HB 2808 Summary

• Establishes the Arizona Achievement District within the Department of Administration to support expansion of high-quality public schools, consisting of a public school credit enhancement program and an expanding access to excellent schools program.

• Creates the Arizona Expanding Excellence Fund to provide onetime seed funding of up to $2,000 per student to support district partnership schools (operated by high-performing schools or operators within failing district schools) and fresh start schools (autonomously operated replacements for failing schools in vacant or underutilized buildings).

• Establishes the Operation Excellence School Improvement Program providing $150 per student annually (fiscal years 2023-2026) to schools with letter grades of D or F to implement evidence-based improvement strategies with mentoring and independent school improvement partners.

• Requires schools assigned letter grades of D or F for three consecutive years beginning January 1, 2029 to initiate either a district partnership school, fresh start school, or face alternative operation plans or closure if nearby higher-achieving schools have adequate capacity.

• Appropriates $58 million annually for fiscal years 2022-2023 through 2024-2025 to fund school improvement initiatives and establishes reporting requirements for the Arizona Achievement District Board.