Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is a state-level department tasked in Arizona with oversight of public education from kindergarten to secondary school. The ADE is run by an elected Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. History The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) was established in 1970. It works to implement education standards and policy for Arizona schools. The ADE operates under the Superintendent of Public Instruction in order to execute decisions. It is part of the Arizona K-12 Education system along with the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. However, these were both established in 1912 prior to the ADE. All three of these bodies operate together to run the education system in Arizona. The ADE provides multiple resources to Arizona schools including training, funding, and other technical support to public schools. Leadership Kathy Hoffman was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2018, replacing Diane Douglas. Prior to this position, she was a speech pathologist in various Arizona school districts. Hoffman studied Japanese and Spanish at the University of Oregon, graduating in 2009. She later graduated from the University of Arizona with a master's degree in speech pathology. Following her graduation, Hoffman taught in the Vail and Peoria districts. The two previous State Superintendents of Public Instruction had not had any classroom experience. GOP candidate Diane Douglas was sworn into office in January 2015, after winning 50.5% of the vote. Douglas has a background in finance and served two years on the Peoria Unified School Board. Her term was marked by various conflicts with both the state Board of Education as well as Governor Doug Ducey. A recall effort was started in 2015, but it failed to receive enough signatures to take effect. Douglas received attention after trying to fire two members of the Arizona Board of Education, and then sued the Board of Education after they reinstated these two members. The lawsuit was later dismissed, but more controversy followed after Douglas claimed that a member of the board tried to assault her. The board later filed two lawsuits against her for access to her teacher files as well as for access to the board's website. Budget The 2019 Arizona budget proposed $4.5 billion to be spent on Arizona's K-12 education. Arizona consistently ranks low in both teacher pay and overall quality of education. In 2018, Arizona was ranked 43rd in overall quality of education and