Committee sends bill requiring schools to post federal civil‑rights data and asks ADE to compile statewide safety report

Senate Bill 12‑55 requires each public school and local educational agency to post a link on its website to the most recent information it provided to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (the Civil Rights Data Collection, or CRDC). The bill also directs the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to compile an annual school‑safety report that includes CRDC‑derived information on the number of school safety incidents, referrals to law enforcement and school‑climate data, and to provide that report to specified state officials.

Maggie, a committee staffer, explained that federal law already requires schools that receive federal funds to submit CRDC data every two years; SB 12‑55 would make a school‑level link to those federal reports a posting requirement and would have ADE assemble a statewide report from the existing submissions for the governor and legislative leaders. Committee members asked which schools must report; staff clarified that all public schools receiving federal funds — including district, charter, alternative and some justice‑facility schools — submit CRDC data, but private schools do not.

Some members said the information is already publicly available on the federal website and in local district websites; proponents said the bill would make the data more visible and produce a state‑level compilation. Two people signed in to speak against the bill did not appear at the hearing. After discussion the committee returned SB 12‑55 with a due‑pass recommendation by a recorded vote of 7 ayes and 5 noes.