This Week in Education Legislation: Progress on Prop 123 and Education Legislation Continues

Happy Friday! The conversation on education funding continued earlier this week, as stakeholders met discuss necessary next steps about Prop 123. Alongside this, a few groups joined members of the legislature, holding a press conference about their frustrations with Prop 123’s potential ballot language. More developments on Prop 123 and education funding are expected soon. Alongside conversations around funding, lawmakers advanced a mix of legislation affecting school governance and classroom policy. As always, ASBA is here to help you stay informed as the session progresses, so please read on for key updates from the capitol and beyond.

Prop 123 Discussions Continue Amid Awaited Legislative Language

This past Monday, education stakeholder groups gathered for a meeting to discuss Arizona’s Proposition 123 and the broader conversation around K-12 funding. Also on Monday, stakeholder groups held a separate press conference alongside members of the legislature, voicing concerns about potential ballot language. At this time, ASBA is currently waiting on the legislative majority’s proposed language for the proposition before furthering collaboration and discussion on the topic. We expect it to be released in the coming weeks, and in the meantime, we’ll continue sharing updates as new information becomes available.

Protecting Confidentiality in School Governance: ASBA pushes back on HB 2067

ASBA opposes HB 2067, which is currently awaiting action from the governor, because it grants individual school board members unrestricted access to all district records, including potentially sensitive personnel and student information. While transparency in school governance is important, this legislation raises concerns about privacy protections and the appropriate boundaries of board member authority. ASBA maintains that school boards function most effectively when acting collectively in public meetings to provide oversight and set policy—not through unilateral access to internal records. By bypassing standard governance procedures and increasing the risk of mishandling confidential information, HB 2067 could undermine both operational integrity and community trust.

SB 1493: Verifying Trust, Ensuring Safety

This past week, the legislature also advanced SB 1493 DCS; school visits; identification requirements (Farnsworth). ASBA supports SB 1493 because it thoughtfully balances student safety with the operational needs of child welfare. This bill creates a clear, standardized process requiring DCS caseworkers to present official identification when visiting schools, and allows schools to request a secondary ID if needed. Importantly, it includes a backup verification method if identification cannot be presented, ensuring that legitimate welfare work can continue without delay. By prohibiting the storage of personal information while still allowing records of official DCS IDs, it protects privacy while enhancing security. SB 1493 equips schools with the legal authority and practical tools to confirm caseworker identities, prevent fraudulent access, and maintain a safe, consistent protocol across the state. This legislation is a critical step forward in closing security gaps while upholding essential child protection services.

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Past, Present, and Future: Legislation to keep an Eye on

SB 1440, signed into law on May 2, updates Arizona statutes by replacing the term "epinephrine auto-injectors" with "epinephrine delivery systems" to reflect broader language that includes any FDA-approved, single-use device containing a premeasured dose of epinephrine for emergency treatment of life-threatening allergic reactions. The law also permits trained first responders to administer these delivery systems under a standing order when they believe someone is experiencing anaphylaxis, and includes technical corrections to existing statutes.

SB 1689, signed into law on May 2, establishes new requirements for county school superintendents regarding overexpenditures by school districts. If a county superintendent determines that a school district has exceeded its budget, they must notify the Department of Education within two business days. If the Department of Education identifies an overexpenditure without prior notice from the superintendent, they must notify the superintendent and take actions outlined in existing law. The law also allows county superintendents to review the finances of school districts within their jurisdiction and prohibits expenditures from certain funds that are not included in the district’s budget or exceed the budgeted amount, unless authorized by the Department of Education or the board of supervisors.

The governor signed into law a plethora of other education bills this week, including HB 2019 schools; water safety; information; resources (Gress), HB 2074 school safety; proposals; assessments; plans (Gress), SB 1358 charter schools; access; decision-making authority (Farnsworth), SB 1440 epinephrine delivery systems (Werner), SB 1493 DCS; school visits; identification requirements (Farnsworth), SB 1502 literacy endorsement; curricula; special education (Farnsworth), SB 1505 certified teachers; braille literacy; requirements (Farnsworth), SB 1659 state board; allegations of misconduct (Bolick), and SB 1689 school districts; overexpenditures; ADE; notice (Farnsworth). ASBA strongly encourages those who may want to read up on these bills themselves to visit the following link and enter the bill number and chamber of origin (for example, SB1493) in the text box in the top middle: Bill Status Inquiry

The governor also vetoed three more education bills this week: SB 1142 elections; foreign contributions; prohibition (Finchem), SB 1256 Diversity; equity; inclusion; training; prohibition (Hoffman), and SB 1472 school district budgets; three years (Farnsworth). SB 1142 aimed to prevent foreign contributions in election campaigns, while SB 1256 sought to restrict the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in state hiring and promotion processes. SB 1472 would have allowed unified school districts to continue and request budget overrides and required detailed budget proposals for three fiscal years, impacting school district financial planning and elections for budget approval.

While the Governor’s pen was certainly active this week, the legislature was even more so. The following education bills were passed by the legislature this week, and await the Governor’s signature: S/E: HB 2067 school facilities oversight board; continuation (Now: governing boards; records; access (Gress), HB 2170 Individualized education programs; dyslexia diagnosis (Gress), HB 2376 county candidates; clean elections pamphlet (Carter, P.), HB 2540 statewide assessment; accommodations; written form (Taylor), HB 2700 academic standards; social studies; geography (Martinez), S/E: HB 2868 preferential treatment; discrimination; policies (Now: discrimination; policies; preferential treatment) (Way), HB 2927 public meetings; records; requirements; penalties (Carbone), SB 1002 Pronouns; biological sex; school policies (Kavanagh), SB 1003 public schools; restrooms; reasonable accommodations (Kavanagh), SB 1036 public resources; influencing elections; penalties (Kavanagh), SB 1091 school districts; bonds; overrides; ballots (Hoffman), SB 1383 schools; health services; disclosures (Epstein), SB 1493 DCS; school visits; identification requirements (Farnsworth). Again, ASBA encourages those who may want to read up on these bills themselves to visit the following link and enter the bill number and chamber of origin (for example, SB1493) in the text box in the top middle: Bill Status Inquiry

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