In the upcoming 2026 legislative session, Arizona lawmakers will again consider a bill to allow certain students who attend private schools with voucher dollars to participate in public school sports and other programs.
The bill would allow private school students who receive voucher funds through the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program to try out and participate in interscholastic activities in nearby public school districts.
The measure would also bar public schools from charging additional fees for ESA students who participate in district activities.
All homeschooled students including those who receive voucher dollars are already allowed to participate in public school activities under a different state law.
Republican state Sen. John Kavanagh sponsored the bill. A similar bill died earlier this year during the last legislative session.
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Phoenix Union High School District employees have access to a new safety feature this year. All staffers now wear crisis alert badges that allow them to send for help with the press of a button.
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The Tolleson Elementary School District is one of several districts implementing new strategies to fight chronic absences. The superintendent says they saw a 12-percentage-point decrease in chronic absenteeism from the 2024–2025 school year to the 2025–2026 school year.
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The Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind failed to properly collect or recover more than $4.5 million in revenue, according to a three-year forensic audit released by the Arizona Auditor General’s Office.
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has joined a multistate coalition that’s fighting federal changes to Head Start programs.
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The Scottsdale Unified School District’s governing board voted 3-2 to close two more schools Tuesday night. The district’s enrollment has declined by 26% since 2010.