🔥AG Mayes Files Suit to Save the
US Dept. of Ed🔥
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👀 Read our newest blog to find out what the US Dept. of Ed does, what it DOESN’T do, and why it’s so important for kids across the country — especially here in Arizona. 👏🔥Swipe ➡️ for an excellent graphic explainer HERE! None of this is new, and none of it surprises anyone who was paying attention to Project 2025 and Trump’s campaign promises. While it’s devastating to watch it unfold, we know that we the people have the power to stop the all-out assault on public education — and we’re mighty glad we have a badass AG who will fight in the courts for our kids! |
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“As it turns out, the ideal education system in Project 2025 looks a lot like Arizona’s education system, at least what GOP lawmakers have tried to turn it into while the federal Department of Education was still watching over them. The blueprint highlights Arizona’s school voucher system as a model for what every state should do. In fact, Arizona gets several mentions on the first page of the education section of the document. The goal is to give parents as much freedom as possible to decide where their kids go to school. Once the Department of Education is gone, Congress could still provide federal funding for schools, but the money would go to states in the form of block grants with “no strings” attached.” |
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We all know where those block grants will go… VOUCHERS. |
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JOIN US. Flood Congress with calls and emails NOW.
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Contact your US Senators & Representatives to demand that they aggressively and forcefully protect the US Department of Education and the 50 MILLION+ students who rely on the protections and funding it provides. 📧 EMAIL: Use our one-click email tool: bit.ly/SaveUSEdDept
☎️ CALL: Use this easy click-through calling tool: bit.ly/SaveDeptEd |
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🏫🎒🧑🏫 All the news you need to know from this week in one quick read:
😞 Phoenix district closes schools: Families were devastated when the Phoenix Elementary School Board voted to close 2 schools and lay off 105 teachers and staff positions this week. Over 650 students will have to change schools. This plan aimed to save $12 million over 2 years due to a lack of funding from the state and federal funding cuts.
These school closures across Arizona are directly caused by the funding drain of private school vouchers — vouchers drain $14.6M from Phoenix Union schools and $2.3M from Phoenix Elementary schools every year. The billion-dollar voucher boondoggle has defunded our public schools and our state budget, leaving no funds to help stabilize school districts and ward off school closures.
Voucher drain has forced a devastating (and record) 11 schools to closed their doors in the last year, with more on the way:
→ Tucson Unified considering across-the-board cuts
→ Issac Elementary District planning to close 2 school campuses
🎪🤡 Arizona State Board of Education delays vote on ESA Voucher handbook. On Monday, Supt. Horne was the lone motion to vote on the handbook — no other Board members seconded. The SBE will reconsider the handbook at their April meeting; we are unsure whether Horne’s ADE will make substantial changes. Many ESA voucher parents testified in opposition to the handbook, saying the changes were too strict. However, our analysis shows that the proposed limits were anything but:
- $2,500 limit for playground equipment per child per year
- $3,000 limit for Smart Boards per child per year
- $4,000 for musical instruments per child every 3 years
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$2,500 for PE equipment per child every 3 years
- $500 for appliances per child every 3 years.
These absurdly excessive limits do next to nothing to improve accountability for taxpayers in the off-the-rails, $1 billion ESA voucher program. Instead, these changes enshrine the already rampant waste of taxpayer dollars in the program while Arizona's public schools struggle to fund basics like copy paper. Arizona taxpayers want their public funds to go to public schools where these costly goods can be used year over year, giving an actual return on investment — not to fund personal refrigerators, home gyms, playgrounds, pianos, and kayaks for the whole family.
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What's Happening at the AZ Leg? |
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A quick rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly at the Arizona State Legislature:
💃 Bad bills bite the dust: It gives us great pleasure to report that a number of bad bills are functionally dead! Aka, they didn’t survive the deadline for bills to be heard in their crossover committees (House bills in Senate committees, Senate bills in House committees). From the annual "jail teachers" (SB1090) and "ban books" (SB1099) nonsense, to harmful curriculum mandates (SB1133) and bills micromanaging public school board meetings (SB1243) and finances (SB1625), our list of bills we're worrying about is now 10 worries lighter 🎉
🗑️ Desperate agendas: Despite these failures, majority lawmakers are undeterred in trying to advance harmful ideas by any means necessary. This week's signpost is the yearly catchall desperation of so-called "garbage can Appropriations" hearings. After that chaos passes, lawmakers' attention will shift to final passage of bills on the Senate and House floors, along with state budget negotiations in earnest. Our 2025 Bill Tracker contains up-to-the-minute information on where the bills we are tracking this year stand. You'll note that anything considered dead for the year will be labeled with a gray "Inactive" marker.
🏳️🌈 Mystery Solved: We speculated last week on why HB2113, which would ban the display of LGBTQ+ Pride and Black Lives Matter flags in Arizona schools (and may also violate First Amendment free speech protections), was added to three consecutive committee agendas but not heard any of those times. It turns out the bill's sponsor, Nick Kupper (R-25), asked the committee to hold his bill rather than allow Hobbs the pleasure of vetoing it. Whatever gets you through the day, sir; we're just happy the bill is dead! 😹
Rally to Stop Bills for Billionaire$! Save the date to protest a slew of bills that benefit the uber rich across Arizona, while gutting funding for schools, childcare, healthcare, housing, roads, and more! Tell them to invest in kids, health and safety! |
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This is the last week that bills can be heard in committee! After this point, lawmakers' attention will turn to floor votes that send bills up to the governor for her signature or veto, as well as to their main job (and only constitutionally mandated responsibility): the negotiation and passage of a state budget. 🛑 Use Request to Speak on the following bills: |
👎 NO on HB2704 • 👎 NO on HB2918
👎 NO on HB2919 |
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HB2704, sponsored by Jeff Weninger (R-13), would redirect $1 billion in taxpayer money over 30 years to renovate Chase Field. Calling the bill a “major league boondoggle,” Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego warns that current official projections significantly lowball the cost to taxpayers. She points out, “Just like the state’s (ESA voucher) program or the infamous alt-fuels bill, there is not a high-end cap on this bill to act as a safeguard for taxpayers.” Plummeting General Fund revenues thanks to vouchers and tax cuts are driving the state's inability to fund core priorities like public schools. Gov. Hobbs said last month she supports the idea of a tax handout for the Diamondbacks' billionaire owner and is likely to sign a bill "if all parties agree"; she has not clarified whether the growing opposition has changed her stance. Assigned to Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
HB2918, sponsored by Justin Olson (R-10), would slash Arizona's tax rates in the sales, individual income, small business and school district categories. The 2022 Ducey tax cuts have already caused state revenues to plummet, leading to massive deficits. Arizona cannot shoulder the burden of further cuts, much less this measure's $200 million in cuts across sales, property and income categories. Gov. Hobbs has not stated her position on this bill, but recently told press she’s "willing to negotiate" with the Republican-led legislature on passing more tax cuts. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
HB2919, sponsored by Justin Olson (R-10), would ban the K-12 "rollover," an accounting gimmick lawmakers used to balance the state budget during the Great Recession, with the stated goal of paying it off entirely in the name of "transparency." The bill uses outdated numbers and fails to account for roughly $150 million that schools must repay due to the Qasimyar lawsuit (which dealt with property taxes on second homes). Thus, the bill constitutes a cut to public schools. Scheduled for Senate Appropriations Committee, Tuesday. OPPOSE.
✅ The SOSAZ 2025 Bill Tracker contains full information about all bills SOSAZ supports or opposes in 2025 and gives you up-to-the-minute information on where these bills stand. |
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Email Gov. Hobbs & your lawmakers to urge them to do their constitutional duty and invest in Arizona’s public schools! Our easy-to-use, one-click email tool is preloaded with SOSAZ’s legislative priorities, but we also encourage you to customize your email for maximum impact. |
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Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination for the 2025 Champions of Public Education Awards, and a huge congratulations to everyone who was nominated! The pool of nominations was amazing, and picking only one winner for each category was difficult. All of the nominees deserve to be celebrated for their incredible commitment to Arizona’s students and our public schools. We are proud to announce the 2025 Champions of Public Education: |
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Our newsletters don’t write themselves! Support our work by becoming a paid subscriber to Save Our Schools Arizona’s Substack. A monthly or annual donation of any amount helps to keep the lights on at the Weekly Education Report so we can provide you with the latest news in education week after week. |
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Contact Us
info@sosarizona.org Save Our Schools Arizona
PO Box 28370
Tempe, AZ 85285
United States Paid for by Save Our Schools Arizona. Not authorized by any candidate. |
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