class size limits; policies; appropriations

SB1705 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
class size limits; policies; appropriations

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1705

Introduced by

Senators
Diaz: Bravo, Fernandez, Gonzales, Hatathlie, Kuby, Miranda, Ortiz, Sears

AN
ACT

amending title 15, chapter 1, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 15-120.08; amending section 15-977,
Arizona Revised Statutes; appropriating monies; relating to class size.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Title 15, chapter 1, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-120.08, to read:

START_STATUTE
15-120.08.

Class size limits; policies; requirements

A. Notwithstanding any other law,
before the 2031-2032 school year the governing board or governing body of each
public school in this state shall adopt a policy that provides for class sizes
in kindergarten programs, grades one through twelve and career technical
education district programs that comply with the following:

Grade Level Unit
�
Average
Class Size
���
Maximum Class Size

K-3���������������� 18������������������ 21

4-8���������������� 22������������������ 27

9-12��������������� 25������������������ 30

Career Technical

Education����������� 20������������������ 25

B. Beginning
in the 2031-2032 school year, the governing board or governing body of each
public school in this state shall fully implement the policy adopted pursuant
to subsection A of this section as follows:

1. The total average class size for
each grade level unit prescribed in subsection A of this section may not exceed
the average class size prescribed in subsection A of this section, but
individual classes within a grade level unit may exceed the average class size.

2. A class may not exceed the maximum
class size prescribed in subsection A of this section.

3. The average class size and the
maximum class size shall be based on regular classroom teaching positions,
excluding principal, assistant principal, counselor, elementary art, elementary
music, elementary physical education, librarian, special education and other
specialized positions.

4. A public school may exceed the
class size limits prescribed in subsection A of this section in areas such as
typewriting and instrumental and vocal music classes if the effectiveness of
the instructional program is not impaired.

5. A public school may seek a waiver
from the superintendent of public instruction to exceed the average class size
if individual class sizes do not exceed the maximum class size prescribed in
subsection A of this section.

6. A public school may not establish
split-grade classes for the purpose of circumventing the average class size and
maximum class size prescribed in subsection A of this section. This
paragraph does not prevent a PUBLIC SCHOOL from using multi-aged classes.

7. The governing board or governing
body of a public school shall approve the establishment of any split-grade
classes for any purpose, except that split-grade classes may not be established
for the purpose of circumventing the requirements of this section.

8. The average class size specified
for the grade levels involved in split-grade classes shall be the maximum class
size allowed in such classes.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 15-977, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
15-977.

Classroom site fund; local level funds; appropriation;
definitions

A. The

classroom site fund is established consisting of
legislative appropriations and

monies transferred to the fund pursuant to section 37-521, subsection B
,
section 42-5029, subsection E, paragraph 10
and
section 42-5029.02, subsection A
. The
department of education shall administer the fund. School districts
and charter schools may not supplant existing school site funding with revenues
from the fund. All monies distributed from the fund are intended for
use at the school site. Teacher compensation distributed pursuant to this
section
shall supplement, and not supplant, teacher compensation monies from any other
sources.�
The school district or charter school shall
notify each school principal of the amount available to the school by April 15

of each year
.� The
school
district or charter school shall request from the school's
principal each school's priority for the allocation of the funds available to
the school for each program listed under subsection
H of this section
.� The amount budgeted by the school district or charter
school pursuant to this section shall not be included in the allowable budget
balance carryforward calculated pursuant to section 15-943.01.

B. A school district governing board must adopt a
performance based compensation system at a public hearing to allocate funding
from the classroom site fund pursuant to subsection A of this section.�
Individual teacher performance shall be a component of allocation for teacher
compensation.

C. A school district governing board shall vote on a
performance based compensation system that includes the following elements:

1. School district performance and school
performance.

2. Individual teacher performance.

3. Measures of academic progress toward the academic
standards adopted by the state board of education.

4. Other measures of academic progress.

5. Dropout or graduation rates.

6. Attendance rates.

7. Ratings of school quality by parents.

8. Ratings of school quality by students.

9. The input of teachers and administrators.

10. Approval of the performance based compensation
system based on an affirmative vote of at least seventy percent of the teachers

who are
eligible to participate in the performance based
compensation system.

11. An appeals process for teachers who have been
denied performance based compensation.

12. Regular evaluation for effectiveness.

D.
A
The

performance based compensation system shall include teacher professional
development programs that are aligned with the elements of the performance
based compensation system.

E. A school district governing board may modify the
elements contained in subsection C of this section and consider additional
elements when adopting a performance based compensation system. A
school district governing board shall adopt any modifications or additional
elements and specify the criteria used at a public hearing.

F. Until December 31, 2009, each school district
shall develop an assessment plan for its performance based compensation system
and submit the plan to the department of education by December 31 of each
year. A copy of the performance based compensation system and
assessment plan adopted by the school district governing board shall be
included in the report submitted to the department of education.

G.
Monies in the
classroom site
fund are continuously
appropriated, are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating
to lapsing of appropriations and shall be distributed as follows:

1. By March 30 of each year, the staff of the joint
legislative budget committee shall determine a per pupil amount from the fund
for the budget year using the estimated statewide weighted count for the
current year pursuant to section 15-943, paragraph 2, subdivision (a) and
based on estimated available resources in the classroom site fund for the
budget year adjusted for any prior year carryforward or shortfall.

2. The allocation to each charter school and school
district for a fiscal year shall equal the per pupil amount established in
paragraph 1 of this subsection for the fiscal year multiplied by the weighted
student count for the school district or charter school for the fiscal year
pursuant to section 15-943, paragraph 2, subdivision (a). For
the purposes of this paragraph, the weighted student count for a school
district that serves as the district of attendance for nonresident pupils shall
be increased to include nonresident pupils who attend school in the school
district.

H.
Monies distributed from
the classroom site fund shall be spent for the following purposes:

1. Class size reduction
for the purposes of complying with section 15-120.08
.

2. Teacher compensation
,

including a base pay and performance pay component
.

3. Assessment intervention programs.

4.
Teacher development.

5.
Dropout prevention
programs.

6. Teacher liability insurance premiums.

7. Student support services.

I.
The
school
district governing board or
charter school shall allocate the classroom site fund monies to include,
if

possible, the priorities identified by the principals
of the schools while
ensuring
that the
monies

maximize classroom opportunities and conform to the
authorized expenditures identified in subsection A of this section.

J.
School districts and
charter schools that receive monies from the classroom site fund shall submit a
report by November 15 of each year to the superintendent of public instruction
that provides an accounting of the expenditures of monies distributed from the
fund during the previous fiscal year
and a summary of the results of
district and school programs funded with monies distributed from the fund.
The department of education in conjunction with
the auditor general shall prescribe the format of the report under this
subsection.

K.
School districts and
charter schools that receive monies from the classroom site fund shall receive
these
monies monthly in an amount not to exceed one-twelfth of the
monies estimated pursuant to subsection G of this section, except that if there
are insufficient monies in the fund that month to make payments, the
distribution for that month shall be prorated for each school district or
charter school. The department of education may make an additional
payment in the current month for any prior month or months in which school
districts or charter schools received a prorated payment if there are
sufficient monies in the fund that month for the additional payments.� The
state is not required to make payments to a school district or charter school
classroom site fund if the state classroom site fund revenue collections are
insufficient to meet the estimated allocations to school districts and charter
schools pursuant to subsection G of this section.

L. The state education system for committed youth
shall receive monies from the classroom site fund in the same manner as school
districts and charter schools.� The Arizona state schools for the deaf and the
blind shall receive monies from the classroom site fund in an amount that
corresponds to the weighted student count for the current year pursuant to
section 15-943, paragraph 2, subdivision (b) for each pupil enrolled in
the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind.� Except as otherwise
provided in this subsection, the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the
blind and the state education system for committed youth are subject to this
section in the same manner as school districts and charter schools.

M. Each school district and charter school,
including school districts that unify pursuant to section 15-448 or
consolidate pursuant to section 15-459, shall establish a local level
classroom site fund to receive allocations from the state level classroom site
fund.
The
Each
local
level classroom site fund shall be a budgetary controlled account. Interest
charges for any registered warrants for the local level classroom site fund
shall be a charge against the local level classroom site fund.� Interest earned
on monies in the local level classroom site fund shall be added to the local
level classroom site fund as provided in section 15-978. This
state
shall
is
not
be

required to make payments to a school district or charter school local level
classroom site fund that are in addition to monies transferred to the state
level classroom site fund pursuant to section 37-521, subsection B,
section 42-5029, subsection E, paragraph 10 and section 42-5029.02,
subsection A.

N. Monies distributed from the classroom site fund
for class size reduction, assessment intervention and dropout prevention
programs shall
only
be used
only
for
instructional purposes in the instruction function as defined in the uniform
system of financial records, except that monies shall not be used for school-sponsored
athletics.

O. In addition to any other
appropriations, the sum of $1,000,000,000 is appropriated from the state
general fund in fiscal year 2030-2031 and each fiscal year thereafter to
the classroom site fund established by this section.

O.

p.
For
the purposes of this section:

1. "Assessment intervention" means summer
programs,
after school
after-school

programs,
before school
before-school

programs or tutoring programs that are specifically designed to ensure that
pupils meet the Arizona academic standards as measured by the statewide
assessment prescribed by section 15-741.

2. "Class size reduction" means any
maintenance and operations expenditure that is designed to reduce the ratio of
pupils to classroom teachers, including the use of persons who serve as aides
to classroom teachers.

3. "Student support services" means any
expenditure in the student support services function as defined in the uniform
system of financial records.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 3.
Appropriations; classroom site fund; fiscal years 2026-2027
through 2029-2030

The following sums are appropriated
from the state general fund in the following fiscal years to the classroom site
fund established by section 15-977, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended
by this act:

1. In fiscal year 2026-2027,
$200,000,000.

2. In fiscal year 2027-2028,
$400,000,000.

3. In fiscal year 2028-2029,
$600,000,000.

4. In fiscal year 2029-2030,
$800,000,000.