The Chairman of the House Education Committee is sponsoring a bill designed to increase awareness about school choice in Arizona, but Democrats remain in opposition to any policies that inform parents about their options to educate their children.
Representative Beverly Pingerelli introduced HB 2539, which “creates the Arizona School Choice Division within the State Board of Education, and outlines its duties and appropriates monies and FTEs (full-time employees) to the Division,” according to the overview provided by the Arizona House of Representatives.
Among other provisions of the bill, HB 2539 “directs the Division to implement a public awareness program about students’ abilities to choose any public schools and resources to explain school choice options;” and it “mandates the Division develop single-page informational pamphlets that can be accessed in physical and digital formats to educate parents on the available school choice options for students.” The legislation also “directs the Division to notify ADE if a charter school or school district that operates a D or F letter grade school submits, fails to submit or is late to submit compliance evidence within 60 days of letter grade assignment.”
In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News, Representative Pingerelli explained why she introduced this legislation: “Parents hold schools accountable in Arizona with school choice. But parents need transparency of school outcomes, and they need to be aware of their rights. The purpose of HB2539 is to ensure more parents are aware of ALL their choices. This bill requires that schools not only explain to their parents why and how they are failing to their parents if they have a D or F rating, but how they will improve their school. It relieves schools of the current burden of mailing the entire community a post-card mailer, which currently has almost no information on it. It is our job to ensure parents are informed. Finally, there are hundreds of new Arizonans arriving daily who likely are not experts in our education laws. We currently make no effort to help them. At the cost of an email, we can fix that.”
Last month, the bill passed both the House Education and House Rules Committee. The vote in the Education Committee was split across party lines, 6-4. All eight members of the Rules Committee voted in favor of HB 2539, pushing it one step closer to a vote before the entire House body.
Representatives from the Arizona School Administrators Association, Arizona Education Association, and Save Our Schools Arizona signed in against this bill as it went through the House committee process.
Over the past two sessions, many of the most contentious policy battles between Republicans and Democrats have been over the issue of school choice and providing more control and transparency to parents when it comes to their children’s education. Last year, after numerous debates between passionate members on both sides, the Arizona Legislature passed a historic expansion of the Education Savings Accounts program (ESA), which then-Governor Doug Ducey signed into law. This universal expansion was the first of its kind in the nation and was enacted with partisan votes in both chambers of the Arizona Legislature.
An online account advocating against passage of the bill, tweeted, “The not-too-hidden goal of denigrating public schools is to weaken support for teachers and their unions, and to redirect funds into school vouchers and other programs that pummel public education even further.”
The not-too-hidden goal of denigrating public schools is to weaken support for teachers and their unions, and to redirect funds into school vouchers and other programs that pummel public education even further. 🛑Oppose #HB2533 🛑Oppose #HB2539https://t.co/0vYR6TUSoQ
Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs is delaying justice for the victims of a convicted killer, and the State Senate President is furious with her calculation to ignore a recent execution warrant issued by the Arizona Supreme Court.
Last week, the state’s top court issued an execution warrant for a convicted murderer, Aaron Gunches, who was first sentenced to death in 2008 for the killing of Ted Price in 2002. Following an early-December 2022 request from then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich for a warrant of execution, the Arizona Supreme Court finally set an April 6 execution date – even in the face of tremendous opposition from Arizona’s new governor and attorney general.
After receiving the order from the state’s high court, Hobbs issued a lengthy statement, announcing that she would not be fulfilling the execution date for Gunches and justifying her decision. The governor wrote: “Yesterday, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a warrant of execution for Aaron Brian Gunches, despite the State withdrawing its motion and informing the Court that the State does not seek to carry out an execution at this time….the State and ADCRR (Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation & Reentry) does not intend to proceed with an execution on April 6, 2023.”
Arizona’s Senate President, Warren Petersen, was outraged by the governor’s decree, tweeting, “He should absolutely be executed! Imagine if a Republican governor refused to carry out this order made by the court!”
He should absolutely be executed! Imagine if a Republican governor refused to carry out this order made by the court! https://t.co/zhsT5Q3Mlb
Governor Hobbs’ decision to halt Gunches’ execution comes after a chaotic change in policy from the Governor’s and Attorney General’s Offices following the transition of power on January 2, 2023. On January 20, Hobbs established a Death Penalty Independent Review Commissioner, tasking this individual to review and provide “transparency into the ADCRR lethal injection drug and gas chamber chemical procurement process, execution protocols, and staffing considerations including training and experience.” Hobbs stated then that “Arizona has a history of mismanaged executions that have resulted in serious questions and concerns about ADCRR’s execution protocols and lack of transparency.”
The governor’s rollout of this executive order included cooperation from newly installed Attorney General Kris Mayes, who announced that day that her office “filed a motion to withdraw the warrant of execution for Aaron Brian Gunches.” She announced that her office would “also pause all requests for warrants of execution while the review process (that Hobbs was implementing) is pending.”
Earlier today, my office filed a motion to withdraw the warrant of execution for Aaron Brian Gunches. Given the horrific nature of Mr. Gunches’ crimes, this was an extremely difficult decision to make.
— Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) January 20, 2023
Mayes did acknowledge the family members of the murdered victim who were caught in the middle of the political posturing, tweeting, “My heart goes out to the family of Ted Price. I know this must be an unimaginable situation for them. Families of victims of those on death row deserve sympathy and support from all of us, and I extend mine to Mr. Price’s family today.”
On February 24, Governor Hobbs announced the appointment of retired Judge David Duncan as the Commissioner she previously promised – again repeating her claim about Arizona’s history of “mismanaged executions” despite the past three executions under former Attorney General Brnovich and former Governor Doug Ducey occurring as planned. Also, as with her January 20th statement, the governor expressed confidence in her choice to lead the ADCRR, Ryan Thornell, who was nominated on January 17. Thornell was selected from his role as the Deputy Commissioner of Corrections for the Maine Department of Corrections.
Governor Hobbs gave Thornell another endorsement in her most-recent statement announcing that she would not be going forward with Gunches’ execution, saying, “Director Thornell will continue to build up ADCRR’s staffing and competencies to be able to conduct an execution in compliance with state and federal laws, and will balance that work with the work needed to solve the urgent medical, mental health, and other critical problems the Director has inherited from the prior administration.”
According to Senate sources, though, Thornell’s nomination has not been transmitted to the Arizona Legislature for consent as is constitutionally required. Once the Governor’s Office complies with the Arizona Constitution, Thornell would face a rigorous vetting process by the panel commissioned by President Petersen and chaired by Senator Jake Hoffman. With two – and possibly three – of Hobbs’ original choices to run state agencies already derailed by a lack of vetting from her office, Thornell’s journey – and the stability of the agency he has been tasked to run – faces significant question marks as the governor’s administration hits its third month of operation.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A bill to increase transparency across public bodies in Arizona is making its way through the Legislature, but all Democrats may not be on board with the proposed policies.
HB 2144, sponsored by Representative Tim Dunn, “specifies changes to public meetings and proceedings regulations,” including “requiring all public bodies to provide sufficient seating to accommodate the anticipated attendance of the deliberations and proceedings of a public body.”
The bill also requires: “the agenda of the public meeting to include notice of the time that the public will have physical access to the meeting place,” and “specifying that any head of public body that fails to include notice of the time that the public will have physical access to the meeting place is liable for a civil penalty outlined in statute.”
Representative Michael Carbone co-sponsored this legislation.
An amendment in the House Government Committee “removed the specific liability for the head of a public body,” and “exempted agendas of meetings through technological devices from providing the time the public will have physical access to the meeting place” – for example, Zoom and similar technological meetings.
On January 25, HB 2144 cleared Representative Dunn’s House Government Committee by a 6-3 vote, with one Democrat voting for the bill (Lydia Hernandez). Chairman Dunn indicated that the inspiration behind this piece of legislation stemmed from some government bodies around the state moving their meetings to smaller venues when controversial issues may have been before them. He noted that there could be an intentional motivation to block constituents from attending these meetings in some of these cases – hence the importance of increasing access and transparency for members of the public wishing to attend and participate in these sessions.
Democrat Representative Jennifer Longdon expressed concerns from her cities and other organizations bound by open meeting law about the definitions of some of the terms (“reasonable” and “knowingly”) outlined in the legislation. She voted no on the bill – as did two of her Democrat colleagues. All five Republicans on the committee voted in favor of the bill.
A representative from the Arizona Association of County School Superintendents was signed in to speak against the bill but did not address the committee. Representatives from the County Supervisors Association of Arizona and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns signed in as neutral for the bill.
Later in February, HB 2144 was unanimously approved by the House Rules Committee, with an 8-0 vote. It now awaits its fate with the entire House of Representatives body.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The Arizona Legislature finished its work on an important piece of legislation to protect children from a leftist agenda in schools, but the bill faces a near-certain dismissal from Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs.
Last month, both the Arizona House and Senate voted to approve SB 1305, sponsored by Senator J.D. Mesnard, which deals with prohibited instruction in schools. According to the purpose of the legislation provided by the State Senate, SB 1305 “prohibits a public school, school district or state agency that is involved with students or teachers of preschool or kindergarten programs of any of grades 1 through 12 (state agency), or an employee of a public school, school district or state agency, from providing instruction to students or employees that promotes or advocates for specified concepts relating to race and ethnicity.”
Like many bills in the Arizona Legislature this session, SB 1305 attracted partisan votes throughout the committee process and on the floors of both chambers. The vote in the Senate was 16-12 in support, with two members (Senators Gabaldon and Miranda) not voting. The vote in the House was 31-29 in favor.
After voting in favor of the bill in February, Representative Austin Smith wrote, “We shouldn’t teach kids in Arizona to hate their fellow man or America.”
I voted yes on @JDMesnard’s SB1305. We shouldn’t teach kids in Arizona to hate their fellow man or America.
On Monday, SB 1305 was transmitted to the Governor’s Office on the Ninth Floor of the Arizona Executive Tower. The bill sponsor, Senator Mesnard, released the following statement to accompany his bill’s recent clearance from the state legislature: “Teaching about historical movements, ideologies or instances of racial hatred and discrimination, including slavery and Jim Crow, are absolutely legitimate and sensible topics of study in the classroom. However, pushing a destructive and racist ideology has no place in our schools. More and more parents are expressing concern over this issue, and we must ensure we nip this in the bud now before the damage is done on our impressionable youth. My colleagues and I in the Senate are calling on Governor Hobbs to sign this commonsense legislation.”
Mesnard’s bill also “outlines procedures for complaints, enforcement and the imposition of civil penalties up to $5,000.”
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne, provided the following quote to AZ Free News on his support of the bill: “All of my life I have believed that we are all individuals, brothers and sisters under the skin, and that what matters is what we know and can do, and not what race we were born into.”
Representatives from Stand for Children, Arizona School Administrators Association, Arizona Education Association, American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, Save Our Schools Arizona, Arizona School Boards Association, and the Children’s Action Alliance opposed this legislation during the legislative process.
Last month, Save Our Schools Arizona tweeted, “Today, the #AZLeg passed #SB1305, an anti-public school culture-war bill to ban teaching ‘controversial topics,’ drive further distrust of educators & impose $5,000 fines.”
Today the #AZLeg passed #SB1305, an anti-public school culture-war bill to ban teaching “controversial topics,” drive further distrust of educators & impose $5,000 fines 😡 It now heads to @GovernorHobbs' desk & we look forward to her swift veto. https://t.co/DGheOsOOn7
After the bill was approved by the legislative bodies, Stand for Children Arizona tweeted, “If you support teachers and want AZ students to learn accurate history, SIGN OUR LETTER requesting a veto on this bill, and similar bills moving forward.”
🚨 URGENT: #SB1305 is bill that undermines academic freedom and is headed to @GovernorHobbs' desk ‼️
If you support teachers and want AZ students to learn accurate history, SIGN OUR LETTER requesting a veto on this bill, and similar bills moving forward:https://t.co/Inwdl8n8yypic.twitter.com/HHUXbsLcrM
Congressman David Schweikert took to the U.S. House of Representatives floor this week in another attempt to reason with his colleagues over the current fiscal state of our nation.
Schweikert, a seven-term lawmaker in the U.S. House, serving on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, spoke on the House floor – as he often does – to highlight the latest numbers and analysis from the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) baseline projections of the federal budget over the next ten years.
In his speech, Schweikert addressed his Democrat colleagues’ “avoidance of the math,” saying that, at the rate the government is spending money, Americans 25 years from now will, according to the CBO, see their taxes doubled, their corporate taxes doubled, and tariffs doubled – “just to maintain baseline services.”
Schweikert also took President Joe Biden to task for using “Social Security and Medicare as props for his re-election campaign.” Congressman Schweikert questioned if his Democrat colleagues actually have a plan to help fix the Medicare and Social Security Trust Funds, which he alleged will be gone in a decade, “doubling senior poverty in this country.”
Schweikert also exposed the numbers behind a shrinking American workforce, stating, “So you have a world now where my brothers and sisters on the Left run around saying, ‘Well, we have this low unemployment.’ And then you look at the available populations that should be in the labor force, but they don’t show up in the data because they’re not looking.” He concluded his point by reminding his listeners that “we have fewer people today in the labor force than we did before the pandemic – by millions.”
The congressman attempted to appeal to the common sense of his legislative colleagues, challenging Representatives to think about the long-term effects of the fiscal policies that they pass for the country, saying, “The reason I walk through all these slides is the first part of understanding how devastating the debt is. And it’s not pretend. You can’t just say, ‘We’ll just pretend. We’ll print a $1 trillion coin and walk away from it.’ You’ve got to stop the clown show…..The second half of this presentation was hope…Stop being afraid of it, Congress. Stop acting like a protection racket where you protect incumbency. Not incumbent-elected, but incumbent bureaucracies, incumbent business models. Design the tax code. Design the regulatory code. If the Democrats continue insisting to subsidize everything, fine, design it so there’s competition. Not the chosen favorites that they want to hand a grant out to. And in that competition, I think actually becomes the disruption that saves us.”
Congressman Schweikert was speaking before a near-empty chamber, and it remains to be seen if any of his colleagues on the Left will heed his pleas for more fiscal responsibility, sanity, and foresight into the consequences of the future. The U.S. Congress is expected to have fierce debates this year over legislative spending and borrowing with key deadlines approaching for the federal government.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
