New Statewide Effort Helps Arizona Schools Act on Existing Flexibility to Improve Student Success

Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) and the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy (AIEE) at Northern Arizona University, with support from KnowledgeWorks, have jointly launched Permission Granted, a statewide effort designed to help Arizona school systems move from perceived constraints to practical action.

Comprised of two complementary tools — the Policy Primer and the Innovation Guide — Permission Granted clarifies what education policy flexibilities already exist and how school systems can use them now to improve student success and postsecondary readiness. The effort translates current statute into practical options educators and system leaders can implement immediately.

Across Arizona, educators and leaders share the goal of helping students succeed. Yet improvement efforts often slow or even struggle to get off the ground because of a belief that meaningful change requires more flexibility or even permission at the state level. In many cases, flexibility already exists — but schools need clear examples and practical support to put it into action.

“Permission Granted is about helping Arizona move from flexibility on paper to real change for students,” said Amanda Burke, Ed.D., Executive Vice President of Center for the Future of Arizona. “Schools across Arizona are already using existing flexibility to redesign learning in powerful ways. By translating policy into practical tools and supporting implementation across communities, we’re helping educators turn innovation into sustained practice that improves outcomes and expands opportunity for every student.”

“Arizona has created significant flexibility over time and continues to pursue even more flexibility. But policy language alone does not always translate into practice,” said Chad Gestson, Ed.D., Executive Director, Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy at Northern Arizona University. “When educators can clearly see both what is allowed and how schools across Arizona are using it, they are far more likely to act.”

Permission Granted is designed to help school systems move from a mindset of “we can’t” to one of “we can” — and ultimately to sustained action on behalf of students. By clarifying policy and elevating real examples, Permission Granted helps educators and partners design learning experiences aligned to student needs rather than institutional assumptions — and move more quickly from understanding to implementation.

Two Tools That Turn Policy Into Practical Implementation

Policy Primer

• Translates Arizona education policies into plain language and highlights where schools have flexibility to redesign learning, staffing, and instructional time.

Innovation Guide

• Highlights examples across 11 Arizona school systems using existing flexibilities in practice — including approaches to leveraging technology, expanding early college access, and strengthening career exploration and learning — and outlines ways other systems can implement similar innovations.

Together, the tools help leaders move from awareness to implementation.

Permission Granted is part of a broader statewide effort to support student-centered innovation across Arizona’s education system. The effort builds on nearly two decades of CFA’s work advancing student-centered learning and AIEE’s recent efforts to build a statewide vision and momentum toward the future of school — moving from shared priorities to coordinated action and ensuring students are better prepared for success in postsecondary education, the workforce, and civic life beyond high school.

Beginning this year, CFA and AIEE will bring Permission Granted to communities across Arizona through workshops and convenings, followed by deeper implementation support for school systems ready to engage further.

The goal is not only awareness of flexibility, but confident and sustained action across school systems statewide to support the success of every student.

Learn more and explore the tools at PermissionGrantedAZ.org

About Center for the Future of Arizona
Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan "do-tank" that brings Arizonans together to create a stronger and brighter future for our state. Through its extensive survey research & communications, Arizona Progress Meters, and impact initiatives & programs in education, workforce, and civic health, CFA listens to Arizonans to learn what matters most to them, shares trusted data about how Arizona is doing in those priority areas, brings critical issues to public attention, and works with communities and leaders to solve public problems. CFA’s work is focused on building The Arizona We Want — a research-informed vision of success for the state, where all Arizonans, now and in the future, thrive and enjoy sustained prosperity, unmatched quality of life, and real opportunity.

About the Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy at Northern Arizona University
The Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy (AIEE) at Northern Arizona University is a statewide, nonpartisan institute dedicated to reimagining education and strengthening Arizona’s economic future. The Institute brings together PK-12 systems, higher education, business and industry leaders, policymakers, and community partners to design and advance a more aligned, future-ready learning ecosystem. Through applied research, coalition-building, policy development, and innovation initiatives — including the Arizona AI Alliance and the State 48 Graduate Profile — the Institute works to ensure that learning is connected to real opportunity. Powered at NAU and informed by practitioners across all 15 counties, AIEE focuses on preparing learners for postsecondary enrollment, meaningful employment, service, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning in a rapidly changing world.