Supporting a Budget that Makes Sense for Education and Workforce Readiness
In the early hours of Friday, June 20, the Arizona Senate passed a budget for FY2026 and then adjourned. This was the product of bipartisan collaboration and negotiations between the Senate and Gov. Katie Hobbs. Critically, it includes funding for select programs that Education Forward Arizona has prioritized.
The week prior, the Arizona House of Representatives proposed their own budget, which was likely to be damaging to education in Arizona, after negotiations between the House and Governor didn’t progress. While this budget hasn’t advanced, the House majority leadership has indicated that they will not pass the Senate-approved budget, leaving the state’s fiscal future uncertain and raising concerns for Arizona students and families.
Important Education Investments for Arizona Students in the Senate-approved, Governor-supported Budget:
- $9M of new investment in the Arizona Teachers Academy. When combined with the existing $15M already in the program, this investment will support many more postsecondary students on the journey to become educators, helping address Arizona’s teacher shortage.
- $30M of new investment in the Arizona College Promise Program. This combined with the annual funding of $20M will allow more students from families with low-income backgrounds to study at public universities in Arizona, thereby creating more skilled workers to meet Arizona’s workforce needs and help Arizonans provide a better quality of life for themselves and their families.
- $3M of first-time funding for the Arizona Community College Promise Program. This will help many individuals access education and training programs that allow them to be prepared to land high-skill, in-demand, high-wage jobs in their communities.
- K-12 Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) waiver through FY2027, providing planning certainty for K-12 school leaders to utilize budgeted funds allocated to them.
- $1.5M for dual enrollment which is not the target number but, in part because of the advocacy of Education Forward Arizona and our partners, the Governor is showing excellent leadership and taking the money directly out of her discretionary allotment. Without the Governor’s action there would be no additional funding for dual enrollment in this budget.
For more than a decade, Education Forward Arizona has advocated for these types of investments in both the Arizona College Promise Program and the Community College Promise Program, since the largest barrier to postsecondary education and training for students is cost. This vital investment helps to alleviate students’ financial burden, allowing more Arizonans to attain education after high school and ensuring that Arizona has the skilled workforce it needs for the future.
What Happens Next
While the next steps are uncertain, here are four possible paths forward:
- The House can adopt the Senate budget and send it to the Governor’s desk for signature and the Governor has indicated that she will sign it.
- The House can propose a continuation budget to keep the State funded short-term until a final budget can be reached. However, the Governor has expressed her disinterest in this route, as the House will be doing this as a consequence of choosing to not participate in the bi-partisan process undertaken by the Governor and the State Senate.
- The Arizona State Government will shut down if a budget deal isn’t reached by June 30.
- A special session can be called to renegotiate the budget.
What You Can Do
Contact your elected officials in the Arizona House of Representatives and encourage them to support and pass the Senate’s approved budget. Arizona has Everything to Gain when the state invests in education.