Parents of Arizona’s K-12 students are praising and Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman is slamming Governor Doug Ducey for rescinding orders that direct K-12 schools to require masks.
The Governor’s Office noted that with teachers having been vaccinated early on, the decision to require students to wear masks at schools are up to school leaders.
The governor’s action masking edict continues to provide K-12 school districts and charter schools the right to institute and enforce policies to mitigate against COVID-19 spread, including the use of masks.
The governor’s action aligns with CDC guidance and rescinds a section of Executive Order 2020-51, issued by the Governor in July directing schools to require face masks and Emergency Measure 2020-04, issued by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) outlining requirements for mask usage in schools.
Superintendent Hoffman, in her statement, released Monday, that the governor’s decision was “abrupt” and “destabilizes school
communities.”
Hoffman “encouraged school leaders and board members to work with their communities to make transparent evidence-based decisions to
build trust and the safety of our schools.”
Parents say they are doing just that and are now organizing to change policies on the school level. They say they will begin contacting school officials requesting the end-of-mask mandates on school sites as soon as possible.
PHOENIX – On Thursday, Governor Doug Ducey appointed the first woman to commander of the Arizona National Guard. Brigadier General Kerry L. Muehlenbeck will replace Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire as the new Adjutant General and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA).
McGuire announced his retirement on March 5, 2021. He served as Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and Adjutant General since 2013, and will officially retire on April 10, 2021.
“General Muehlenbeck’s impressive military experience and continued leadership are amplified by her legal and teaching background. She joined the Arizona Air National Guard in 1997 and served in many roles until she became Arizona’s Deputy Adjutant General in 2018. I look forward to working with General Muehlenbeck on protecting Arizonans, supporting our communities, and tackling the challenges ahead,” said Ducey.
Muehlenbeck served as the Deputy Adjutant General and the Director of Administrative Services. She was responsible for oversight of: the United States Property and Fiscal Office (USPFO); the State Risk Management Office; State Purchasing and Contracting; the State and Federal Human Resource Offices; the Public Affairs Office; the Office of the Inspector General; the General Counsel, the Tribal Liaison; the Legislative Liaison; the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator; the State Equal Employment Manager; and the Ordnance and Industrial operations within the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. She also served as the Adjutant General’s delegate.
“I’m proud to have the opportunity to serve our great state as Adjutant General and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs,” said Muehlenbeck. “Having served and taught for years, I look forward to leading Arizona DEMA and the Arizona National Guard to help protect and support Arizona communities. It is an honor to succeed General McGuire after his years of admirable service, and I’m grateful to Governor Ducey for this tremendous opportunity.”
Muehlenbeck is currently a professor at Mesa Community College’s Administration of Justice Studies Department, where she also serves as Department Chair. She taught at Arizona State University between 2002 and 2014, specializing in crime, criminology, justice and social inquiry. Muehlenbeck was also an adjunct professor for the Criminal Justice Department at American Military University in West Virginia from 2009 to 2013 and for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University from 1995 to 2001.
Prior to teaching, Muehlenbeck served as deputy county attorney at the Pima County Attorney’s Office from 1998 to 2001. In this role, she prosecuted felony offenders in superior court. She also served as an assistant prosecuting attorney for the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office from 1992 to 1993 and Assistant Staff Judge Advocate at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base from 1993 to 1997.
On Thursday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced his decision to lift the state’s restrictive COVID-19 measures. The governor cited the declining case rates and number of vaccinated Arizonans as reasons the measures are no longer necessary.
Ducey’s order still allows businesses to enforce mask mandates if they want, but cities, towns and counties must lift theirs.
According to the Governor’s Office, “3,041,773 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered to 1,927,278 individuals in Arizona, including 1,185,986 who have been fully vaccinated.”
There has also been 10 weeks of declining cases, and hospitalizations at the lowest level since the end of September.
Under the changes announced on Thursday:
Events of more than 50 people will no longer need the approval of local governments. These events should continue to follow safe practices and CDC recommendations, including physical distancing. This includes youth sports.
The business guidance will transition from requirements to recommendations. Governor Ducey is providing businesses with the ability to continue requiring masks and social distancing.
Bars will now be allowed to resume regular operations, with the ability to require social distancing and masks.
“As we’ve said all along, distribution of the vaccine is our best path to getting back to normal, and I want to thank the millions of Arizonans who have rolled up their sleeves to make the distribution and uptake so successful,” said Ducey in a press release. “In Arizona, we never did a shutdown, so it’s impossible to have a grand reopening. Instead, we are continuing to take reasonable, safe and sensible steps. The measures put in place last summer allowed Arizona to fight back COVID-19. I want to thank the local leaders who supported these efforts with their own measures, and the businesses who implemented them. Today, we are in a different spot, and we are also a lot smarter. I’m confident Arizona’s businesses and citizens will continue to practice the fundamentals and act responsibly as we gradually get back to normal.”
A bill in honor of Adrio Romine, a 17-year-old who tragically took his life after an adult on the internet encouraged and advised him to do so, was signed by Governor Doug Ducey on Tuesday.
Shortly after Adrio’s death, his mother, Paolla Jordan, learned the individual gave her son specific instructions on how to end his life — but no law was broken at the time. Paolla pushed legislation to change that, resulting in the development of HB2459.
The Governor signed the bill in the presence of Paolla Jordan and the bill’s sponsor, Representative Jeff Weninger.
“Our hearts are with Paolla, her family and all Arizonans who have suffered the loss of a loved one to suicide,” said Weninger in a press release. “HB2459 penalizes individuals who encourage minors in a vulnerable state, and it will help protect young Arizonans and their families. I was honored to work on this legislation with Paolla and offer support to those facing difficulties with mental health.”
“I hope that no other parent has to go through what our family experienced,” said Paolla. “There are dangerous people out there that can prey on our children on the internet. Today there is a consequence for a predator’s actions. This law will help protect our children today. I was proud to work with Representative Weninger on getting HB2459 Laloboy Act through the finish line, and I am grateful to everyone working to protect children facing suicidal thoughts.”
A Senate Concurrent Resolution that could terminate Gov. Doug Ducey’s March 11, 2020 declaration of emergency will be considered on Monday by the full Senate.
Currently under state law, a non-war state of emergency can only be ended by proclamation of the governor “or by concurrent resolution of the legislature declaring it at an end.” As Ducey has not put forth a plan for termination the current COVID-19 state of emergency any time soon, Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-LD23) seeks to end it with SCR1001.
According to SCR1001, Arizona’s government “was established to protect and maintain individual rights and must frequently return to these principles to secure these rights and the perpetuity of our free government” but that Ducey’s year-old declaration and executive orders have “drastically restricted and suppressed the individual freedoms and economic prosperity of Arizonans.”
SCR1001 cites the fact Arizonans have been “personally responsible and have exceeded expectations in slowing community spread through their own individual behaviors and actions, accepting personal restrictions as a civic duty to prevent disease transmission.”
If SCR1001 clears its Third Reading on Monday it will be transmitted to the House. It would take immediate effect upon passage in the House.
However, legislators have been forewarned by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich on Feb. 17 that Ducey could simply declare a new state of emergency, and even re-institute prior measures, “so long as the conditions for the existence of a state of emergency” are satisfied in accordance with the emergency powers statue.
While Ugenti-Rita’s effort would end the current state of emergency, another Third Reading is slated for Monday for SCR1010 which would require a governor to call a special session of the Legislature at the same time a state of emergency declaration is issued.
But even if Sen. Kelly Townsend’s SCR1010 passes out of the legislature, it must still be approved by voters before the changes to Arizona’s emergency powers law take affect. The Secretary of State would put the issue on the ballot for the next general election.
In fact voters could be asked to choose between Townsend’s immediate legislative special session option and one which gives a governor a few days before needing to call a special session after issuing an emergency proclamation.
SCR1003 sponsored by Sen. Warren Petersen (R-LD12) was approved last month by the Senate. It would terminate a governor’s state of emergency 30 days after issuance unless extended by a Concurrent Resolution of the Legislature. It also requires a legislative session to be called within 10 days if the legislature is not already in session.
Petersen’s SCR1003 has already been transmitted to the House where it awaits committee assignment by the House Speaker Rusty Bowers. As with SCR1010, it would be up to Arizona’s voters whether or not to make the change to a governor’s current emergency powers.
