On Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper ruled that many laws passed within the recent budget were unconstitutional. Cooper stated that the legislation violated the single subject rule of the Arizona Constitution. The case, Arizona School Boards Association Inc., et al., v. State of Arizona, et al. (CV2021-012741) had a total of 15 plaintiffs. In all, Cooper’s ruling impacted a variety of budget-related bills, or BRBs: HB2898, SB1824, SB1825, and struck down SB1819 in its entirety.
“Subject and title of bills[:] Section 13. Every act shall embrace but one subject and matters properly connected therewith, which subject shall be expressed in the title; but if any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not be expressed in the title, such an act shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be embraced in the title.” (emphasis added)
In a copy of the opinion obtained by 12 News, Cooper asserted that Section 13 was made with the intent to prevent “logrolling”: inserting a multiplicity of subjects into one bill in order to push a vote through. The judge supported her claim with Arizona Supreme Court precedent. In explaining her decision to strike down all of SB1819, a sweeping bill that expanded voter registration, modified ballot security requirements, removed the secretary of state’s legal authority over election laws, established an election integrity fund, limited the length of public health emergencies, and created a special committee to audit the voter rolls, among other things.
“No matter how liberally one construes the concept of ‘subject’ for the single subject rule, the array of provisions are in no way related to nor connected with each other or to an identifiable ‘budget procedure.’ The bill is classic logrolling – a medley of special interests cobbled together to force a vote for all or none,” wrote Cooper. “In this case, the State’s view would allow the Legislature to re-define ‘budget reconciliation’ to mean anything it chooses. Going forward, the Legislature could add any policy or regulatory provision to a BRB, regardless of whether the measure was necessary to implement the budget, without notice to the public. The State’s idea of ‘subject’ is not and cannot be the law.” (emphasis added)
Cooper also asserted that the bills in question weren’t in compliance with the state constitution’s requirement that bill titles clearly reflect the content of the legislation.
In striking down the entirety of SB1819, Cooper explained that prior court decisions don’t allow for severability to salvage portions of the bill.
“When an act violates the single subject rule, the whole act fails,” stated Cooper.
Whereas for the other bills, Cooper explained that the certain provisions banning mask, vaccine, and testing mandates; critical race theory education; and vaccine passports weren’t reflected in the bill titles. Therefore, they were invalid.
As AZ Free News reported last week, the main plaintiff in the case, Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA), recently hosted a law conference where photos showed attendees maskless and not social distancing, though spokespersons informed us that masks were required. ASBA also told us they encouraged some attendees to take off masks momentarily and group together for pictures.
The mask mandate ban would’ve gone into effect on Wednesday.
Governor Doug Ducey’s spokesperson characterized the ruling as “judicial overreach.” The governor’s office promised that they would challenge the ruling.
“We are still reviewing the ruling, but this decision is clearly an example of judicial overreach. Arizona’s state government operates with three branches, and it’s the duty and authority of only the legislative branch to organize itself and to make laws,” stated Ducey’s spokesman. “Unfortunately, today’s decision is the result of a rogue judge interfering with the authority and processes of another branch of government. Further action will be taken to challenge this ruling and ensure separation of powers is maintained.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) wasn’t strict with their mask mandate at a legal conference last week, despite their ongoing lawsuit against the state over its school mask mandate ban. Several days after the conference, ASBA pushed for the right of schools to mandate masks in the ongoing court case, Arizona School Boards Association, et al. v. State of Arizona.
The pictures posted by ASBA show both posed and candid pictures of attendees maskless. ASBA Executive Director Sheila Harrison-Williams and Assistant Director Chris Thomas both took off their masks to smile for a picture, huddling in with fellow colleagues and conference attendees. ASBA spokesperson Heidi Vega explained to AZ Free News that they asked attendees to remove their masks to pose for a photo op.
Vega clarified that the conference did have a mask mandate in place, but admitted it was loosely enforced. Vega noted that anytime conference organizers were in front of a microphone, they reminded attendees to mask up.
“We can’t mandate every person. We would remind them to wear a mask,” stated Vega. “They are all different districts of different people on all different sides with different beliefs across the state.”
In ASBA’s lawsuit, they’ve argued that the health and safety necessitates local governments to impose mandates where they see fit. Governor Doug Ducey signed the mask mandate ban into law several months ago.
“ASBA believes the question of whether to require masks should be left to school boards who know their communities best,” asserted ASBA. “School boards are elected officials that are elected by their constituents and should be able to decide local control issues for those communities they represent.”
ASBA’s lax masking requirements for themselves while advocating for school mask mandates is similar to another recent controversy with Arizona’s education leadership. As AZ Free News reported last month, Arizona Superintendent Kathy Hoffman was maskless and not social distancing at a baby shower. Like ASBA, Hoffman has expressed her disapproval of Ducey’s mask mandate ban.
“We know masks work and, with rising cases, they’re a vital part of our effort to reduce everyone’s COVID-19 risks,” wrote Hoffman. “I encourage teachers, administrators, and families to listen to the CDC and take individual action to keep themselves and each other safe by wearing a mask during in-person school. Students, teachers, and parents are ready to get back to in-person learning, but it takes all of us.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
PHOENIX, AZ — Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff tomorrow, Saturday, September 11, in remembrance of the nearly 3,000 innocent men and women who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Also on Friday, Governor Ducey announced plans to work collaboratively with the State Board of Education and key stakeholders to present a bill during the next legislative session that will guarantee Arizona K-12 students, who were not alive on the day of the attacks, will receive instruction on what occurred on September 11, 2001 and the impact it has had on the American way of life.
“Today, we send special thoughts and prayers to the families of those who lost a loved one as a result of the 9/11 terror attack on our nation. And we remember and mourn the life of Gary Bird, the sole Arizonan who was killed on that horrible day,” said Ducey. “We also honor the many first responders—from Arizona and around the nation—who answered the call of duty when their nation needed them most. This tragic day would just be the beginning of a two-decade long war that wouldn’t end until just recently.”
The governor called on his fellow Arizonans to join him “in remembering the fallen from this day. And join me in honoring our troops, who fight for a future in which such a terrible event never happens again.”
“God bless our troops, God bless our first responders, and God bless the United States of America,” the governor concluded.
The University of Arizona (UArizona) ranked high for its number of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) staff compared with 65 other universities. Arizona State University (ASU) ranked toward the bottom. This data was published in a study by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in D.C.
The data was organized into four categories: the total number of DEI personnel at the university, the ratio of DEI personnel to American Disability Act (ADA) personnel, the average number of DEI personnel per 100 faculty members, and the ratio of DEI personnel to history faculty.
Out of all 65 universities, UArizona ranked #13 for having 59 total DEI personnel, #54 for their nearly two-to-one DEI personnel per ADA faculty ratio, #19 for their average number of nearly 4 DEI personnel per 100 faculty members, and #7 for their over two-to-one DEI personnel/History faculty ratio.
By comparison, ASU ranked #49 for having 28 total DEI personnel, #63 for their one-to-one DEI/ADA personnel ratio, #58 for their average number of two DEI personnel per 100 faculty members, and #48 for their one-to-one DEI personnel/History faculty ratio.
The Heritage Foundation only catalogued the 65 universities within the Power 5 conferences – those athletic conferences with the nation’s top football programs – which is why they didn’t include Northern Arizona University (NAU).
In a summary report of the data, The Heritage Foundation found that the average university sampled had more than 45 people with formal DEI promotion goals, 4.2 times more DEI staff than student disability accommodation staff, 1.4 times more DEI staff than professors in corresponding history departments, and 3.4 people working to promote DEI for every 100 tenured or tenure-track faculty members.
Three schools nabbed the number-one ranking for their number of DEI personnel. The University of Michigan (UM) earned two number one slots for having 163 DEI personnel total, nearly 15 DEI personnel for every one ADA faculty member. New York’s Syracuse University (SU) earned a number one slot for having over 7 DEI personnel per 100 faculty members. Lastly, Georgia Tech (GT) earned a number one slot for having over 3 DEI personnel for every history faculty member.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
For over a decade, Arizona Democrats and the education lobby have been beating the same K-12 drum- that our schools are underfunded, spending is at historic lows, and that the legislature refuses to invest more in K-12. And every establishment media outlet and so-called “investigative journalist” in Arizona have been more than happy to parrot this narrative for them. Most articles and opinion columns published by the Arizona Republic read more like repackaged press releases from the Arizona Education Association than anything resembling a real news story.
But unfortunately for the Democrats and their pals in the media, the recent Arizona Supreme Court decision on Prop 208 just blew their K-12 funding narrative into pieces. Under the court’s 6-1 decision, the majority ruled that any revenue generated from the Prop 208 income tax surcharge is not exempt from the constitutional K-12 expenditure cap, so if the tax hike would cause K-12 funding to exceed the cap, then the measure is unconstitutional.
This shouldn’t be a problem, right? According to the backers of Prop 208 and the Media, we haven’t been properly funding K-12 for decades.
Yet the lone dissent in the decision referred to the majority opinion as “almost certainly dooming the measure.” Dooming the measure? If Republican lawmakers have truly slashed education funding, if we haven’t been properly funding K-12 for decades, how could we be hitting a constitutional spending limit that hasn’t been reached since 2008?
That’s because everything the education establishment and the media has been telling you about K-12 funding levels in Arizona has been one big lie. Education spending in Arizona is at an all-time high, and we know this because we are hitting the K-12 constitutional spending cap…
The latest Arizona Department of Education (ADE) statewide assessment results revealed that Arizona students are failing in English and math. ADE published the results Friday, culled from the 2020-2021 versions of AzM2 and MSAA – the two versions of standardized testing administered to grades 3-8 and 10. The average passing rates differed depending on whether a student was from a district public school or charter school; charter schools had resoundingly better outcomes in statewide assessments, with an average of 10 percent more charter students passing the ELA and math sections compared to their district peers.
In district public schools, only 38 percent of students on average passed the English-Language Arts (ELA) section, while even less passed the math section – 31 percent. Approximately 84 percent of students took the ELA section, while 86 percent took the math section. Federal law requires at least 95 percent participation, but that requirement and others were made optional due to the pandemic.
When broken down by race, American Indian/Alaskan Native students had the lowest average passing scores in public schools, even below students who were classified as in the foster care system or homeless: 15 percent for ELA, and 11 percent for math. However, they ranked slightly above migrant students, 13 percent of whom passed the ELA section, and 11 percent passed the migrant section.
The highest passage rates by race came from Asian students: 69 percent for ELA and 68 percent for math. The highest passage rates of any non-racial classification came from military children: 53 percent for ELA, 44 percent for math.
All of the average passing rates in public schools under various classifications remained relatively consistent when broken down by grade level.
As for charter schools, the average percentage of students who passed the ELA and math sections increased by around 10 points or more. This was true for all types of students classified by ADE – students had higher passing rates at charter schools than the district public schools regardless of race, sex, or circumstance.
AZ Free News inquired with ADE what their plans are to address these falling test scores and the overall proficiency of Arizona’s students. They didn’t respond by press time.
In their press release, ADE called the test results “just one part of a student’s academic record.” The department announced that they had already “proactively” begun addressing the results through funding, programs, and initiatives, such as $9.6 million for online math education assistance from Arizona State University (ASU) and $6.5 million for extracurriculars from Discovery Education.
It appears that metrics of student success, like test scores, aren’t as much of a focus for ADE leadership. ADE Superintendent Kathy Hoffman has focused especially on COVID-19 mitigation in K-12 schools, calling for universal masking and criticizing Governor Doug Ducey for his opposition to such measures. It is unclear if Hoffman believes the same should be true for adults such as herself. As AZ Free News reported, the superintendent was caught maskless at a party last weekend. Hoffman still hasn’t addressed this incident.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
