This bill proposes several updates to current statutes regarding funding and support for education in Arizona. Specifically, it increases the charter additional assistance per student from $2,090.10 to $2,131.90 for preschool programs and grades K-8, and from $2,435.97 to $2,484.69 for grades 9-12. Additionally, it introduces new funding amounts for fiscal years 2025-2026, establishing a new rate of $5,113.26 for that year. The bill also modifies the qualifying tax rates for high school and unified school districts, reducing them from $1.5930 to $1.5436 and from $3.1860 to $3.0872, respectively.

Furthermore, the bill allows the Department of Education to utilize funds from the failing schools tutoring fund for specific school improvements in fiscal year 2025-2026, including professional development for educators, monitoring academic progress, and outreach for tutoring opportunities. It mandates a report on proposed expenditures by September 1, 2025, and permits the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind to use telecommunication funds for educational and operational costs. Lastly, the bill expresses the intent for school districts to increase classroom spending in key instructional categories compared to the previous year.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 15-185, 15-901, 15-945, 41-1276, 15-943, 15-941, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 15-1042, 15-855, 15-973, 15-823, 15-308, 15-183, 15-512, 42-5029, 42-5029.02, 37-521, 15-792.02, 15-901.08, 15-808, 15-447.01, 15-797, 15-816.01, 15-761, 15-902.04, 2022-2023, 2023-2024, 2024-2025, 2025-2026, 15-944, 15-765, 15-751, 15-752, 15-753, 15-501, 15-771, 15-971, 15-946, 15-881, 15-925