Stand UP for Public Schools! 

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It’s all so much right now. We feel you. The assault on democracy and public education is dizzying, exhausting, and downright terrifying. So, we thought we’d round up important things going on in K-12 education, and put them succinctly here (with links to take action), so you can keep track and know you’re not missing anything — and can make a difference. 

Before you get into the news, it’s national Public Schools Week this week, and our tagline is “Stand Up for Public Schools.” We will have daily actions for you to effect change across social media, so stay engaged all week 📣 First, change your profile picture (click here, see our explainer here) and follow us on social media for tips to be engaged all week! 🎉🏫

Now, for a round-up on this week’s K-12 News:

K-12 at the Federal Level

• Voucher-Pusher for Ed Sec: On Thursday, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education Linda McMahon advanced out of committee — the full Senate vote is the next and final step. McMahon helped found the far-right America First Policy Institute, which has advocated for the broad expansion of voucher programs and the dismantling of… the Dept. of Ed. Use your voice to urge your Senator to vote NO: ☎️ CALL or 📧 EMAIL
• Attacks on DEI: Last Friday, the Office of Civil Rights in the US Dept. of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter (which is non-binding and does not change the law) regarding the Trump administration’s intent to use OCR to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in America’s public schools. Stay tuned — lawsuits are sure to come. 👍⚖️ Last we checked, diversity is what makes America great, and we sure could use a LOT more equity and inclusion everywhere, including in our schools!
• Firing the People Who Protect Vulnerable Kids? This week, the Trump administration fired all or nearly all probationary employees at the Dept. of Ed, as well as other child serving agencies like the Administration for Children and Families. Dept. of Ed employees are bracing for more cuts and Trump’s threatened shutdown of the Dept: “All of our programs are centered on equity and underserved populations, helping to bridge the gap. Federal education funding is a small fraction of education funding overall, but it’s designed to level the field, so it’s primarily targeted toward urban, rural, Title I schools, and special education. There’s a lot of fear.” 😞

💥 ACT NOW: Tell your US Senators & Representatives to stand up for public education! Urge them to protect the U.S. Department of Education and the millions of vulnerable students it serves. Send your message in minutes with our one-click email tool: bit.ly/SaveUSEdDept

Local Public Schools in the News

• School closures hit another Phoenix district: As Arizona’s public schools face chronic underfunding and the devastating impacts of vouchers, some districts are making the decision to shut down schools — but Phoenix Elementary parents are pushing back, explaining how much school closures would hurt their community. If you’re in Phoenix, use this quick email tool to speak up for Phoenix El and to demand a transparent, community-driven process 📧▶️ bit.ly/SavePhxSchools 
• Maricopa County’s New MAGA Superintendent: Shelli Boggs, the new Maricopa County Superintendent, has aligned herself with Kari Lake and Trump, and was supported by MAGA extremist group Turning Point USA. Sadly, she’ll be in charge of appointing all replacements to any vacancies on Maricopa school boards for the next four years. As SOSAZ Director Beth Lewis said, “When those decisions are made by someone who doesn’t support public education, it’s very dangerous. We’ve seen what’s happened in those school boards with anti-public education school board members — it leads to chaos… I think it’s fair to say that a baseline qualification for school board [candidates] is supporting public schools.” 

K-12 News in the Arizona Legislature

The Arizona Legislature has the most extreme majority in decades, which is apparent in the bills they're choosing to pass. This week, mostly along party lines, lawmakers advanced these harmful bills: 

😡 SB1002 (Kavanagh, R-3), to ban teachers from using a student’s chosen pronouns without written parental permission

😡 SB1255 (Bolick, R-2), to require public schools to post information on students’ race, color, national origin, sex, disability and age meant for the federal Office of Civil Rights, and to complete a survey on bullying, fighting, harassment and other school safety issues — an excessive overreach even as bills to expand these and other protections to kids at ESA voucher-funded schools are going unheard 

😡 SB1269 (Rogers, R-7), letting district and charter school boards allow volunteer school chaplains into schools without defined roles, any training or certification requirements, or inclusion of a range of faith traditions 

😡 SB1243 (Kavanagh, R-3), to require school boards to put their "open call to the public" at the beginning of the meeting before any other official business, making meetings less accessible for the public

These bills will now move to the House, where they await committee assignment and take their place in line to presumably meet Gov. Hobbs' veto stamp.

😬 Prop 123 Updates: The Gress/Mesnard version of a Prop 123 renewal, which would dedicate pay-for-performance funding to certain classroom teachers only, advanced through education committees in both chambers this past week despite significant misgivings from education and business groups, including SOSAZ. These groups have been working behind the scenes to express concerns on the workability of a proposal designed to tie school administrators' hands by dedicating the funds so narrowly and leaving out the support staff that makes schools run. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also expressed considerable reluctance; it is likely that the measure as currently written does not have the votes to pass. 

🙅‍♀️ Veto Queen: As she promised, Gov. Hobbs vetoed HB2703, which would have restricted early voting and forced principals to allow schools to be used as polling places. Undeterred, and despite polls showing overwhelming opposition, Republican lawmakers are advancing the same measure as a referral to circumvent the governor's veto and appear on our November 2026 ballots. 

🤢 And speaking of our 2026 ballots: this coming week alone, lawmakers are advancing TWENTY separate ballot referrals (HCRs and SCRs) — mostly along partisan lines with Republicans only in support — through the House and Senate Rules committees. For perspective, the November 2024 ballot had eleven measures (the most in years) which were placed on the ballot over two separate legislative sessions and led to a 4-page ballot.

Full Weekly Education Report HERE

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