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 onto our ballots that is designed to discourage voters from supporting overrides in the name of "transparency." Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. 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. Part of a national push to force right-wing curriculum into schools. Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
SB1164, sponsored by Warren Petersen (R-14), would force public schools in Arizona to open their doors to ICE agents. The US Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that all children, regardless of immigration status, have the right to a free public education. Some Arizona districts are instituting “safe zone” policies to protect their students, stating that no individual or organization that would create an educational disruption is allowed on school grounds. This bill would override those local policies. The bill appropriates unspecified amounts from the state general fund — in other words, blank checks — to county sheriffs' offices and the state Department of Corrections to administer the legislation. Scheduled for House Government Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1255, sponsored by Shawnna Bolick (R-2), would require each school district and individual public school to post on its website information on students’ race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age that is meant for the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. Schools would also have to complete a newly created survey from Tom Horne’s Arizona Department of Education on bullying, fighting, harassment and other school safety issues, which ADE would post on their website. Public schools are already subject to many laws covering discrimination and bullying, making this an excessive overreach. Meanwhile, bills to expand these protections to kids at ESA voucher-funded schools are going unheard (see SB1369, 2024). Held in House Education Committee 3/4 because no one present could answer Fink's question as to the meaning of "data regarding the school climate" (page 2 line 32). Once again scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
SB1269, sponsored by Wendy Rogers (R-7), would let district and charter school boards allow religious chaplains into schools to provide support, services or programs to students. The bill does not specify what the chaplains' roles would include, set any training or certification requirements, or require that students from a range of faith traditions or identities be accommodated. Most credentialed chaplains are not qualified to address the needs of students and cannot replace trained school counselors or other student support staff. The ACLU, which opposes such proposals across other states, says, “Chaplains may provide inappropriate responses or interventions that could gravely harm students, including those experiencing mental health crises, LGBTQ students, and other vulnerable individuals. When a student seeks mental health care at school, that care should be provided by a qualified professional.” Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
SB1331, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), would eliminate capital gains taxes (or wealth taxes) beginning in 2026. The bill's fiscal note says this would cost the state General Fund $40-60 million a year, primarily to give tax breaks to the rich while further limiting Arizona’s ability to properly fund our public schools and services. Our budget is one of the smallest per capita in the US, and our schools are funded at 49th in the country. Scheduled for House Ways & Means Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1441, sponsored by Carine Werner (R-4), would make school board elections partisan, a move being pushed by national extremist organizations. Local school boards are our most democratic institutions, and should stay above party politics. Making school boards partisan turns districts and schools into just another venue for extremist conflict. This idea failed in committee in 2022 and was vetoed last year. Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
SB1443, sponsored by Carine Werner (R-4), gives parents the explicit legal right to make mental health care decisions for their minor child, and creates a mandatory minimum $2,500 judgment against "governmental entities or officials" (such as schools and teachers) who violate that "right." This would put at risk every public school teacher and school counselor who supports the mental health of a minor student with unsupportive or even abusive parents. Scheduled for House Judiciary Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
SB1625, sponsored by Carine Werner (R-4), would expand the Arizona School Spending Portal to force district and charter schools to report each general ledger entry, including revenues, or expenditures and disbursements. This is bureaucratic red tape that would snarl schools in time-consuming overreporting, not to mention a massive government overreach. Meanwhile, Arizona's ESA voucher program has no such transparency. Scheduled for House Education Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
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. Passed the full house 55-3 (only no votes Chaplik Weninger Willoughby). Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
HB2018, sponsored by Matt Gress (R-4), blurs the lines between 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. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
HB2081, sponsored by Gail Griffin (R-19), would exempt tips from Arizona income tax. The bill’s fiscal note estimates the move would cut the state's general fund by $31 million per year. State revenues are already stretched thin and will be forced to absorb huge cost shifts as the federal government cuts programs. Arizona's tax expenditures have increased dramatically from $12 billion per year in 2017 to $29 billion per year in 2024. As the current federal administration pushes for a similar and massively expensive change, critics warn that exempting tips from taxation could create loopholes that may lead to wage restructuring, potentially benefiting employers rather than employees. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. 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. Critics say the ban will cause BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students to feel uncomfortable or unsafe in school simply for being who they are. The bill is written so broadly, it apparently bans everything from flags of favorite sports teams in locker rooms to international flags in language classrooms. The House's nonpartisan attorneys also warn the bill may violate First Amendment free speech protections. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Wednesday (was held 3/5). OPPOSE.
HB2601, sponsored by Nick Kupper (R-25), would exempt individuals under the age of 18 from state income tax if their Arizona gross income is less than $50,000, regardless of income source or nature, beginning in 2026. Minors rely on public transportation, roads, schools, and other services in order to join the workforce and should support these public goods like everyone else. The fiscal note estimates the move would cost the General Fund $8 million per year; it also notes that the estimate is "uncertain," likely lowballed. Scheduled for Senate Finance Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HB2814 and HCR2015, sponsored by Lisa Fink (R-27), would ask voters to amend the Arizona Constitution to let the legislature direct federal funding however they wish if Trump dissolves the Department of Education and turns the money into block grants to states for them to spend as they please, with no strings attached. This could allow the state to redistribute Title I and IDEA funds to private school vouchers with no strings attached. As a ballot referral, HCR2015 would circumvent the governor's veto. Both are scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
HB2920, sponsored by Justin Olson (R-10), would require county treasurers to include school district property tax rates on bills and statements. This and other bills introduced by Olson go out of their way to point out the costs that fall to counties and localities when the state — namely the legislature — fails to adequately fund public schools. Scheduled for Senate Finance Committee, Monday. OPPOSE.
HCR2042, sponsored by Steve Montenegro (R-29), would ask voters to enshrine racism in the state Constitution. This culture-war-driven measure would prevent the state from giving BIPOC-owned businesses any preference in state contracts, keep school districts from specifically hiring black or brown teachers in an effort to increase representation, block teachers from discussing inclusion and equity issues that have arisen despite the 14th Amendment, and ban certain content from being taught in schools. This would negatively impact student learning, as well as teacher retention and recruitment. The legislature would be allowed to also "prescribe related practices or concepts" to ban. Scheduled for Senate Government Committee, Wednesday. OPPOSE.
