Welcome to the Fifty-Seventh Legislature- First Regular session!
Happy Friday! The 57th Legislative Session officially kicked off on Monday, January 6th, with Governor Hobbs delivering her State of the State address. In her speech, the Governor emphasized that education will be a top priority this year, along with the extension of Proposition 123, which is set to expire in June. As we jump into 2025, both the House and Senate Education Committees have hit the ground running, tackling key issues impacting Arizona’s schools and students. While the session is still in its early stages, the House Education Committee quickly moved forward, voting on bills HB2022, HB2067, and HB2074, while HB2029 was held in committee. The Senate Education Committee also took action on SB1021. Read on for a breakdown of the bills that were heard and voted on this week.
Meet Your Dedicated House and Senate Education Committee Members!
House Education Committee
Matt Gress – Chair
James Taylor – Vice-Chair
Anna Abeytia – Member
Leo Biasiucci – Member
Lisa Fink – Member
Brian Garcia – Member
Nancy Gutierrez – Member
Lydia Hernandez – Member
David Marshall, Sr. – Member
Justin Olson – Member
Michele Peña – Member
Stephanie Simacek – Member
Senate Education Committee
David C. Farnsworth – Chair
Carine Werner – Vice-Chair
Flavio Bravo – Member
Eva Diaz – Member
Timothy "Tim" Dunn – Member
J.D. Mesnard – Member
Catherine Miranda – Member
Bill Action Recap:
HB2022 – School Safety; Employee Certification; Policies (Bliss)
Passed as amended
Vote: 7-5-0-0-0-0
Establishes a new program within the Department of Education called the Save Our Children School Safety Program
Program includes employee training, emergency preparedness, and crisis response
Stipulates that the department may adopt any rules, policies, and procedures necessary to implement this new section established by the bill
Requires the Department, consulting with Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, to develop and maintain a list of training and certificate programs that meet or exceed existing uniform standards, which are then required to be posted in a list on the Department’s website
Includes annual recertification programs
Establishes the Save Our Children School Safety Program fund consisting of legislative appropriations, gifts, grants, and other donations
Requires the Department to administer this fund
Requires monies towards this specific fund to be continuously appropriated and exempts them from provisions relating to lapsing appropriations
Requires the Department to use the Save Our Children School Safety Program fund to provide reimbursements on a first-come, first-served basis for the following items:
An eligible school that has either:
Paid for one or more of the school's employees to complete a training or certification program
Purchased school safety equipment, including medical kits, safety tools, and protective gear, for use at one or more sites
An individual who meets the following criteria:
Is employed by an eligible school
Has paid for and successfully completed a training or certification program
Is not reimbursed by the eligible school for the costs of the training or certification program
Authorizes an eligible school to adopt policies and procedures permitting one or more employees to possess and carry a firearm on school grounds, provided the school:
Notifies local law enforcement agencies and the Department of the number of employees authorized to carry firearms on school grounds
Ensures each authorized employee has a valid certification from a Title 15 chapter 2 article 2 listed program
Complies with Title 15 chapter 2 article 2 confidentiality requirements
Stipulates that the personally identifiable information of school employees who participate in training or certification programs, or are authorized to carry firearms, is confidential and cannot be disclosed to the public
Defines personally identifiable information to include the employee's name, training schedule, and deployment
Establishes a violation of this subsection as a class 1 misdemeanor
Provides civil and criminal liability protection for school employees with valid certification who act in good faith and in alignment with the certification program during active threat or crisis events to defend students, school employees, or visitors
Specifies that any policies and procedures adopted by a school under this section qualify as an approved program
Mandates the Department to submit a report on the Save Our Children School Safety Program by December 31 of each odd-numbered year to:
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Governor’s Office
A copy must also be submitted to the Secretary of State and posted on the Department's website
Requires the report to include:
The total number of school employees with valid certification
The total number of employees authorized to carry firearms on school grounds
The amount of monies available in the fund
Information on incidents or program feedback submitted by schools, employees, and law enforcement agencies
Any recommendations on how to improve the program
Defines an "eligible school" as a public school in Arizona offering instruction to students in kindergarten through grade 12
Makes a technical correction to clarify that each school district governing board shall oversee general powers, duties, immunity, and delegation
Clarifies that a school administrator may authorize an employee to carry or possess a firearm on school grounds
Requires the Board, in consultation with the Department of Education, to establish uniform standards for training and certification programs eligible for reimbursement. These standards include:
Initial Certification Requirements:
A minimum of four hours of use-of-force training provided by:
A peace officer,
An attorney, or
A firearms safety training instructor
A minimum of twenty-four hours of firearms training provided by:
A peace officer,
A firearms safety training instructor
An instructor who conducts a pistol qualifying examination
A minimum of four hours of tactical emergency casualty care training provided by:
An emergency medical care technician,
A registered nurse, or
A licensed physician
A minimum of eight hours of live scenario training to test competency in the areas covered by use-of-force, firearms, and tactical emergency casualty care training
Annual Recertification Requirements:
Completion of a Board-prescribed firearms qualification course.
Participation in continuing education and review of tactical emergency casualty care training provided by:
An emergency medical care technician,
A registered nurse, or
A licensed physician
HB2067 – School Facilities Oversight Board; Continuation (Gress)
Passed
Vote: 12-0-0-0-0-0
Repeals Title 41 Chapter 27 Section 3025.07 of the Arizona Revised Statutes pertaining to the termination date of the School Facilities Oversight Board on July 1st, 2025
Extends the termination date of the School Facilities Oversight Board to July 1st, 2027
Explains that the sections of Title 41, Chapter 56, Articles 1-9 including a newly added section explaining the above, which all pertain to School Capital Finance, will be repealed on January 1, 2028; but only under one of these conditions:
The board has no remaining obligations related to:
Outstanding state school facilities revenue bonds issued under Title 41, Chapter 56, Article 6
Outstanding state school improvement revenue bonds issued under Title 41, Chapter 56, Article 7
Outstanding lease-to-own transactions under Sections 41-5703, 41-5704, and 41-5705
The legislature has made provisions to pay off or retire:
Any remaining state school facilities revenue bonds
Any remaining state school improvement revenue bonds
Any remaining lease-to-own transactions
Stipulates that if neither condition outlined in Subsection B occurs by January 1, 2028, the following will be repealed thirty days after:
All state school facilities revenue bonds issued under Title 41, Chapter 56, Articles 6 and 7
All outstanding lease-to-own transactions under Sections 41-5703, 41-5704, and 41-5705
Explains that the legislature intends for the School Facilities Oversight Board to provide only one estimate of projected student enrollment and the related costs to the legislature, as required under Section 41-5741, Arizona Revised Statutes
Explains that the purpose of the legislature continuing the School Facilities Oversight Board is to:
Evaluate the capital needs of school districts
Distribute funds to school districts to:
Address existing deficiencies
Support building renewal
Construct new facilities
Explains that Sections 1 and 2 of this bill are retroactively effective to July 1, 2025
HB2074 – School Safety; Proposals; Assessments; Plans (Gress)
Passed as amended
Vote: 8-4-0-0-0-0
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:
Collaborate with local law enforcement and emergency response agencies to create an emergency response plan for each school site, adhering to minimum standards set by the department of education and the division of emergency management within the department of emergency and military affairs
A school district may use an emergency response plan developed under section 15-341, subsection A, paragraph 31 to meet this requirement
Annually 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
SB1021 – ROTC Cadets; In-State Student Status (Rogers)
Passed
Vote: 7-0-0-0
Mark your calendar! Here’s what’s coming up in next week’s committee meetings:
Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 @ 2:00 PM
House Education Committee
The following bills will be heard:
HB2018 – Private Universities; Arizona Teachers Academy (Gress)
HB2019 – Schools; Water Safety; Information; Resources (Gress)
HB2020 – Teacher Retention; Study; Report (Gress)
HB2069 – Instructional Time Models; Posting Requirements (Taylor)
Wednesday, January 22nd, 2025 @ 2:00 PM
Senate Education Committee
The following bills will be heard:
SB1028 – High School Graduation; Requirements (Kavanagh)
SB1041 – School Board Candidates; Electronic Signatures (Kavanagh)