
Rule change opens new path for ‘constitutional sheriff’ group to train Arizona law enforcement
A rule change by Arizona’s top law enforcement-certifying agency removes a safeguard against ‘extremist’ training for peace officers by allowing sheriffs and police chiefs more autonomy in determining what qualifies as mandatory continuing education credit.

Report: Child care woes cost Arizona economy $1.8 billion a year
Arizona parents representing various geographic areas, income levels, and racial and ethnic backgrounds reported changing jobs, turning down jobs, decreasing their hours, forgoing promotions or leaving the workforce entirely as a result of inconsistent or unaffordable care.

State leaders’ decade of neglect imperiled fragile child care system. The pandemic nearly made it collapse.
A $1.2 billion infusion of federal funding has kept an already fragile Arizona child care sector from failing, giving state leaders a shot at reforming a broken system of their own making, and perhaps bringing hope for the stability that parents and providers have craved for years.

Emails reveal close ties between construction firms, top school officials
Emails obtained by AZCIR from four school districts show the depth of the relationships construction company executives have cultivated with school district administrators. School district officials also regularly sought out the companies to ask for money for various projects, the records show.


GOP legislature sending more money to ‘freedom schools,’ despite existing surplus
Amid a teacher strike over K-12 funding that has closed hundreds of schools, Arizona lawmakers are sending $7.5 million to so-called “freedom schools” designed to teach conservative values. Since 2016, $12 million has been directed to the schools, which still have $9.8 million on hand.

Few Joe Arpaio immigrant victims claim unlawful detention compensation
Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio defied a federal court order by allowing his deputies to nab scores of immigrants. President Donald Trump pardoned him. Now the immigrant victims are eligible for compensation. But where are they?

Border wall proposal threatens delicate wildlife habitats
President Trump wants to stop illegal immigration with a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, but experts agree it would harm the ecology of one of the most biodiverse regions of North America.

Lawmakers meet to discuss sexual harassment policies, choose not to broadcast meeting
Members of Arizona’s House of Representatives convened a joint caucus on the House floor to receive training on harassment in the workplace and to have a discussion about the legislative chamber’s policies and punishments.
Although the meeting was recorded by the Legislature’s broadcast department, it was not broadcasted anywhere.

Court rules private cell phones can contain public records
The unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel contradicts an attorney general’s opinion earlier this year that concluded communications made by public employees or elected officials solely on private electronic devices or private social media accounts are never public record.

New Neighbors: Shifting Communities In The Valley Of The Sun
The New Neighbors project is a collaboration between KJZZ and AZCIR exploring how Phoenix changed after the economic crisis. AZCIR gathered data from demographics to rental rates to identify parts of Phoenix that recovered the best, changed the most or are still struggling.

AZ Board of Education disclosed student names, birthdays, test scores
The Arizona State Board of Education violated federal student privacy law by disclosing the names of more than a thousand Arizona students, in some cases along with their birthdays, and their scores on the AzMERIT exams in response to a public records request filed by AZCIR.

Arizona wrongly distributed $62 million in federal aid for poor students over 4 years
The Arizona Department of Education was alerted in March 2015 that it was improperly distributing federal funds intended to help low-income students, but the department didn’t undertake serious efforts to fix the problem until early 2017.
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