Feather frenzy: Tucson Unified School District Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo issued a public apology to a former student who was forced to remove a sacred eagle feather from his cap before the graduation ceremony in late May, KGUN reports. Trujillo said in a statement that the request from Tucson High's administration for the student to surrender the feather was "inappropriate” and an inaccurate interpretation of TUSD policy. Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law in 2020 banning school districts from barring Native American students from wearing tribal regalia like eagle feathers during graduation ceremonies because of similar incidents at other schools. (July 10, 2023)

Giving notice: Tucson Unified School District is sending letters to 29,000 people whose private information may have been accessed due to the Jan. 30 cyberattack, the Arizona Daily Star reports. Potential victims include current and former district employees, students, parents and their dependents, according to Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo, who said there was no evidence that the information was “misused in any way.” (August 24, 2023)

Hold that text: Tucson Unified School District is proposing a policy that would require teachers and all other employees to include a parent, another educator or a supervisor on any electronic or digital communication with students “that could be construed as inappropriate,” the Daily Star reports. This includes, social media, texts and emails. The governing board unanimously voted last week to tentatively approve the policy, but will hear public comment before taking a final vote. The policy can be found on the agenda for the Aug. 22 special meeting. The board is also accepting feedback via email at [email protected]. (August 30, 2023)

School housing: As the number of homeless families grows, the Tucson Unified School District is now offering emergency housing for families facing a crisis, the Arizona Daily Star’s Jessica Votikpa reports. The district will cover the costs, using American Rescue Plan funds, for families to stay at a hotel for up to four days while they figure out their next steps. About 1,800 families in the school district qualify for the program. Since the program began in September, 20 families have used it. (October 16, 2023)

Not just yet: The Tucson Unified School District Governing Board backed off a plan to disband the district’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusiveness department, the Arizona Daily Star’s Jessica Votipka reports. The decision came after a packed meeting on Tuesday where many in the crowd spoke out in support of EDI. District staff wanted to transfer federal funds to pay for learning-recovery specialists, which would have eliminated EDI positions. The board will look at other options at their Feb. 13 meeting. (February 2)

Fashion forward: Tucson Unified School District is getting a new dress code, after staff said the previous one unfairly resulted in disproportionate enforcement against female students and those who identify as female, the Arizona Daily Star reports. The changes were approved by a vote of 3-2, with those in the majority pleased with the replacement of gender-neutral language in rules that were previously gender-specific. The goal of the revisions is equitable enforcement for all students across campuses. (February 15)

About that dress code: A TUSD principal cautioned board members that “buttocks and full torsos will be showing” with the revised dress code, the Star’s Jessica Votipka writes. Tucson Magnet High School Principal Elizabeth Rivera wrote in a letter to the board that removing the language requiring that clothing cover the chest, torso and buttocks would be problematic and that students were previously wearing bikini tops and shorts that “only covered private areas.” TUSD received feedback from more than 1,800 TUSD students from every high school and select middle schools when drafting the new dress code. (February 15)

TUSD also approved an agreement with Pima County Juvenile Court Center to allow for the sharing of information on district students who have committed a crime on a TUSD campus or been suspended or expelled. The data will be compiled into statistics that will help create strategies to improve educational and social outcomes for all court-involved students. On the other side, the district will share detailed information with the court, including the years the student attended school, their attendance record, grades, test scores, and number of credits earned. The agreement also will allow for wrap-around support systems, programs, and intervention services to those court-involved students, with the hope of deterring juveniles at risk of dropping out of school or who are engaging in any other delinquent behavior. (March 4) (Tucson Agenda)

Tucson Unified School District is gearing up for its last day of classes, and while the district had plenty of challenges this year, teachers and administrators are celebrating one very big win. In January, the district announced that free breakfast and lunch would be available to all students across its 87 schools, under an expansion of the Community Eligibility Program of the National School Lunch Program. (May 21) (Tucson Agenda)

Over at the Tucson Unified School District, a handful of community members raised concerns during the governing board’s most recent meeting about the proposed placement of a 5G cell phone tower at Collier Elementary School. Attendees told board members they’re worried about the uncertainty surrounding health risks associated with the tower and criticized district officials for what they called a lack of outreach and communication. This isn’t the first time TUSD tried to place a cell tower on Collier’s campus. Back in 2015, then-Superintendent H.T. Sanchez was forced to scrap a similar plan after “droves” of parents expressed similar concerns and threatened to remove their children from the northeast-side school, the Arizona Daily Star reported at the time. It’s unclear if the issue will be discussed at a future meeting, but the Tucson Agenda is looking into the situation. (June 3) (Tucson Agenda)

The TUSD governing board also approved changes to the district’s code of conduct, with Dr. Ravi Shah the lone “no” vote. The board voted to drop possession of marijuana from a level five to a level four violation and reduce indecent exposure and sexual harassment with contact from level four to level three violations. The district also added language in the violation category of aggression to make it easier to track the progression of aggressive behaviors. Other changes include increasing the violation level for a simulated firearm from a level three to level four violation, which comes with up to a 30-day suspension. The district said it made the changes to help students who are struggling with substance misuse re-enter the classroom sooner and support less exclusionary practices. In the case of the violation category of aggression, the changes “decrease subjectivity in issuing consequences with the hope of decreasing risk ratios for student incident levels, particularly for African American students.” (June 10) (Tucson Agenda)

Taking action: TUSD officials have agreed to implement a list of 12 demands made by a Tucson High staffer, following a September 13 fight on campus that left an employee injured and led to the arrest of six students, KVOA’s Megan Spector reports. The demands include a smaller monitor-to-student ratio, new procedures for lockdowns, clear communication and mandatory training. (November 1, 2023)

Tax rate dips: The property tax rate for the Tucson Unified School District is going down next year, thanks to an increase in overall property valuations, the Daily Star reported. (July 13, 2023)

Making his pitch: Voters should approve the Tucson Unified School District's Prop 496 bond package, worth $480 million, Bruce Burke, a former TUSD governing board member and member of the Bond Exploratory Citizens’ Committee, writes in a guest opinion in the Arizona Daily Star. Burke pointed to the state underfunding schools year after year and the fact that federal COVID funds can't be used for projects like building renovation. Bond funds approved by local voters are the “only adequate and reliable source for funding the district’s much-needed improvements.” (October 11, 2023)

First things first: Fire alarms, door locks, and air conditioning are among the top priorities for Tucson Unified School District officials as they plan how to spend the $480 million bond package voters approved Tuesday, the Arizona Daily Star’s Jessica Votipka reports. Next week, the TUSD governing board is going to set up a bond oversight committee to keep an eye on all that spending. (November 10, 2023)

No school left behind: Tucson Unified School District has no plans to close schools, despite enrollment drops of more than 20% at 12 campuses during the pandemic, the Arizona Daily Star’s Jessica Votipka writes. Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said there have been no recommendations or conversations about closing any schools, despite the recent enrollment report by nonprofit education news outlet The 74. The projected average daily enrollment loss of nearly 1,094 students between fiscal years 2023 and 2024 could result in a loss of more than $5 million in state funding. (January 16) (Tucson Agenda)

Show them the money: Tucson Unified School District’s federal coronavirus relief money is set to run out in June, leaving the district’s governing board with tough decisions regarding the extra teachers paid for by those funds, the Tucson Sentinel’s Blake Morlock writes. An internal study showed students at schools that provided academic interventions performed better, but if TUSD wants to keep the specialists on, it’ll have to find the money in its own already tight budget. Nearly one in three students who received help showed growth of one letter grade or more compared to one in five students who did not. (January 18)

More money for school cafeterias: Tucson Unified School District is increasing funding for temporary food service workers from $850,000 to as much as $1.35 million, the Arizona Daily Star’s Jessica Votipka writes. Governing board members learned last week about the 20% vacancy rate in district food service workers. The funding increase of up to $500,000 per year is for the rest of this fiscal year and each of the next four years. (January 23)

Bond bucks: Tucson’s largest school district is looking to spend $18.35 million on capital projects in fiscal year 2025, the *Arizona Daily Star’*s Jessica Votipka writes. The budget was unanimously approved by the Tucson Unified School District’s governing board and includes $7 million in funding for curriculum and instruction. Another $5.63 million has been allocated for technology services and facility improvements will receive $5.4 million in funding. The budget also includes some projects that aren’t covered by TUSD’s $480 million bond approved by voters in November. (January 24)

TUSD’s governing board also took steps to allocate money for positions that had been funded by COVID-19 relief funds. They approved a 5% budget reduction from central administration that will cover 21 instructional coach, counselor and social worker positions. The district also will move $2.8 million in school nurse salaries and benefits to the Medicaid reimbursement budget to fund multi-tiered system of facilitators who work alongside staff to encourage higher academic achievements for students who need additional support. The district is still tasked with finding $3.5 million in funding for the 62.5 learning recovery specialist positions created during the pandemic. (March 4)