Elections - Prop 320

If Proposition 320 passes, the following will go into effect:

• Qualifying school districts must spend at least 60% of Operational Spending on Direct Instruction.

• Beginning in FY28, any school district that spends less than 60% must increase their direct instructional expenses each year by at least .5% per year until the district reaches the 60% requirement.
• If the increase is more than 0.5% per year, the district may count the increase toward future years’ requirement to increase by 0.5%.
• It is unknown why the legislature chose 60% - in FY2025 the state of Arizona average was 52.1%

The Auditor General uses definitions aligned with the National Center for Education Statistics and will use the same definition for the purposes of Prop 320.

To change or redefine instructional spending would likely require new legislation defining the terms, to be passed in a future session and signed by the Governor.

“Direct instructional expenses” is not the same as “classroom spending” in the Classroom Spending report which combines three spending categories - Instructional Spending, Student Support spending, and Instruction Support spending.

Prop 320 only references one of those categories, Instructional Spending.

Instructional expenses only include teacher and teachers aide salaries, and does not include any vital instructional support services such as counselors, librarians, psychologists, speech pathologists, etc. 

The Auditor General determines compliance. The Arizona Department of Education must reduce the Classroom Site Fund
distribution for the budget year to a district out of compliance as follows:

25% for one year of noncompliance

50% for two years of noncompliance

75% for three years of noncompliance

100% for four years of noncompliance

Waivers:

The Superintendent of Public Instruction is allowed to provide a one-year waiver from the penalty to individual districts up to two times during a ten-year period.

Compliance Timeline:

The 2027-2028 school year is the first year in which the new 60% requirement applies.
The 2028-2029 school year will be the first year in which districts that spend less than 60% will be required to increase spending.
If the district isn’t at 60% instructional spending or doesn’t demonstrate the 0.5% increase between FY28 and FY29, the reduced Classroom Site Fund allocation will be applied in the 2029-2030 school year.

Areas of Reductions to comply with new requirement:
Non-instructional Certified and Classified staff positions throughout the district

• Counselors
• Psychologists
• Nurses
• Health Office Assistants
• Occupational Therapists
• Physical Therapists
• Speech & Language Pathologists
• SLP Assistants
• Case Managers/Social Workers
• Program Advisors
• Program Specialists
• Librarians
• Teacher Coaches

• Administrative
• Clerical
• Coordinators/Directors
• Custodians
• Campus Security Monitors
• Crossing guards
• IT Technicians
• Mechanics
• Maintenance Techs
• Groundskeepers
• Bus Drivers
• Bus Monitors
• Bus Dispatchers
• Food Service Workers

Professional development and program offerings

Administration services -School and District administration clerical, accounting, payroll, human resources, purchasing, warehouse, technology, curriculum support, student services, communications

Operations services -building maintenance & repairs, fire alarm/security systems, liability insurance, costs for heating, cooling, lighting/utilities

Food services – food supplies and other costs related to serving student meals

Transportation services – costs for maintaining buses and transporting students

Proposition 320 doesn’t lower the tax rate, nor does it save the district or the state General Fund money.

Reduced allocations for noncompliance come out of the Classroom Site Fund, which is funded by a sales tax.

The money is not returned to anyone or any fund; rather it sits in the CSF for the next year’s allocation.

The reallocation will most likely benefit charter schools that do not have to comply with Proposition 320 due to the CSF reductions from non-compliant school districts.