes a back-to-
basics curriculum, foreign languages, phonics-based reading 
instruction and parental involvement.   "The special interest 
proposal certainly does not benefit or include the majority 
of students in our district.  The public school system should 
not and cannot cater to each individual request".  (2/13/95 
Arizona Republic)  Concerns presented by parents included: 
Who would be liable when a child is injured or a parent sues, 
who will make sure the charter school does what it's supposed 
to, and can the district withdraw its sponsorship if the 
school doesn't do what it's supposed to?  The school board 
president said he doesn't like having the district held 
accountable for what the school might or might not 
accomplish.  The charter school law is unclear as to what the 
sponsoring agent (the school district, in this case) would be 
responsible for. 

Conclusion
        Fresh from enacting its path-breaking charter-school 
program last year, Arizona stands poised to set the standard 
for education reform in 1995 by passing the nation's most 
comprehensive school-choice program.  Four charter schools 
are set to open this fall, and there are over 50 schools 
awaiting approval.  The charter school idea has  caught on  
quickly and successfully in Arizona.  Charter schools are 
granted a great deal of autonomy in Arizona , which holds 
promise for success.  There is a lot of enthusiasm, but at 
the same time some school districts have already rejected 
charter school proposals.  Funding and talent drain from 
school districts do pose relevant concerns.   The ambiguity, 
in the charter school law,  on the sponsoring agent's 
responsibility also needs to be addressed.  It is too early 
to measure results, but Arizona's high level of charter 
school activity is very promising.