News & Events

The State Board of Education has issued proposed revisions to its school district procurement rules – proposed revisions. It is anticipated that the Board will consider approving the proposed revisions in March. Public comment can be made between now and then. For more information, please contact one of the education […]

The United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued extensive guidance last week on the topic of equitable distribution of resources to students. Under its authority to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, OCR issued a thirty-seven-page “Dear Colleague” letter that outlines its position on […]

Eduprize, a charter school with two campuses in the East Valley, has entered into a consent judgment to pay $30,000 into accounts for extracurricular activities for students. (See, Judgment). The judgment was entered against the schools after the Attorney General’s Office investigated how the schools solicited and spent tax-credit funds. […]

The Maricopa County Superior Court has ordered the State of Arizona (see decision) to increase per-pupil base funding by approximately 5% for the coming fiscal year, a collective increase for schools of about $317 million. This increase will apply to future years as well, boosting the overall value of the […]

Grant funds are available to non-profits, cities, towns, counties, or other governmental entities that are interested in purchasing a brownfield site. The funds may be used to conduct environmental site assessments, asbestos and lead-based paint surveys, and, possibly, some site remediation. Brownfields are properties that may be contaminated with hazardous […]

The Arizona Attorney General has pronounced limitations on when and for what purpose a public body may charge fees for copying public records in responding to public records requests, in an opinion issued on December 2, 2013. Although these limitations are not expressly set forth in statute, this opinion reflects the Attorney […]

The Arizona statute prohibiting the use of city or town resources to influence the outcome of an election was amended last legislative session to increase the penalty for violations and to define “influencing the outcome of elections.” The amended statute, A.R.S. § 9-500.14, which became effective September 13, 2013, now […]

The solicitation of charitable contributions will become less burdensome for charitable organizations and contracted fund raisers in Arizona as of September 13, 2013. New legislation repeals the Arizona initial and annual registration requirements for charitable organizations soliciting funds for charitable purposes. The Bill also repeals the registration requirements and the […]

It is well known that governmental issuers of bonds are required to provide ongoing disclosures in the form of annual financial information and certain listed events. The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) recently launched a tool that allows governmental issuers to schedule automated email reminders for their annual financial disclosure […]

In Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. _____ (2013), the United States Supreme Court declared § 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act (the “Act”) unconstitutional, effectively eliminating the requirement for political subdivisions in Arizona to seek prior approval before implementing changes to their voting practices. Section 4(b) set forth the […]