2025 State of the State: Addressing Gov. Hobbs’ Education Agenda
On Monday, January 13, Gov. Hobbs presented her third State of the State address, outlining her vision for Arizona and her legislative priorities for 2025. Gov. Hobbs stated that “public education is the key to opportunity” and “success means outstanding teachers in every classroom.” Gov. Hobbs’ remarks related to public education and her support to seek bipartisan solutions to problems that Arizona must address are good starting points for this year’s session.
It was good to hear that the governor’s education priorities also align with many of Education Forward Arizona’s policy priorities for 2025 (listed below). We were happy to hear the following prioritized in the address.
- Advocate for Prop 123 in support of continued education funding
- Seek solutions to the Aggregate Expenditure Limitation for K-12 and Community Colleges.
- Create accountability and transparency for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts.
A complete list of Education Forward Arizona’s 2025 Legislative Priorities can be found here.
We are eager to read Gov. Hobbs’ upcoming budget proposal to see whether priorities to increase Arizona’s educational attainment—which were not highlighted in the State of the State address—are also included. To increase attainment in Arizona and bolster our 21st century workforce, funding our community colleges and universities, supporting Dual Enrollment, FAFSA completion, adult education, state financial aid, and teacher training programs are vital. There is broad public support for these efforts, but many were cut or deleted in last year’s budget and cannot be left behind.
Proposition 123
The Governor’s support for a bipartisan solution to pass an extension of Proposition 123 is important— and expected. This legislation was passed by voters in 2016 and provides much-needed funding to public schools across Arizona, ensuring that Arizona’s children have access to the quality public education they deserve. It is currently set to expire in June 2025.
Aggregate Expenditure Limitation
Gov. Hobbs renewed her support for a bipartisan solution to the Aggregate Expenditure Limitation (AEL) that negatively impacts public K-12 districts across Arizona. The AEL sets a cap on the amount of resources that a school can spend, regardless of whether the resources are available. A solution must be found that will allow schools to have access to their already approved financial resources without adding additional tax burdens to Arizonans.
Accountability and Transparency for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs)
The original purpose of ESAs was to allow parents of special needs children to have access to resources that would meet the educational needs of their children. Today, ESAs provide almost universal availability and extended purposes, and with tax payers funding approximately a billion dollars annually, the program cost the state far more than expected. Gov. Hobbs has called for stronger accountability and transparency around the taxpayer dollars used to fund ESAs, ensuring that families are supported while still having strict oversight.
Needs We See for Education This Legislative Session
We need 500,000 additional certificates and degrees to meet the state’s Achieve60AZ attainment goal, which calls for 60 percent of all working adults between the ages of 25 and 64 to have a credential or degree by 2030—now just five short years away. To reach that goal and cut our workforce gaps we must continue to invest in creating significantly more opportunities for education and training after high school. A recent poll by Education Forward Arizona found the vast majority of Arizona voters—close to 75 percent—believe that more should be done to support education and training after high school. In addition, almost every Arizona voter (96 percent) believe that we should expand access to technical training and education programs.
Education Forward Arizona will continue to advocate for increased access to education and training after high school, including:
- Increased funding for scholarship programs that encourage students with high financial need to attend Arizona’s community colleges and universities
- Supporting FAFSA completion, and
- Increasing access to dual enrollment opportunities for high school students.
We are confident that Gov. Hobbs and Legislature understand that Arizona has billions of dollars to gain in economic growth when more adults have the opportunity to earn industry recognized credentials, as well as associates, bachelor’s and advanced degrees.
To achieve the state’s true economic potential, the Legislature must offer solutions to ensure that Arizona students and adults are prepared to participate in high-demand careers. We are looking to Gov. Hobbs to provide leadership in advocating for the state’s Achieve60AZ attainment goals and to supporting efforts that increase opportunities to increase education and training after high school. Our polls indicate that Arizona voters stand ready to work with her and the legislature to support education bills that truly will lead us to the “Arizona Promise” Gov. Hobb’s referred to in her address this week.
Arizonans have Everything to Gain in our economy, in our workforce, in our communities, and as individuals when Arizonans continue their education and training beyond high school.