Arizona has not yet opted into a new tax credit to provide school choice funds for families, and the Trump administration is urging Gov. Katie Hobbs to join.
Linda McMahon, education secretary for the Department of Education (ED), chastised the governor during a touring event and press conference at the East Valley Institute of Technology on Tuesday.
Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05) — the Republican nominee for governor — and House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-LD29) were present with McMahon.
The federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, signed into law through the One Big Beautiful Bill last year, enables individuals to receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit up to $1,700 for contributing to approved K-12 scholarship-granting organizations.
ED defines qualifying scholarship granting organizations as those nonprofits that use contribution funds to provide scholarships for education-related services at both private and public schools. These nonprofits must use at least 90% of income on scholarships for educational choice options for K-12 students.
At the Tuesday event, McMahon accused Hobbs of denying Arizona students and their parents the access to “real” educational freedom.
“Governor Hobbs has vetoed three measures that would have allowed Arizona to participate in the Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, holding Arizona families back from accessing these powerful opportunities expanding across the country,” said McMahon. “This is what real empowerment looks like, giving parents the freedom to choose the path that best serves their child, instead of forcing every student into a rigid, one-size-fits-all system.”
Hobbs must opt in and submit a certified list of scholarship granting organizations by Jan. 1, 2027, for Arizona to participate in the inaugural year of the program.
Even if Hobbs does not opt Arizona into the program, Arizona residents may still claim the tax credit. Instead of their credit going to Arizona students, however, those contributions will go to eligible students elsewhere in participating states.
Hobbs explained in her veto of SB 1142 that she wouldn’t opt Arizona into the program until the Trump administration issues regulatory guidance for it. She compared the tax credit program to the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, the state’s universal school choice program.
A bipartisan coalition of 30 states have opted into the federal education tax credit program so far: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
New York announced in May it would opt into the program but has not finalized that opt-in.
Four states have declined to join: Hawaii, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Oregon. Similar to Hobbs, the governor of Wisconsin vetoed legislation to opt into the program.
13 states and Washington, D.C. have yet to announce a decision: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
Rep. Biggs, who is looking to unseat Hobbs this November, published a press release criticizing Hobbs’ refusal to allow Arizona to join the program.
“Because of her failure, Arizona students will miss out on scholarship dollars that could help pay for tuition, tutoring, technology, special education services, and other educational needs,” said Biggs. “Arizonans should not have to watch their tax dollars create educational opportunities for students in other states simply because their governor refuses to participate.”
McMahon also addressed a Scottsdale audience in a “Great American Comeback Tour” event hosted by the America First Policy Institute. The Republican nominee for Congressional District 1, Jay Feely, also participated in the panel.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
A Tempe school employee was arrested last weekend for alleged voyeurism involving security footage of minors for sexual gratification.
Antony Nikai Cruz, 28, is accused of downloading surveillance footage of girls ages 13 to 15 years old changing in a makeshift locker room amid renovations at Corona del Sol High School.
Cruz is facing one felony count of voyeurism for sexual gratification; his bond was set at $100,000.
Cruz was not a teacher, according to Tempe Union High School District (TUHSD) officials. While the district didn’t disclose what Cruz’s employment entailed in interviews with the media, TUHSD governing board records reflect that Cruz’s latest employment title was a surveillance officer for the district office, and that he has been with the district since at least the 2022-2023 school year.
Other board records reflect that Cruz provided more than security services for the district.
Records reflect that Cruz coached freshman wrestling at Marcos de Niza High School in 2024.
Records also reflect that Cruz worked as a safety and security officer at various times at Marcos de Niza High School, Mountain Pointe High School, Corona del Sol High School, and Desert Vista High School.
Governing board records further reflect the following for Cruz’s employment history with TUHSD:
July 1, 2024: worked extra duty at Corona del Sol High School
July 26, 2024: worked extra duty to provide security for an event at Corona del Sol High School
September 9, 2024: worked extra duty to provide security for an event at Desert Vista High School
November 4, 2024: worked extra duty to coach freshman wrestling at Marcos de Niza High School
May 1, 2025: worked extra duty at Marcos de Niza High School
May 21, 2025: worked extra duty at Desert Vista High School
June 24, 2026: employment changed from 1.0 safety and security officer at Marcos de Niza High School to 1.0 surveillance officer at the district office, effective July 1, 2026
July 1, 2026: worked extra duty as a safety and security officer at Mountain Pointe High School
The district placed Cruz on administrative leave the day prior to his arrest. He has since been terminated.
According to court records, Cruz was discovered to have downloaded the makeshift locker room footage during a security supervisor audit of security system activity late last week. Court records claim Cruz downloaded the footage in July.
That audit reportedly revealed that the camera download history indicated security footage had been exported to external drives, and the security system’s cloud storage history indicated access by an IP address believed to belong to Cruz’s household.
That TUHSD security supervisor contacted the Tempe Police Department about his findings. Police arrested Cruz at his home in south Phoenix on Saturday.
TUHSD issued a statement assuring the public that they believe the security footage was isolated to one camera on campus. TUHSD has also clarified that the existence of security cameras in the makeshift locker room was not standard, stating that the district doesn’t have cameras in classrooms, regular locker rooms, or other designated changing areas.
The investigation into Cruz is ongoing.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
One Republican is competing against two Democrats for two seats in the highly competitive Arizona House of Representatives race in Legislative District 9.
Bradley (Brad) Bettencourt is facing off against Democratic incumbent Lorena Austin and Democratic newcomer Jacob Martinez. Bettencourt fell right in the middle of the pack for voter turnout in the primary election. Austin received about 11,200 votes, Martinez received about 9,300 votes, and Bettencourt received about 10,400 votes.
Bettencourt believes his banking career and budgeting prowess — which he says are evidenced by his role in fixing over $1.5 million in budget errors at his Dobson Ranch community — can bring the Arizona budget off life support and onto the path of recovery.
“I’m running because the numbers have to add up: for our state budget and for the families who live here,” said Bettencourt in a recent news release. “I stepped up when my own community of 5,000 homes discovered more than a million and a half dollars in budget errors and helped get the finances back on track. Arizona families are dealing with rising prices while paychecks struggle to keep up. They deserve a representative who will bring practical solutions, not games or extremes.”
Along with the budget, Bettencourt has his eye on strengthening approaches to the biggest issues facing the state today: water security, housing affordability, educational outcomes and choice, legal immigration, and border security.
Bettencourt generally advises more aggressive government action on Colorado River negotiations, cuts to bureaucratic red tape that impact housing, border security, legal immigration pathways, first responder funding, increased penalties on certain crimes like fentanyl distribution, regular infrastructure improvements, and tax cuts to incentivize family growth.
As for the other priorities, Bettencourt proposed government actions that support the individual freedom to act, like protecting educational choice and increasing educational outcomes through competitive teacher pay and expansions of career preparation pathways for students, and opposing new restrictions or burdens on lawful gun ownership.
Bettencourt is an Arizona native that resided in other states and traveled through Latin America before returning to the Valley. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Arizona State University, and has previously resided in southern Arizona, where he worked for a bank in Yuma and Nogales.
So far, Bettencourt has been outraised by his Democratic opponents.
His campaign has raised more than $64,000, out of which $29,000 has come from himself.
The other top single donors to his campaign are the Freedom Club PAC, which gave $2,500; Michelle Masters, who gave $2,000; Gary Golka, who gave $1,000; the NFIB Arizona PAC, which gave $1,000; Veronica Law, who gave $1,000; and Don Tapia, who gave $1,000.
Austin has raised more than $104,000. Her top 10 donors are:
AFSCME People, $11,000
Elizabeth Simons, $5,500
Western States Regional Council of Carpenters Legislative Improvement Committee, $5,500
The Next 50 PAC, $5,500
Ross Boucher, $5,400
Jane Fonda Climate PAC, $5,000
Peter Francis, $3,000
Climate Cabinet PAC, $2,500
Int’l Ass’n of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers Local 359 PAC, or SMART PAC, $2,500
Arizona Education Association Fund for Public Education, formerly AZ PAC, $2,000
Martinez has also raised a similar amount at more than $100,000. His top 10 donors are very similar to Austin’s top 10:
AFSCME People, $11,000
Western States Regional Council of Carpenters Legislative Improvement Committee, $5,500
Joseph Rich, $5,500
The Next 50 PAC, $5,500
Jane Fonda Climate PAC, $5,000
Ross Boucher, $3,500
Int’l Ass’n of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers Local 359 PAC, or SMART PAC, $2,500
Climate Cabinet PAC, $2,500
Ironworkers Local 75 PAC, $2,000
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 99 PAC, $2,000
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
New legislation proposes that veterans receive the same benefit of reduced retirement age as certain reservists.
Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) introduced the Reserve Component Fairness Act to end what he says is an improper disadvantage to veterans who served on regular active duty before transitioning to the National Guard or Reserve.
Veterans won’t qualify for reserve retired pay until they reach 60 years old. Reservists who are recalled to active duty or certain active service in response to a national emergency, however, have that retirement threshold reduced by three months for each cumulative period of 90 days’ active duty or service.
Hamadeh’s legislation proposes extending that benefit to veterans who have completed certain active-duty service and go on to join the Reserve.
Veterans would still have to complete existing requirements under Reserve retirement rules, which includes completing 20 years of service, and accept the current statutory minimum retirement age of 50 years old.
The congressman said in a press release that the current Reserve retirement age reduction rules rely on a bureaucratic and arbitrary distinction. Hamadeh argued further that qualifying military service shouldn’t count only if completed after affiliating with the Ready Reserve.
Hamadeh disclosed that veterans brought the disparate treatment to his attention.
“This legislation corrects a situation created by bureaucrats who arbitrarily made a distinction between two service members who may have performed identical active-duty service under the same conditions,” stated Hamadeh. “This common-sense legislation changes that without creating a new retirement benefit or altering eligibility for non-regular retired pay. Members must still satisfy all existing statutory requirements for a Reserve retirement, including completing 20 qualifying years of service, and the current statutory minimum retirement age of 50 remains unchanged.”
Hamadeh is a member of the House committees for Veterans’ Affairs as well as Armed Services.
Of the 33 bills Hamadeh has introduced that are available on the Congress website, about 40% are on the subject of the military: 10 bills concern the welfare of veterans and service members, and three bills concern military equipment and resources.
If passed, this latest proposed bill could further complement the Trump administration’s goal of boosting military recruitment through incentives.
For two years now, that approach has reportedly worked. A cooling labor market has enhanced the appeal of new incentivizes and driven more individuals to enlist.
Earlier this month, the Department of Defense announced that all branches had met or exceeded their fiscal year 2026 goals for recruitment months ahead of schedule. All branches also met or exceeded their recruitment goals in 2025.
Recruitment had hit a low in 2022.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attributed the recruiting highs as a product of the Trump administration instituting “back to the basics” military norms.
“This is what happens when strong leadership under President Trump, high standards, a return to perfecting the basics, and a mission that matters come together,” said Hegseth. “Americans are stepping up to serve because they believe in our country, our Navy, and our warfighters.”
The U.S. Navy just hit its recruiting goal of 45,000 Sailors – 3 months ahead of schedule. Even more impressive: they raised their goal by 10% and still exceeded expectations.
This is what happens when strong leadership under President Trump, high standards, a return to… pic.twitter.com/nlpr5TsHPo
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) July 1, 2026
The Pentagon told the Military Times that recruitment was at 103% of their target for this year.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
The Higley Unified School District (HUSD) community must choose between two candidates to fill a governing board vacancy, per a new court ruling.
The Maricopa County Superior Court ruled last week that voters must choose between two write-in candidates, Kathleen Richards and Travis White, who appear to have gotten special notice of a board vacancy after board member Scott Glover waited to file his resignation until July 20, 2026, the same day as the candidate filing deadline.
District policy requires board members to give resignation letter copies to the superintendent and the board prior to the effective resignation date. However, Glover not only waited until the morning of the candidate filing deadline to notify the superintendent, he waited until one minute before the candidate filing deadline to notify his fellow board members of his resignation.
Approximately two hours after Glover filed his resignation letter, Richards and White arrived at the superintendent’s office to file as write-in candidates for the vacancy.
Maricopa County School Superintendent Shelli Boggs decided to fill the vacancy through appointment, rather than election, given the timing of the write-in filings.
“Because the seat was not otherwise scheduled to appear on the 2026 ballot, the timing of the vacancy created an extraordinary situation: few who knew about the vacancy had a narrow window to file for the seat, while the broader Higley community had no opportunity to learn that the seat was even available,” stated the county superintendent’s office.
A week later, White sued Boggs to force an election in which only he and Richards would be the eligible candidates.
Since Richards and White were the only individuals to file prior to the deadline, only those votes with their names will count.
Richards is a private music and substitute teacher who has previously run for the board, and has served on the HUSD Citizen’s Committee.
White is the director and deputy chief information security officer for Shutterfly. Federal Elections Commission records only reflect a few small donations to Democrats in recent years: Sen. Bernie Sander’s 2020 presidential campaign and former congressman Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 Senate campaign.
Although school boards are nonpartisan, the two write-in candidates have hinted at their political affiliations.
Last January, Richards stated in a Facebook post that supporters of President Donald Trump and those not actively protesting his administration don’t deserve to live.
“We have a president who wants to rewrite the history that is taught to our students so that it makes cis white men more palatable,” said Richards. “If you have been able to sit for the last two weeks and be quiet, I question your morality, your humanity, and your place in this world sharing oxygen with those of us who will go to that for the marginalized in our communities.”
In a May board meeting, White defended the independence of teachers and said that student proficiency wasn’t as low as portrayals of data would indicate.
“To suggest that our teachers just teach what they were hired to teach without evolving is a recipe for stagnation. When a teacher finds an amazing tool at a conference, they don’t go rogue, they bring it to their leadership because they’re professionals who care about student achievement,” said White.
White said the district’s “A” rating nullified the low proficiency rates in math and English Language Arts: 61% and 55%, respectively.
“It’s one thing to have a different vision for our schools. It’s quite another to manufacture a crisis using alternative facts. When it’s claimed that 50% of our students are not proficient, it isn’t just misrepresenting a spreadsheet, it’s actively disparaging the hard work of our teachers and the achievements of our children,” said White.
Richards and White volunteered together on Yes for Higley Schools, a nonprofit political action committee urging a favorable vote on an override for HUSD. Voters rejected the override.
Boggs justified her decision to seek appointment over election to fill Glover’s vacancy in a post-court ruling press release issued on Friday.
Boggs implied that the two candidates had enjoyed special access to information that inherently deprived the Higley community the proper opportunity to access the ballot.
“I was not willing to simply look the other way when the circumstances gave a small number of people an opportunity that thousands of other Higley residents did not even know existed,” said Boggs. “I acted because I believe every qualified member of that community deserved a fair and meaningful opportunity to be considered for the seat.”
The timing of the resignation has led some community members to suspect that Glover’s departure was intentionally timed to wrest control of the board.
Board member Anna Van Hoek echoed those speculations.
“Nothing says defending democracy quite like secretly coordinating with a sitting Board member while denying everyone else in the community an equal opportunity to compete for the seat,” said Van Hoek.
However, board president Amanda Wade disputed the claims.
Wade did express frustration with Glover’s failure to follow board policy on resignations and his decision to wait until the day of the candidate filing deadline, but denied that his tardiness and lack of communication were part of an intentional political maneuver.
“Mr. Glover’s actions and decisions he made in this resignation process are his alone,” said Wade. “I do have a hard time with a sitting board member recklessly implying actions made by the district, Higley Educators Association [sic], and other board members because they are unhappy with choices Mr. Glover made.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
