Former Public Education Reformer Speaks Out … Against the Futility of Saving Public Education
As the leader of the Arizona Department of Education, former Superintendent Diane Douglas was devoted to improving education in Arizona so that all of Arizona’s children could have the opportunity to achieve their goals in life and contribute as successful American citizens. She believes the only way to accomplish this goal is to return education to its original purpose — the acquisition of knowledge. To this end, she attempted during her 2015-2019 tenure to bring the Hillsdale Barney Charter School standards to all the schools in Arizona. She has now turned her efforts to sounding the alarm about the government-controlled, politically correct indoctrination of public schools and helping parents find true educational alternatives for their children. To that end, Douglas now serves on the educational advisory board of Public School Exit.
The New American: You were elected Arizona superintendent of public instruction with the desire to make a difference in the public schools. What did you realize about public education after being in this position?
Diane Douglas: In Arizona, the superintendent of public instruction (SPI) is an elected office (and one of five executive officers in the state) but not in charge of education by any stretch of the imagination. The Arizona State Board of Education (SBE) is an appointed constitutional board. They are the education policymakers. In a nutshell, the SPI implements SBE adopted policies and any direct statutory mandates. The SPI does have executive authority over the operations of the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), which oversees the allocation of over $10 billion of funding. Finally, the SPI has a bully pulpit.
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