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HB2896 • 2026

ADE; tribal education liaison office

HB2896 - ADE; tribal education liaison office

Education
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Myron Tsosie
Last action
2026-01-22
Official status
House second read
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text does not explicitly mention encouraging memorandums of understanding, only attempting to enter into them.

ADE; Tribal Education Liaison Office

This bill establishes a tribal education liaison office within the Arizona Department of Education to review and analyze student data for Native American students and consult with tribes on policies.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes a new tribal education liaison office in the Arizona Department of Education.
  • Requires the office to review all student data received or collected by the department, focusing on information about Native American students.
  • Instructs the office to consult with federally recognized Indian tribes in Arizona when making policies and guidelines related to student data.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Department of Education
  • Federally recognized Indian tribes in Arizona
  • Native American students

Terms To Know

Tribal education liaison office
An office within the Department of Education that works with Native American communities on educational issues.
Disaggregate
To separate data into smaller groups for analysis, such as by race or ethnicity.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the office will be funded.
  • It is unclear what specific actions tribes and the department might take after consulting on policies.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-22 House

    House second read

  2. 2026-01-21 House

    House Rules: None

  3. 2026-01-21 House

    House Education: None

  4. 2026-01-21 House

    House first read

Official Summary Text

HB2896 - ADE; tribal education liaison office

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB2896 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
ADE; tribal education liaison office

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2896

Introduced by

Representative
Tsosie

AN
ACT

amending section 15-231, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to the department of education.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 15-231, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
15-231
.
Department of education

A. There is created a department of education.

B. The department shall be administered through:

1. The state board of education, which shall be the
policy-determining body of the department.

2. The superintendent of public instruction, in whom
all executive, administrative and ministerial functions of the department are
vested and who is the executive officer responsible for the execution of
policies of the state board of education.

C. In addition to any divisions established by law,
the superintendent of public instruction may establish such divisions as in the
judgment of the superintendent of public instruction are necessary for the
proper transaction of the business of the department.

D. The department shall be conducted under the
control of the superintendent of public instruction.

E. The superintendent of public
instruction shall establish a tribal education liaison office within the
department of education.� The office shall:

1. To the maximum extent possible and
subject to the requirements prescribed by the family educational rights and
privacy act (20 United States code section 1232
g
), review
all student data that is received or collected by the department and
disaggregate the data for students who are members of a federally recognized
Indian tribe or who identify as native american.

2. Consult with federally recognized
Indian tribes in this state to determine policies and guidelines relating to
the requirements prescribed by paragraph 1 of this subsection.

3. Attempt to enter into a memorandum
of understanding with one or more federally recognized Indian tribes in this
state relating to culturally appropriate uses of data that is disaggregated
pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection.
END_STATUTE