Arizona gets $34.8M federal grant to benefit educationally disadvantaged students

PHOENIX – Arizona is getting a $34.8 million federal grant to benefit educationally disadvantaged students through its public charter school system, officials announced Wednesday.

The funding will go toward creating 24 new charter schools that will be dedicated to educationally disadvantaged students and subsidizing 23 existing charter schools, Superintendent Tom Horne told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

“The purpose is to increase the number of high-quality charter schools focusing on educationally disadvantaged students, to close the achievement gap for them, to increase the capacity of leaders and teachers through technical assistance, to improve teaching and learning, and to increase high school achievement and graduation rates,” Horne said.

How are educationally disadvantaged students determined?

Horne explained that educationally disadvantaged students are those who fall into the following four categories:

• Racially and ethnically diverse students
• Economically disadvantaged students
• Students with disabilities
• English language learners

Arizona already has one of the most robust charter school systems in the U.S.

Charter schools are state-funded public schools that provide families with a free alternative to traditional K-12 district schools. The system was authorized through 1994 legislation.

Charter schools are separate from the state’s universal voucher program, aka Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. ESAs provide families who don’t send their kids to public schools with funds to cover certain private school and homeschooling expenses.

Where does new Arizona charter school funding come from?

The new Arizona funding comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s Expanding Opportunities Through Quality Charter Schools Program, which awarded grants to six states this year.

The Arizona grant is spread out over five years, with approximately $8.7 million annually in Years 1 and 2, $9.7 million in Year 3, $5 million in Year 4 and $2.6 million in Year 5.

“We have somebody who is focusing on getting grants from the federal government. … She has gone very deeply into researching how to get these grants, and she’s doing a great job,” Horne said.

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