SB1002, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would ban teachers from using a student’s chosen pronouns without written parental permission. Scheduled for Senate Education Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1003, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would ban trans kids from using the school bathrooms, changing facilities and “sleeping quarters” that align with their gender identities. Scheduled for Senate Education Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1090, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-14), would put Arizona public school teachers (but not teachers at ESA-funded private schools) behind bars for up to two years if they so much as recommend a book to students that lawmakers consider “sexually explicit.” Scheduled for Senate Education Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1091, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-14), would require that ballots in school district bond and budget override continuation elections state how much voters' taxes would drop if they refused to pass the continuations. This would force blatant propaganda designed to discourage voters from supporting overrides in the name of "transparency." Scheduled for Senate Education Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1099, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-14), is a rerun of last year's bill to ban district and charter schools from exposing minors to so-called "sexually explicit materials." This would ban many classic works of literature, from Shakespeare to Maya Angelou, and educators could be charged with a Class 5 felony for simply having these materials in their classrooms. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1133, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would require the State Board of Education to mandate schools teach the history of communism and domestic communist movements in high school social studies. State lawmakers shouldn’t be mandating curriculum; that’s the job of educators who are trained in curriculum development. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
HB2213, sponsored by Nancy Gutierrez (D-18), would fund free school lunches for children whose families meet the federal income requirements for free or reduced-price lunches. This change would help kids who don't qualify for free meals but still struggle to afford the costs. Kids who eat school meals show improved attendance, behavior and academic achievement (kids can't learn when they're hungry!), and they get more whole grains, milk, fruits and vegetables at mealtimes. Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. SUPPORT.
HB2375, sponsored by Pamela Carter (R-4), would require school districts to begin special education evaluations within 15 days of a parent's written request, or provide written notice of refusal, if the request is filed between May 1 and September 1 (much of which is during summer break). This requirement, which is already in State Board of Education rule, places a burden on schools which are already overwhelmed with the volume of expensive requests. Codifying these demands will pull services away from students with existing IEPs whose needs are met by the same employees who evaluate students. Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
Bills in Rules Committees
Rules exists only to consider whether a bill is constitutional and in the proper form for passage; the committee doesn’t take testimony and won’t read comments. These bills will proceed to caucus (separate partisan meetings of all Democrats and all Republicans) and from there to a full floor vote.
Bills in Senate Rules Committee, Monday — Contact your Senator
SB1028, sponsored by John Kavanagh (R-3), would reinstate high-stakes testing to graduate from high school. OPPOSE.
Bills in House Rules Committee, Monday — Contact your Representatives
HB2008, sponsored by John Gillette (R-30), would hinder citizen’s initiatives by requiring notaries to hold fingerprint clearance cards and provide their thumbprint with each notarization. OPPOSE.
HB2018, sponsored by Matt Gress (R-4), blurs the lines of public and private education by allowing private and for-profit universities in Arizona to provide taxpayer-funded financial assistance to students in teacher training programs on the same terms as those at Arizona’s three state universities, and increases funding for the program by $10 million to accommodate the private, for-profit universities. OPPOSE.
HB2022, sponsored by Selina Bliss (R-1), would allow K-12 public and private schools to authorize employees to carry firearms on school grounds. OPPOSE.
HB2062, sponsored by Lisa Fink (R-27), would remove any reference to gender in Arizona law and replace it with “sex,” defined as the male or female label assigned to someone at birth. OPPOSE.
HB2113, sponsored by Nick Kupper (R-25), would ban the display of certain flags in Arizona schools, such as LGBTQ+ Pride and Black Lives Matter flags. OPPOSE.
