ARIZONA, USA — Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced that the week of Jan. 24 will be known as "School Choice Week," in the state.
The announcement, made through Twitter on Monday, looks to highlight the "importance of equipping parents and families with decisions around their children’s education that best fits their needs."
School choice is a movement that looks to ease access to public school alternatives for families, including private schools, charter schools, homeschooling, and other learning environments. This assistance can take multiple forms including school vouchers, scholarship tax credits and open enrollment policies.
"All children in Arizona should have access to the highest-quality education possible," the governor's proclamation said.
Arizona ranks 47th in the nation in preschool through 12th-grade education and 46th nationally in education overall, according to U.S. News. The state's college readiness, preschool enrollment and high school graduation rate all rank near the bottom nationally.
Ducey's three sons attended the Brophy College Prep private school in Phoenix.
The governor recently got six standing ovations for his attacks on public schools during his last State of State address. He also opened his final year in office to "expand school choice any way we can."
One of the standing ovations the governor received was after he said “Arizona schools are open and they will remain open," in spite of continuously rising COVID-19 case numbers.
“Our teachers want to be open, our parents and students want to be an in-person school,” said Gary Zehrbach, deputy superintendent of the Deer Valley Unified School District. “But if we can't do it, we can't do it."
See the full "School Choice Week" proclamation here:
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