This Week in Education Legislation: A Prop 123 Update and the Return of Bills

Happy Friday! We are now well into the second phase of the legislative process after Crossover Week. With an update on Prop123 and new action on bills, read on to learn about what happened this week at 1700 W Washington St. How well did you do on last week’s crossword puzzle? Check your answers below!

Update on Proposition 123

This week, Governor Hobb’s released a new proposal for the continuation of Prop 123. In this new plan, Governor Hobbs outlined the following:

• Establish a permanent 5.5% distribution rate from the State Land Trust to ensure stable education funding.

• Maintain the existing 2.5% base distribution to support the Classroom Site Fund (CSF) and Basic State Aid.

• Allocate an additional 3% distribution into the CSF to increase teacher salaries, providing a projected $216 million boost in FY 2026, or approximately $158 per student.

• Implement an additional 1.4% distribution for ten years to enhance Base Level funding, adding an estimated $101 million in school funding in FY 2026.

• Strengthen financial stability by reforming Prop 123 triggers to require a two-thirds legislative vote before suspending inflationary funding increases.

“If we fail to act, we are throwing away an opportunity to fund teacher pay raises and give Arizona’s children the opportunity they deserve – all without raising taxes on a single Arizonan,” said Governor Hobbs.

Education leaders agree. “The Arizona School Boards Association supports the Governor and legislative leaders in their work to find common ground on this vital issue as our members witness firsthand the impact of stable, adequate funding on student outcomes and educational quality in communities throughout our state,” emphasized Justan Rice, Executive Director of ASBA.

As discussions progress, ASBA remains dedicated to advocating for Arizona’s students, educators, and schools. We will keep members updated on Proposition 123 developments and encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Bill Action Recap:

HB 2074 school safety; proposals; assessments; plans (Gress) — Monitor

Passes Senate Education

Vote: 4-3-0-0

• Requires that any school district or charter school employing one or more officers on campus, including those hired indirectly through the School Safety Program must provide training for these officers

  • This training must focus on teaching officers how to recognize and effectively interact with children with disabilities, as defined in section 15-761

• Describes the term “officer” as including the following:

  • Peace officers

  • Full-authority reserve peace officers certified by the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board

  • Individuals employed by a school district or charter school in an off-duty capacity as either a peace officer or a full-authority reserve peace officer

  • Individuals who were previously employed as peace officers in Arizona and retired in good standing

  • Juvenile probation officers

• Amends the School Safety Program established in Section 15-154 to cover the cost of placing school safety officers on school campuses

• Establishes that the school safety program may also support the costs of purchasing safety technology, safety training and infrastructure improvements for school campuses

• Amends Section 15-154’s program proposal outline to include school safety officers or any combination of officers when calculating costs

• Establishes new requirements for what a program proposal plan that will place any school officers must contain, including the following:

  • A plan must be developed to share current school building blueprints, floor plans, and school safety assessments for each school site

    • This information must be provided to the local law enforcement agency, emergency medical services provider, and fire department that serve the school site

  • A plan to utilize trained school resource officers, juvenile probation officers, school safety officers, or a combination of these officers within the school

  • A plan to train these officers on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, civil rights, and adolescent mental health issues

• Establishes new requirements for what a program proposal plan that will place any school counselors or social workers must contain, including the following:

  • A plan must be developed to share current school building blueprints, floor plans, and school safety assessments for each school site

• Establishes that if a school district or charter school with an approved program proposal under subsection B or C cannot place the required officers, counselors, or social workers, it may submit an alternative program proposal to support the costs of safety technology, training, and infrastructure improvements for the school campus

• Requires that the alternative program proposal must include:

  • A detailed description of the safety needs of the school district or charter school

  • A detailed description of proposed expenditures and capital improvements, including:

    • The safety needs addressed by each proposed expenditure

    • The specific technology or training program the school district or charter school intends to acquire

    • For infrastructure improvements, all associated costs, including architectural and engineering fees, safety evaluations, and equipment for securing entrances and exits

  • Any additional information requested by the Department of Education

• Amends the Department of Education’s requirement of review of school resource officers to include school safety officers

• Establishes that the Department of Education must review and manage the safety technology, safety training, and infrastructure improvements program proposals

  • Requires that the department use relevant crime statistics to assess the needs of each program proposal and may visit school districts and charter schools that submit proposals to verify the information provided

  • Establishes that the department may approve all or part of a safety technology, safety training, or infrastructure improvement program proposal

• Amends the distribution of monies to school districts and charter schools to require compliance with new program requirements established by the bill, as well as by Section 15-154.02 Arizona Revised Statutes

• Establishes that the Department of Education may prioritize program proposals for school safety officers in school districts or charter schools which share the cost of the school safety officer with a law enforcement agency or the courts

• Amends the school safety program provision to state that it must include a guidance manual adopted by the Department of Education for a school district or charter school that received a school safety officer grant

• Establishes that notwithstanding any other law, building blueprints and floor plans are not public records and are exempt from Title 39, Chapter 1

• Establishes that “School resource officer” means any of the following:

  • A peace officer

  • A full-authority reserve peace officer who is certified by he Arizona peace officer standards and training board

  • An individual who was previously employed as a peace officer in this state, retired in good standing, and is assigned to participate in the school safety program by a law enforcement agency pursuant to section 15-155

• Establishes that "School safety officer" refers to a school resource officer working in an off-duty capacity

• Requires that each school district and charter school that receives funds under section 15-154 for an approved school safety program must:

  • Create an emergency response plan pursuant to Section 15-341, subsection A, paragraph 31 Arizona Revised statutes, to satisfy the requirements prescribed in section 15-154.02 Arizona Revised Statutes

  • Every 5 years, contract with a school safety assessment provider listed under subsection B of this section to perform a school safety assessment, which includes evaluating the physical security of each school site and reviewing the emergency response plan for each site

• Requires that the Department of Education must compile a list of approved school safety assessment providers and make it accessible to school districts and charter schools participating in the school safety program

• Establishes that every three years, the Department of Education must randomly select a sample of participating school districts and charter schools in the school safety program and conduct a safety assessment of the selected entities

• Requires the Department to provide the results of the safety assessment to the governing board of the respective school district or the governing body of the charter school, as well as to the administrators of each assessed school site

• Amends Section 15-155 Arizona Revised Statutes to allow the Department of Education cooperate with the county school superintendent, the county sheriff, and the local chief of police to allow a law enforcement agency with consent of the school district to assign a full-authority reserve peace officer certified by the Arizona peace officer standards or an individual who was previously employed as a peace officer in this state and who retired in good standing to participate in the school safety program in each school in the county

• Requires that charter schools, in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies and emergency response agencies, must develop an emergency response plan for each school

  • Stipulates that the emergency response plan must align with minimum standards created jointly by the department of education and the division of emergency management within the department of emergency and military affairs

  • Stipulates that the plan must specifically address methods for communication with and assistance to students with disabilities during emergencies

• Makes technical corrections

HB 2170 Individualized education programs; dyslexia diagnosis (Gress) — Monitor

Passes Senate Education

Vote: 7-0-0-0

• Requires that if a special education student is found to need special education and related services because of a specific learning disability, the student’s individualized education program must indicate whether the student has been diagnosed with dyslexia

HB 2375 children with disabilities; evaluation; deadline (Carter, P.) — Monitor

Passed Senate Education

Vote: 4-3-0-0

• Establishes that if a parent submits a written request for an evaluation in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act between May 1 and August 15 to their child's home school district, the district must either begin the evaluation or send written notice to the parent explaining why the evaluation will not be conducted, no later than fifteen calendar days after receiving the request

• Makes technical corrections

SB 1225 grade levels; 9/11 instruction (Mesnard) — Monitor

Passes House Education

Vote: 9-0-3-0

• Requires each public school that instructs students in grades seven through twelve to provide age-appropriate instruction on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on 9/11 Education Day

• Authorizes the state board of education to develop policies or adopt rules to implement this requirement

• Establishes that this act is an emergency measure necessary to preserve the public peace, health, or safety, and is immediately effective upon its signing into law

SB 1255 public schools; safety; reporting requirements (Bolick) — Oppose

HELD

• Requires each public school and local education agency to post on its website the most recent information reported to the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights for the civil rights data collection survey, subject to the condition that data protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is not published, and requires redaction of such data to ensure compliance with FERPA

• Requires the Department of Education to submit a school safety report by December 15 each year to the governor, president of the senate, speaker of the house of representatives, and the secretary of state, detailing the following information, as reported to the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, for the purposes of the Civil Rights Data collection survey:

  • The number of school safety incidents

  • The number of referrals to law enforcement

  • Data regarding the school climate

• Requires the Arizona department of education to collect the information for the report required from publicly available sources and the most recent information that each public school reported to the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights

• Requires the report to be posted on the department's website in an accessible public format

SB 1437 mandatory reporting; school employees; investigations (Werner) — Support

Passes House Education — Passed as Amended

Vote: 11-0-0-1

• Defines a “person”, for the purposes of Section 13-3260 Arizona Revised Statutes pertaining to religious officials and confidential information disclosure, as including the following:

  • School personnel including substitute teachers, domestic violence victim advocates, or sexual assault victim advocates who develop the reasonable belief in the course of their employment

  • Any member of a school district governing board or charter school governing body

• Requires any certificated personnel, noncertificated person, or member of a school district governing board or charter school governing body who reasonably suspects or receives a reasonable allegation that a public school employee, including those employed through a third-party contractor, has engaged in conduct involving minors subject to the reporting requirements of section 13-3620 Arizona Revised Statutes, to immediately report or cause reports to be made to a local law enforcement agency

  • Establishes that when a report is received:

    • By the department of child safety, the department must immediately notify a peace officer in the appropriate jurisdiction

    • By a school resource officer or school safety officer, the officer must immediately notify a law enforcement agency in the appropriate jurisdiction and must submit to the local law enforcement agency all information relating to the report, so that the law enforcement agency can investigate the reported conduct

• Specifies that a student identified as a potential victim of a reportable offense may only be interviewed according to the local county protocol adopted under Section 8-817, Arizona Revised Statutes

  • Clarifies that this restriction does not prevent a school safety officer or school resource officer from receiving a voluntary report of a reportable offense from a student who is an alleged victim

  • Clarifies that a school safety officer or school resource officer may ask a student minimal follow-up questions that are necessary and authorized by the county protocol

• Specifies that a report made to a school resource officer or school safety officer does not satisfy the reporting requirement prescribed by section 13-3620, Arizona Revised Statutes

• Defines "school safety officer" as having the same meaning prescribed in Section 15-514, Arizona Revised Statutes

• Defines "student" as a student who is enrolled in a kindergarten program or any of grades one through twelve

• Requires any certificated personnel, noncertificated person, or member of a school district governing board or charter school governing body who reasonably suspects or receives a reasonable allegation that a public school employee, including those employed through a third-party contractor, has engaged in conduct involving minors that would require reporting under Section 13-3620, Arizona Revised Statutes, to immediately report or cause reports to be made to a local law enforcement agency

• Requires that if the employee who is the subject of suspicion or allegation is certificated by the State Board of Education or is a noncertificated person, the person must also report the suspicion or allegation in writing to the State Board of Education as soon as reasonably practicable, but no later than three business days after first suspecting or receiving the allegation

• Clarifies that a report to a school resource officer or a school safety officer does not satisfy the reporting requirement prescribed by Section 15-514, Arizona Revised Statutes

• Prohibits a governing board or a school or school district employee with control over personnel decisions from taking unlawful reprisal against an employee for reporting information in good faith as required by this section

• Defines "unlawful reprisal" as an action taken by a governing board or a school or school district employee with control over personnel decisions as a direct result of a lawful report under this section that results in one or more of the following for the reporting employee

  • Disciplinary action

  • Transfer or reassignment

  • Suspension, demotion, or dismissal

  • An unfavorable performance evaluation

  • Other significant changes in duties or responsibilities that are inconsistent with the employee’s salary or employment classification

• Requires that if the conduct reported under this section is a reportable offense, any related investigation must follow specific procedures

  • Clarifies that this requirement does not prevent a school employee, school safety officer, or school resource officer from receiving a voluntary report from a student who is an alleged victim of a reportable offense committed by a school employee

• Mandates that if a school resource officer, school safety officer, or school administrator receives a report regarding suspicions or allegations of a reportable offense, they must submit all related information to a local law enforcement agency for investigation

• Specifies that a student identified as a potential victim of the alleged conduct may only be interviewed as provided by the local county protocol adopted under section 8-817, Arizona Revised Statutes

• Defines "reportable offense" as having the same meaning prescribed in section 13-3620, Arizona Revised Statutes

• Defines “school safety officer” as meaning a peace officer who is working in an off-duty capacity at a school

• Makes technical corrections

Mark your calendar! Here’s what’s coming up in next week’s committee meetings:

Tuesday, March 11th, 2025 @ 2:00 PM
House Education Committee
The following bills will be heard:

SB1091 — School Districts; Bonds; Overrides; Ballots (Hoffman)
SB1133 — History of Communism; Instruction Requirement (Rogers)
SB1255 — Public Schools; Safety; Reporting Requirements (Bolick)
SB1269 — Public Schools; Volunteer Chaplains; Authorization (Rogers)
SB1440 — Epinephrine Delivery Systems (Werner)
SB1441 — School Districts; Partisan Elections (Werner)
SB1625 — School Transparency Portal; Reporting; Requirements (Werner)
SB1689 — School Districts; Overexpenditures; ADE; Notice (Farnsworth)

Wednesday, March 12th, 2025 @ 1:30 PM
Senate Education Committee
The following bills will be heard:

HB2020 — Teacher Retention; Study; Report (Gress)
HB2484 — School Policies; Internet; Wireless Devices (Pingerelli)
HB2514 — Notices; Directory Information; Disclosure; Consent (Olson)
HB2610 — School Districts; Board Members; Superintendent (Gress)
HB2765 — Arizona Teachers Academy; Community Colleges (Taylor)

Last Week’s Answer Key

How did you do last week? Check your answers below!