Check Out the Education Bills Making Their Way through the State Legislature

There are many education bills making their way through the State Legislature this session.

Some are reintroduced holdover bills from last year that were not considered when the Capitol shut down due to the Coronavirus.

Others are new measures designed by their sponsors to make public schools better.

Please click here to check on the education bills progressing through the State Senate Committee.

And here to review those being considered in the Arizona House.

 

Many of these proposals have generated bipartisan support.

For example, House Bill 2021, sponsored by Committee Chairperson Michelle Udall a bill designed to expand college dual credit opportunities for freshman and sophomore high school students has sailed through the committee with unanimous support.

So has an expansion of student internship credit opportunities (HB 2024.)

State Representative Lorenzo  Sierra’s proposal to create grants to fund Pre School enrollment (HB 2015) has also generated bipartisan support. 

Other examples of education bills gaining bipartisan support have been a:

  • New education requirements for ELL students (HCR2005) championed by John Filmore.
  • Measure sponsored by Alma Hernandez mandating Holocaust/Genocide studies in grades 7-12 public schools (HB2241.)
  • Senate proposal (SB 1097 sponsored by Representatives Jennifer Jermaine and Jennifer Pawlik along with Senator Sean Bowie) that would modernize excused absence procedures for mental or behavioral health.
  • Bill (SB1165 sponsored by Senator Paul Boyer) exempting traditional and charter public schools from conducting employee performance reviews for the 2020-21 school year.

There are other positive pieces of legislation like Representative Cano’s proposal to increase funding for community college districts (HB2207) that still need to be heard.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman has expressed support for both the ELL reforms and the Pre School enrollment grants.

When asked which additional legislative bills Hoffman and the Education Department would support, her Public Information Officer Morgan Dick replied that:

“Additional session/budget priorities include: investment in early literacy and dyslexia training for teachers, COVID-19 relief, adult education, investigations and certifications unit funding, increased funding for the Office of Indian Education, digital learning and teaching grants, early childhood block grants, elevating the teaching profession, and school improvement.”

Beware Bills to Expand School Vouchers and Make Lives Harder for Instructors. 

Then there are the education bills that should never find their way to the House or Senate floor for a vote.

The Arizona Save Our Schools organization publishes a weekly newsletter, apprising their readers of bills that should be supported and those that warrant opposition.

Please click here to see the latest newsletter.

Two bills they have advised readers to oppose are more attempts to expand access to receive school vouchers (HB 2503) and school tuition organization tax credits (SB 1273.)

Another Senate Bill (SB 1058) would make teachers catalog all the supplies they have used over the last school year. That proposal, advanced by reactionary Nancy Barto, is asinine on its face.

Citizens are encouraged to periodically check on the progress of these measures that will impact their children and the state’s education programs from the Pre-K to Post Secondary levels.