AZ HB2235

Counties operating juvenile detention centers must offer education programs to all school-age children detained for more than 48 hours, with programs requiring at least 240 minutes of daily instruction.

Counties may now choose to operate but not fund their juvenile detention center and county jail education programs, allowing administration through existing accommodation schools without direct county funding.

The detention center education fund consists of a $100,000 base amount (for fiscal year 2019-2020) plus a variable amount calculated based on daily student attendance and additional funding for children with disabilities.

County jail education programs must serve all prisoners age 21 or younger who lack a high school diploma or GED, funded at 72% of the rate for other accommodation school programs.

Accommodation schools are explicitly prohibited from counting students in their attendance on days those students are counted for detention center or county jail education program funding purposes.