This Week’s Legislative Updates
Monday, Feb. 10, marked the last day for bills to be introduced for the 2025 Legislative session in Arizona. In line with Education Forward Arizona’s advocacy priorities the following list of bills will be monitored closely by our team. As an education advocate, you are able to track each bill’s progress and join us in voicing your support or opposition, as indicated below, through the Arizona Legislative website.
2025 Education Related Bills We Support:
SB 1247 – Expands the Arizona Teacher’s Academy to include Community Colleges. We support this bill because it provides additional access for students studying education and earning a bachelor’s degree through the community colleges, thereby increasing the pipeline of teachers in our state. Support
HB 2648 – Expands childcare assistance for full-time students. We support this bill to help full-time students access childcare assistance, by adjusting the work requirement. This will allow a working parent/caregiver with the opportunity to better themselves and their circumstances through additional education and training. Support
HB 2778 – Including vapor products in the tobacco tax. We support this bill to further the purpose of the tobacco tax, which was authorized by Arizona voters years ago, to include vapor and nicotine products. This is the primary source of funding for First Things First, which provides critical services for early childhood education in Arizona. Support
HB 2643 – Increased childcare funding. We support this bill to allocate additional money appropriated from the state general fund, in addition to existing federal childcare and childhood development funding, to provide additional childcare options for families. This will include alleviating a portion of the waitlist, allowing more Arizonans to rejoin the workforce or purse additional education or training. Support
2025 Education Related Bill We Oppose:
SB 1028 – Requires students to pass a statewide assessment prior to graduation. We oppose a statewide high school assessment, as it has not proven effective to help students be successful after graduation and was removed from state requirements in 2015. It also exempts CTED (Career and Technical Education Districts) students and those with IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) from testing. Oppose
UPDATES
Prop 123 – Update
What we know: The current Prop 123 expires on June 30, 2025 and per the previous lawsuit, the $300 million currently funded under Prop 123, must shift to a general fund allocation, meaning other priorities may be cut or eliminated.
Both Democrats and Republicans have introduced competing proposals for continuing Prop 123. While they have similarities, like the number of years and percentage increase of the amount drawn from the State Land Trust, the Republicans’ proposal restricts funding to only increase teacher salaries, while the Democrats’ allows the funding to increase both teachers’ and support staff’s salaries.
We support the continuation of Prop 123 and would prefer the funding to be available for all school personnel because, most importantly to Education Forward Arizona, support staff includes school counselors who ensure students have the resources necessary to access education after high school. If we do not support them, our progress to hitting the Achieve60AZ goal of 60% or more Arizonans holding a degree or certificate will be slowed significantly — causing Arizona to miss out on billions of dollars of increased revenue. It’s not worth it to save a few dollars now only to miss out on billions down the road. We will continue to monitor these resolutions.