Arizona Republican legislators proposed a bill this session to bring oversight of the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) closer in line with the Arizona Constitution’s provisions for regular schools. For about 100 years, the ASDB has only faced oversight once every 10 years, instead of the two-year requirement in the Arizona Constitution that applies to schools. The ASDB serves 2,100 students at campuses in Phoenix and Tucson.
State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), who chairs the Senate Government Committee that heard HB 2456, explained during a speech to the Senate Committee of the Whole on April 13 why a shorter extension is necessary. He said the Democrats who oppose the shorter extension want to treat oversight of the children the same way the government treats its oversight of “changing thermostats” infrequently at the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA).
“You know, the School for the Deaf and Blind, serving deaf and blind children in this state with the best possible educational services, is not the same as ADOA and their ability to change thermostats and government buildings and push papers around the state,” he said. “Treating those two things as equals is a disservice to the deaf and blind children that reside within Arizona.”
He added, “This is something where the legislature has the authority all the time when it comes to state agencies to exercise our constitutional obligations for oversight.” Hoffman wants the legislature to have a “hands-on” approach to the school.
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times