In Arizona: Effort to Reduce Red Tape for Teachers Succeeds with Lawmakers 

By Arizona Department of Education

State schools chief Tom Horne says the newly passed state budget includes a change that he has long sought: the elimination of the Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) program, which many educators consider an unnecessary bureaucratic requirement and a waste of classroom time. 

“Over time, the KEA had ballooned into an endless morass of paperwork that meant teachers had to spend too much time on bureaucratic requirements versus time with students,” Horne said. “Now the legislature has taken the welcome step of entirely removing the legal requirement for the KEA, which frees up more time for teachers to spend on classroom instruction.”