Horne highlights school safety, teacher retention, more in annual State of Education address

PHOENIX — Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne delivered his annual State of Education speech this week, touching on 15 different initiatives his department has recently or is currently overseeing.

Two major efforts Horne highlighted were teacher retention and school safety.

The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) oversees the state’s school safety program, which uses state dollars to award applying schools with a school resource officer (SRO), paid for by state dollars.

Horne told KTAR News 92.3 FM there are now 565 SROs working in Arizona schools, which his office says is an increase of 375 officers on public or charter campuses from the previous ADE administration.

Talking about a recent incident at a Tucson Legacy Traditional School where an armed man entered a campus but was quickly arrested by an officer, Horne credits the school safety program for the incident’s peaceful end.

“The police officer had only been there for two weeks,” Horne said. “All of those lives were saved because of this program.”

However, school safety is also addressed through preventative measures, which often revolves around school counselors.

Current state law requires funds for the school safety program to only be used for counselors after all schools receive the police personnel they request.

In his speech, Horne said there are now 630 counselors at schools through the program, which is an increase of 65 counselors since Horne took office in 2023.

State of Education: Horne highlights teacher retention

Arizona has faced a declining rate of teachers since at least 2016, according to the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association (ASPAA).

For Horne, it’s a two-part problem that begins with teacher pay.

“We have to have strong action, the number one is we must absolutely increase teacher’s salaries,” Horne said.

To do that, Horne is advocating for the extension and expansion of Prop 123, which is a move also supported by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.

The prop pulls money out of the State Land Trust Fund to be used for schools but failed to make it out of the legislature and to voters in the previous election.

It is set to run out of funding in July.

Hobbs wants a special election so voters can decide whether or not to extend it in May.

Horne also believes student behaviors and lack of support from district administrators leads to teachers leaving their jobs in Arizona.

“Administrators need to be supporting teachers on discipline so they can have an orderly classroom where teachers can teach, and kids can listen,” Hobbs said.

However, when ASPAA released their own teacher retention survey in October, data analyst Justin Wing indicated that teachers struggling with student behaviors may be related to the state’s large class sizes as well.

“The more students you have in the classroom the more challenging is it for a teacher,” Wing said.

What else did Horne discuss?

While teacher pay and school safety had top billing in Horne’s speech, he touched on several other ideas for Arizona’s schools.

That includes a return to standardized testing, such as the AIMS tests previously used in Arizona schools and required for graduation.

“We need an objective test to be sure if a student graduates, they have learned what they need to learn to be either career or college ready,” Horne said.

He explains students unable to pass or uninterested in taking the test would be diverted to career and technical training.

Along with ADE’s AZ Education Economic Commission, it’s an effort to make sure students are better equipped to enter the workforce or college more quickly.

As for the test itself, Horne says the state would use the ACT test used for college admissions.

Horne also singled out two social issues he believes are a threat to Arizona public schools.

Before speaking about teacher pay, Horne talked about the use of critical race theory in schools.

“If our country adopts that philosophy, we will become a mediocre third world nation,” Horne said.

He also likened critical race theory to “stereotyping.”

A specific example of behaviors or actions he’s combatting is the presence of a “Black Lives Matter” flag in a Valley classroom.

Horne also touched on the conflict surrounding transgender students in schools.

He’s currently fighting a lawsuit filed by the parents of two Arizona students who identify as transgender to block them from playing on women’s sports teams.

“It could be very bad for public schools because fathers know that girls are having boys in their bathrooms, showers and locker rooms,” Horne said. “A lot of them would take their daughters out of public schools.”

Horne has overseen adjustments to school report cards, reported by ADE, to include information about the use of critical race theory, sexual content and other academic approaches Horne is opposed to.

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