Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind moves into Copper Creek

For Tucson families who depend on specialized education, the move of Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind to Oro Valley is more than a change of address. It separates some blind and visually impaired students from the deaf and hard of hearing students with whom they have shared a historic campus, while raising questions about whether every child was given a legally required choice about where to learn. ASDB has opened at the former Copper Creek Elementary School, but the transition remains unsettled after the Arizona Department of Education found violations of federal special education law.

ASDB Oro Valley welcomed 96 students on Aug. 4, along with nearly 50 instructional staff members, coaches and early learning educators. The school is leasing the entire Copper Creek site, which includes about 106,000 square feet of building space. The move brings ASDB roughly 15 miles north from its longtime campus at 1200 West Speedway in Tucson, where it operated for decades on a large, aging property.

Superintendent Annette Reichman has described the Oro Valley campus as safer and more modern, saying it should allow ASDB to strengthen instruction and security. The agency has said the Speedway buildings and infrastructure have deteriorated, while declining enrollment and increasingly difficult state funding have made it harder to afford the property. ASDB also cited reduced legislative reauthorization terms and growing oversight demands as factors that made relocating the only viable option.

The move follows Amphitheater Public Schools’ decision to close Copper Creek at the end of the 2025 to 2026 school year. The elementary school had 247 students enrolled last November, using only 29 percent of its 853 student capacity. Amphi and ASDB then reached a five year lease agreement beginning July 1. ASDB is paying $1.3 million in the first year, with annual increases of 3 percent that will bring the payment to $1.43 million in the fifth year. ASDB covers utilities and custodial services, while Amphi remains responsible for building and grounds maintenance.

The arrangement gives Amphitheater monthly lease revenue and removes the district’s utility costs for the property. Before ASDB moved in, Amphi installed some accessibility improvements, including automatic door openers. It is also working to add adult sized toilets and sinks in two first floor restrooms by Oct. 1. ASDB expects to make additional changes as it learns more about student enrollment and needs. The agency also moved the American Printing House for the Blind from the Speedway campus because producing braille materials for students throughout Arizona requires substantial space.

The campus change has also reshaped how ASDB plans to serve blind and visually impaired students. Early plans called for deaf and hard of hearing programs to move to Copper Creek, while blind and low vision students would be placed in cooperative programs through local public school districts, including Tucson Unified. ASDB has said the low vision program is expected to include only about 20 to 25 students, making local school placements a more economical use of resources. Parents and staff, however, argue that many of these students were referred to ASDB precisely because their home districts could not provide the specialized support they needed.

That concern led the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law’s Education Advocacy Clinic to file a complaint in May. The state Education Department later concluded that ASDB had predetermined placements for affected students instead of considering each child’s needs through a genuine individualized education program process. Federal law requires placement decisions to be made by a group that includes the student’s parent and considers a range of possibilities, from general education and resource classes to specialized schools and more intensive settings.

The department appointed a special monitor and ordered ASDB to reconsider the full range of placements for affected students by Aug. 28. That review could include enrollment at the Copper Creek campus, placement at the new private Tucson School for the Blind, a residential program or the creation of a residential option at Copper Creek. ASDB said it was reviewing the state’s report with legal counsel to determine practical next steps. The agency continues to operate its Phoenix Day School for the Deaf, statewide services in public and charter schools and homes, and an early learning program for children from birth to age 3.

Families, alumni and employees have criticized what they describe as a rushed decision and inadequate communication. An audience of about 300 people attended a January community meeting about the move and changes to education delivery. Some families worry about bullying, losing established friendships and losing familiar teachers, particularly as ASDB faces staffing cuts and considers capping incoming teacher salaries at just under $66,000. One former parent said her daughter had made major academic and social gains at ASDB and would now begin her senior year away from the friends and setting where she had flourished. Another parent said the family chose the private Tucson School for the Blind because it no longer felt safe or comfortable returning to ASDB.

ASDB was founded in 1912, the year Arizona became a state, and now serves more than 1,800 deaf, hard of hearing, visually impaired and deafblind students across Arizona. The former Tucson campus reached about 380 students at its peak, but current enrollment had fallen to about 115 before the relocation. The school has said it must respond to a projected $3.3 million deficit for the fiscal year ending in 2027, after already using measures such as hiring freezes and cuts to extracurricular programs. For Tucson’s deaf and blind community, the immediate questions are whether the new campus can preserve the support and sense of belonging associated with the old one, and whether the state mandated review will give families meaningful control over their children’s futures.