schools; character education
SB 1172 provides that a public or charter school shall not match the state grant for character education with a character education grant from another organization. Furthermore, the Department of Education shall contract with and distribute the state character education grant monies to the Arizona K-12 Center at Northern Arizona University.
Laws 2000, 5th special session, chapter 1 established the character education matching grant program and appropriated $200,000 annually to administer and maintain the program. Any public or charter school that teaches a character education curriculum is eligible to receive a state matching grant of up to $1,500 each year. The Department of Education is responsible for administering the program, including applying for federal grants related to character education and distributing the grants.
The Arizona K-12 Center was created in 1999 by the Governor’s office. Laws 2000, chapter 393 allocated money from the temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) block grant to the Arizona K-12 Center to provide character education training through contracted providers for persons less than 19 years of age and who are eligible for receiving TANF or Arizona Works assistance.
Currently, the Arizona K-12 Center is responsible for administering the TANF block grant money for character education training, and the Arizona Department of Education is responsible for administering the character education matching grant program, including applying for federal character education grants and distributing that money.