Tom Horne - State Superintendent of Public Instruction

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Horne served as the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2003-2011.

Among his earliest acts in office was to push for a strengthening of Arizona’s social studies standards so that instruction on topics such as the United States Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the Greco-Roman basis of western civilization would be emphasized not only in elementary grades, but reiterated at later grade levels.

Horne also made a priority of enforcement of Arizona’s voter-approved law mandating that English be the language of classroom instruction (with the exception of foreign language classes).

He also pushed for nutritional standards that removed junk food from schools in the elementary grades and created incentives for secondary schools to do so on a voluntary basis.

Testing protocols were also significantly changed during Horne’s administration. He oversaw the development of a dual-purpose assessment that was unique in combining assessments on both state and nationally-defined standards. This cut standardized testing time in half, restoring that time to classroom instruction.

Controversy arose when Horne sought to address curriculum matters as they related to racially-based studies. Horne was alerted to a race-based program in the Tucson Unified School District and, based on a review of the curriculum, championed a law to address the problems these materials presented. A state law was passed that prohibited curricula that either: 1) Promote the overthrow of the United States government. 2) Promote resentment toward a race or class of people. 3) Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group. 4) Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.

In his final act as Superintendent Horne found the Tucson district’s Ethnic Studies program, specifically the Mexican American (Raza) Studies component, to be out of compliance with this law.

Horne was also successful in implementing the Arizona Instrument to Measure Success (AIMS) test, which was approved by the legislature in the 1990s, but did not go into effect until 2006. Despite some controversy over the requirement that students pass the test before graduating high school, the test is now an accepted part of the state education system. Horne created an incentive program whereby students who exceed standards on the AIMS test and meet other criteria receive tuition scholarships to Arizona’s public universities.