We are excited to “see you” at the 45th Annual ASBA Law Conference

The 2021 edition of the ASBA Law Conference will be held September 8-10 at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale. This year’s conference promises to be a great one with the following highlights:
- Two Full-Day Pre-Conferences on Wednesday, September 8: Educating Students in Poverty: A Day Long Look at The Legal, Financial and Practical Issues in Delivering Opportunities for All and Law School for School Leaders: A Day Long Look At The Legal Framework That Governs Public Education
- Four Major Keynote Speakers: Francisco M. Negron, Jr., General Counsel of the National School Boards Association on Federal Courts Update, David Epstein on Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, Bruce Hennes on Crisis Communications and John Ratzenberger on Career and Technical Education and the Trades
- A Full Legal and Legislative Update, plus 28 timely breakout sessions from the world of school law
Registration will open and rooms at the Camelback Inn will be available on Tuesday, July 6, 9 a.m. More details will be found on the ASBA website as they become available.
Kick off the summer by scheduling your board retreat
Schedule your board retreat now. Now’s a great time to reflect on what has and hasn’t worked for your board and set some board goals for the 2021-22 school year.
ASBA provides individualized training and professional development opportunities throughout the year that enhance the work of Arizona governing boards and encourage continued learning and improvement.
Virtual or in-person trainings are offered when and where you need them.
Here are a few of the trainings we offer that would make a great summer retreat:
Board Retreat Facilitation
Your team develops the agenda and ASBA helps you execute a productive board retreat, allowing the board president and superintendent to participate as a member of the team.
Board Self-Evaluation Part 1 and Part 2
Using ASBA’s online self-evaluation tool, board teams review the evaluation results and identify areas of opportunity for improvement during the workshop.
Effective Board Meetings
This training helps your ream identify ways to have productive, efficient and informative board meetings. Agenda Setting, meeting norms and pacing are just a few of the topics covered in this training.
Open Meeting Law
ASBA General Counsel, Chris Thomas, can provide a general or specific review of Arizona’s Open Meeting Law. The workshop can be tailored to meet the district’s individual needs.
Strategic Planning Facilitation
In order for your entire leadership team to participate, ASBA will provide expert facilitators for your strategic planning meeting. This baseline session will give district leadership teams a starting point in their strategic planning process. Additional sessions would beneficial to assist the district leadership team with next steps, including identifying goals for the strategic plan.
All trainings are available on the ASBA website. Schedule a training now!
Did you miss it? View the webinar recording now on “Lessons from the Pandemic by Hennes Communications”

Walk away with strategies that will help you learn how to manage outrage, how to apply the communication lessons from a pandemic going forward, evolving strategies for effective use of social media plus more! Download the presentation and view the webinar recording.
ASBA is excited to introduce a new business partnership with Hennes Communications to provide crisis management and communications consulting services to public school districts throughout Arizona facing sudden challenges to their organizations’ reputations and operations.
Whether you are a small, rural district or a large, K-12 district with a full communications department, Hennes Communications is ready to work with on-site superintendents, communications professionals and school attorneys in a cooperative framework with one goal in mind: Helping you communicate your story effectively to protect your district’s reputation.
We look forward to having Hennes participate in this year’s Law Conference (in person!) presenting to both the attorneys and the general audience.
Hennes Communications has an extensive track record of working closely with superintendents, communication professionals and legal counsel, balancing best crisis management practices and the need to protect the interests of a school or district with today’s media and stakeholder demands for speed and transparency.
ASBA will be visiting every county in person this fall

Please put a hold on your calendar and plan to join us and your other board colleagues from throughout your county starting September 21 – November 4. More details and a link to register will come out in early August. We’re planning another Power Town Hall, so your participation is critical. Let’s make sure our county’s voice is heard. Members in nine counties also will be electing their County Director, who will serve a two-year term on the ASBA Board of Directors.
View all dates and additional information on the ASBA website.
Meet ASBA’s Navajo County Director, Jarrahlyn Begaye

Join HNAIC on June 10 for “Preparing for the Mental Health Needs of Our Communities”

Join the ASBA Hispanic-Native American Indian Caucus on June 10 from 4:30-6 p.m. on Zoom to discuss increased representation by Hispanic and Native American leaders on the ASBA Board of Directors and participate in a learning session on “Preparing for the Mental Health Needs of Our Communities.” This year’s winners of the HNAIC Panfilo H. Contreras Honorary Scholarship will also be celebrated.
All HNAIC members will receive the link to attend. If you are not an HNAIC member and would like to receive the link to attend, please register for this meeting here.
There is no cost to attend the meeting and all ASBA members are welcome.
More about the learning session:
Devin Del Palacio, HNAIC treasurer and a member of the Tolleson UHSD Governing Board, will lead that conversation with Chad Castruita, founder and CEO of Care Solace. Chad will discuss patterns in mental health care needs of school communities. Chad will share the mental health care trends that Care Solace is seeing as they serve 300 school districts serving 15 million students, staff members and their families. He will also discuss how Care Solace is helping provide equitable access to care.

Care Solace is a mental health care coordination company with a mission to help people in need quickly connect to quality mental health care. In 2012, Chad personally faced mental health and substance use issues and his life experience led him on this journey to make it easier and less painful than ever for families seeking services. In 2016, he researched how families get connected to resources and the barriers and obstacles they encounter. By 2017, Chad officially launched the Care Solace service to calm the chaos of mental health care. Chad holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and now lives with his wife and two young daughters in San Diego.
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The Arizona House of Representatives recessed until Thursday, June 10 – when the Senate is scheduled to convene – after passing one budget bill today and voting down two other budget…read more
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