Why Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Election Matters
Among Arizona’s statewide offices, the Superintendent of Public Instruction can be easy to overlook. But this office matters deeply for children, families, teachers, school districts, charter schools, and communities of faith that care about the well-being of every neighbor.
The superintendent is Arizona’s elected state schools chief and the head of the Arizona Department of Education. The office helps administer billions in education funding, implements laws and State Board of Education policies, oversees major programs, and shapes how Arizona talks about students, teachers, parents, curriculum, accountability, and public education.
The superintendent does not decide every education question alone. The Legislature, governor, State Board of Education, local school boards, charter-school authorizers, courts, voters, and families all play important roles. But the office has real influence over how decisions are carried out — and how families, educators, and schools experience state government.
How large is the budget?
The numbers are large, but they need context. The Arizona Department of Education’s (AZED) FY2027 budget request listed a total department request of about $11.45 billion, including appropriated and non-appropriated funds. Much of that money flows through formulas, federal grants, state aid, classroom funds, and legally designated programs rather than functioning like a discretionary “checking account” for the superintendent.
For example, Arizona’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s (JLBC) FY2027 baseline identified about $7.88 billion for Basic State Aid, the main formula support for school districts and charter schools. JLBC also listed the Department’s operating budget at about $15.6 million and 107.9 FTE positions — a much smaller amount that supports the agency’s own administration.
So when voters ask, “How big a budget does the superintendent manage?” the honest answer is: the Department of Education oversees and distributes billions in education funding, but most of that money is constrained by law, formula, federal requirements, and legislative appropriation.
What decisions has the superintendent influenced recently?
Recent years show why this office matters.
The superintendent and Department of Education have been central to the administration of Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account, or ESA, program. The program has grown to roughly 100,000 students and about $1 billion annually, making oversight, staffing, fraud prevention, spending rules, and transparency major public concerns.
The office has also been involved in disputes over English learner instruction. Superintendent Tom Horne challenged dual-language programs used by some districts, arguing that they violated Arizona’s English-only instruction law, but courts concluded he lacked authority and standing to bring that particular lawsuit.
The superintendent has publicly engaged questions about DEI language in teaching standards, praised the State Board of Education’s decision to begin reviewing standards, and warned that federal funding could be at risk if Arizona did not comply with federal guidance.
The office has also weighed in on local curriculum controversies, including textbook adoption debates and questions about whether particular materials conflict with state or federal requirements.
These examples show the office’s influence in practice: administration, enforcement priorities, public messaging, litigation strategy, funding oversight, state guidance, and relationships with schools and families.
What is at stake?
For faithful voters, the election is not simply about partisan education fights. It is about how Arizona serves children and families. At stake are questions such as:
How will Arizona balance parental choice, public-school responsibility, and accountability for public dollars?
How will the state support students with disabilities, English learners, rural students, Tribal communities, low-income families, and children experiencing homelessness or hunger?
How will schools navigate debates over curriculum, race, history, gender, religion, civic life, and belonging?
How will the state recruit, retain, and support teachers?
How will public dollars be monitored, especially in fast-growing programs like ESAs?
How will the superintendent communicate with families, educators, lawmakers, and local school leaders in a polarized time?
Lutherans do not need to agree on every education policy. But our faith does call us to ask whether public systems protect dignity, expand opportunity, tell the truth, care for vulnerable children, and serve the common good.
Your questions, answered
Does the superintendent ban books?
Usually, no. Local school boards are typically the first decision-makers for textbooks, school libraries, and curriculum materials.
Is this office responsible for administering DEI programs?
Not in a simple, direct way. The Department administers education programs and guidance, while standards and curriculum decisions often involve the State Board and local districts.
Does the fate of Arizona’s school voucher system rest on this office?
No. The Legislature created ESAs, but the Department administers them. That means the superintendent can affect staffing, approvals, fraud referrals, transparency, customer service, compliance, and public reporting.
Can the superintendent change academic standards?
Not alone. The State Board approves standards; the superintendent serves on that board and the Department helps implement and communicate them.
Does the superintendent control local school boards?
No. Local boards have their own authority, though districts interact with the Department on funding, compliance, reporting, testing, school improvement, educator certification, and program administration.
What should faithful voters ask?
When candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction ask for our votes, people of faith might ask:
How will you ensure that every child — including students with disabilities, English learners, rural students, Tribal students, children in poverty, and students experiencing homelessness — has access to a high-quality education?
How will you protect public dollars, transparency, and accountability in both public-school funding and ESA administration?
How will you communicate with families and educators in ways that reduce fear, tell the truth, and serve children rather than deepen division?
How will you support teachers, school staff, and local leaders who are carrying enormous responsibilities?
How will you balance parental involvement with the professional expertise of educators and the needs of all students in a school community?
LAMA action steps
Compare the candidates.
Take 15 minutes to visit each candidate’s official website and look for what they say about public-school funding, ESA accountability, students with disabilities, English learners, teacher support, rural and Tribal schools, and curriculum decisions.Ask one faithful question.
Choose one question from this post to ask at a candidate forum, share with your congregation, or send directly to a campaign.Vote the whole ballot.
Make a plan to vote all the way down the ballot, including statewide offices like Superintendent of Public Instruction that shape Arizona’s public schools.
Simple voter checklist
Confirm your voter registration and ballot status at my.arizona.vote.
Find out who is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Read each candidate’s official education priorities.
Ask how each candidate would serve students who are most often left out or underserved.
Share reliable, nonpartisan information with one other voter.
Vote your whole ballot and return it on time.
For LAMA, the faith question is not which side “wins” an education fight. The deeper question is whether Arizona’s education system helps every child thrive — with dignity, safety, opportunity, truth, accountability, and care for the common good.
View Debate Video, Sept. 15, 2026 : Kimberly Yee (R) and Teresa Leyba Ruiz (D)
Read bios of the candidates in the 2026 Voter Education Guide