[link removed] [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Fake Petitions Aim to Confuse �
Disenfranchise AZ Voters😤
🚨Last week, the Betsy DeVos-backed American Federation for Children launched a fake initiative campaign [[link removed]] to confuse and disenfranchise voters who want to sign the REAL Protect Education Act. [[link removed]] They’re hoping to fool voters into thinking they’ve already signed — and they have hired MANY paid circulators to get the job done. Scooby Doo's Fred pulls a mask labeled [[link removed]]
Their measure is a copy/paste of the Protect Education Act, but contains a money-grabbing provision to centralize all purchases through one voucher vendor and strips out recouping of funds to public school classrooms.
📣 We need you to know how to spot the fake and teach everyone around you — the real Protect Education petitions list the word “voucher” in the first sentence on the 200-word summary on the front of the petition, which is I-09-2026. If it’s not there, don’t sign — it’s a DeVos fake (I-10-2026) 👀👇
🚨Last week, the Betsy DeVos-backed American Federation for Children launched a fake initiative campaign [[link removed]] to confuse and disenfranchise voters who want to sign the REAL Protect Education Act. [[link removed]] They’re hoping to fool voters into thinking they’ve already signed — and they have hired MANY paid circulators to get the job done. Scooby Doo's Fred pulls a mask labeled [[link removed]]
Their measure is a copy/paste of the Protect Education Act, but contains a money-grabbing provision to centralize all purchases through one voucher vendor and strips out recouping of funds to public school classrooms. 📣 We need you to know how to spot the fake and teach everyone around you — the real Protect Education petitions list the word “voucher” in the first sentence on the 200-word summary on the front of the petition, which is I-09-2026. If it’s not there, don’t sign — it’s a DeVos fake (I-10-2026) 👀👇
Spot the Fake! The real Protect Education petition lists the word [[link removed]]
It’s obvious that the intent is simply voter confusion and disenfranchisement. This is a tactic in Arizona we've seen before from billionaire special interests who typically oppose common-sense measures like the Protect Education Act which prevent fraud and abuse. We're confident this anti-democratic tactic will backfire, as hundreds of thousands of Arizona voters are eager to sign the Protect Education Act because they know it will deliver the reforms to ESA vouchers our state desperately needs.
With all of this dark money pouring in to Arizona, we could use your support! Support our critical efforts to protect public education and rein in Arizona’s $1 billion, off-the-rails voucher program by donating to fuel our grassroots organizing and community engagement across the state!
[link removed] [[link removed]]
DONATE TODAY [[link removed]]
READ THE FULL WEEKLY EDUCATION REPORT HERE [[link removed]]
LEA EL SEMANARIO EN ESPAÑOL [[link removed]]
Initiative Updates
Holy Moly! We have already moved over 9,000 Protect Education petitions [[link removed]] across the state, and are getting them into the hands of our very eager volunteers. Here are some great ways to get petitions, plug in, and get started!!
Public school advocates want voters to decide on ESA reforms [[link removed]]
📋 Petition Depots are LIVE Now! Here is a list of depots [[link removed]] (grouped by county) where you can get your hands on petitions. Office hours are listed, as well as contact info.
👋 Petition Request Form: Can’t make it to a depot? No problem – fill out our request-for-petitions form, [[link removed]] and we will connect you locally with your closest Hub Captain — a local organizer who can get you petitions.
💥 Volunteer Resource Hub: Check out our new Volunteer Hub [[link removed]] , which is your one-stop shop for all circulator trainings, FAQs, and more. Make sure to bookmark the link or save it! 📌
💥 Circulator Training: Protect Education will be conducting one more circulator training THIS week, after training hundreds of volunteers over the past 2 weeks! Join us on Tuesday, March 31, at 5:30pm [[link removed]] .
Whether you’ve collected thousands of signatures in the past or are brand new to circulating, this training will provide critical information to ensure the signatures you collect are valid!
SIGN UP FOR CIRCULATOR TRAINING [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Legislative Update
Committees are over — and some bad bills are dead ☠️: Last Friday (March 27) saw the end of regularly scheduled committee hearings like House and Senate Education. With that milestone in the rear-view mirror, SOSAZ is celebrating the deaths of roughly a dozen harmful bills that failed to advance through committees before the deadline. At the top of that list: HB4037 [[link removed]] (a brand-new tax credit voucher), HB2076 [[link removed]] (arming teachers), and HB2110 [[link removed]] (prayer in school board meetings). However, as lawmakers can use a variety of procedural tricks to circumvent deadlines and revive any idea, nothing is truly dead until they’ve adjourned for the session.
Prop 123 talks break down: The stalemate continues on Prop 123 [[link removed]] , with Republicans saying there “aren’t enough votes” to advance a renewal to the ballot in November. This is a tacit admission that they are unwilling to work across the aisle to secure this victory for our state’s public schools, teachers and students: when they say “not enough votes,” they mean not enough Republican votes. Our Republican-controlled legislature has enough members to put any measure on the ballot without Hobbs’ approval, and any straightforward renewal providing new money for schools has broad Democratic support.
Some Republican legislative leaders, like Majority Leader John Kavanagh (R-3), are trying to justify not working with Democrats on a renewal by arguing the budget and Prop 123 are separate issues that shouldn't be negotiated together. This position is hard to defend: Arizona is facing a budget shortfall driven by federal cuts and lawmakers’ own missteps (the extravagantly expensive 2021 flat tax and 2022 universal ESA vouchers), and Prop 123 would bring in at least $300 million per year in desperately needed revenue.
Budget talks break down: In our last issue, we reported that Gov. Hobbs and Republican lawmakers had called a halt to budget negotiations. With committees over, lawmakers will likely start pausing floor action for a week or more at a time, as they’ve done in previous years [[link removed]] , while a small handful of lawmakers continue working behind the scenes. (Must be nice; we could use a vacation ourselves.) The next milestone in the process is the mid-April Finance Advisory Committee meeting (a group of the state’s smartest policy wonks and fiscal nerds), which provides updated numbers and is widely considered to be the official start of “budget negotiations in earnest.”
Meanwhile, it seems a failed partisan go-it-alone “practice budget” is becoming an annual exercise. Petersen and Montenegro say they'll spend the next several weeks building a budget on their own, without legislative Democrats or the governor. (The rumor is that Gress and Livingston are being iced out of this year’s process after their spectacular flameout last year [[link removed]] .) Their effort is destined for the veto heap, as in order to become law, any budget proposal must earn Hobbs’ signature. We urge Republicans to learn from last session’s mistakes and come to the negotiating table in good faith to fulfill their one constitutionally mandated responsibility.
READ THE FULL REPORT ON BILLS HERE [[link removed]]
🤓✅ Don’t miss the SOSAZ 2026 Bill Tracker [[link removed]] ! This live document contains full information about all bills SOSAZ supports or opposes in 2026 and gives you up-to-the-minute information on where these bills stand. Bookmark the Bill Tracker [[link removed]] to stay in the know.
Arizona’s Request to Speak (RTS) is an online tool that lets everyday citizens give Arizona state lawmakers our feedback on bills from the comfort of home – but you don’t actually have to speak! It’s an easy way to weigh in on state politics, stay informed on the bills that directly affect us, and make sure our elected officials honor the wishes of us, their constituents.
Need a Request to Speak account? Sign up here to have one created for you: Sign up here [[link removed]]
Join Us!
📚 Join Save Our Schools Arizona Network’s From Page to Power Book Club! Our next book is “Navigating School Board Politics” by Carrie Sampson. Pick up a copy at your favorite local bookseller. Then, join us (virtually) for a discussion to connect, learn, and meet new people.
Sun, April 19 3-4pm
REGISTER HERE [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Subscribe to Substack!
[link removed] [[link removed]] Our newsletters don’t write themselves! Support our work by becoming a paid subscriber to Save Our Schools Arizona’s Substack [[link removed]] . 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.
SUBSCRIBE HERE [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
Contact Us
[email protected]
Save Our Schools Arizona
PO Box 28370
Tempe, AZ 85285
United States
Paid for by Save Our Schools Arizona. Not authorized by any candidate.
unsubscribe: [link removed]