The Arizona Institute for Education and the Economy (AIEE) at Northern Arizona University and the Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA), 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.
Composed of two complementary tools—a Policy Primer and an Innovation Guide—Permission Granted clarifies what education policy flexibilities already exist and how school systems can use them 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.
“Arizona has created significant flexibility over time and continues to pursue even more flexibility,” said Chad Gestson, executive director of AIEE. “But policy language alone does not always translate into practice. 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 about helping Arizona move from flexibility on paper to real change for students,” said Amanda Burke, executive vice president of CFA. “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.”
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.
From policy to practice
Permission Granted includes two tools, the Policy Primer and the Innovation Guide.
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 outlines ways other school systems can make similar positive change.
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. Both organizations are committed to 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 also confident and sustained action across school systems statewide to support the success of every student.
Learn more and explore the tools at PermissionGrantedAZ.org.
Jill Kimball | NAU Communications
(928) 523-2282 | jill.kimball@nau.edu