ASBA Blog

Weekly In Session Update 2/7/2020

by | Feb 8, 2020

February 7, 2020

Day 26

Legislative Recap: Week 4

This week, the House Education Committee passed HB 2111, a bill that was the result of stakeholder meetings over the summer which creates a grant program for county school superintendents who wish to expand their services to allow school districts to share resources more easily. Tim Carter in Yavapai County has been a great resource on this bill and we hope to be able to expand some of what he offers in Yavapai County to other county school superintendents. In the Senate, a few bills ASBA opposed passed out of committee. SB 1224 would allow students with Empowerment Scholarship Accounts who live on an Indian reservation to attend a school in an adjacent state within two miles of the border of the reservation. SB 1122 would allow two or more districts to consolidate if a majority of the total votes cast approves the consolidation, rather than a majority of the votes in each district impacted. We will keep you all updated on the status and progress of both of these issues, as they’re core items in our political agenda.

Check out Capitol Impact for our summaries and positions on all current legislation, and click the links to the right for a preview of next week.

NSBA Federal Advocacy Institute

ASBA’s officers & staff and several other board members & staff from Alhambra ESD, Amphitheater USD, Washington ESD, and Wilson ESD attended the NSBA Federal Advocacy Institute Sunday and Monday to brush up on federal issues impacting school districts. On Tuesday, members went to Congress and visited all 11 offices of the Arizona delegation, advocating for Impact Aid, rural broadband, increased vaping regulation, and federal school safety and special education funding. Congressional members and staff very much appreciate hearing about how federal issues are playing out back home.

Register for Advocacy Day!

Advocacy Day 2020 will have a special focus on issues faced by remote and rural school districts, and an intimate conversation with Senate President Karen Fann.

Registration is FREE and open to board members, superintendents, and others who want to sharpen their advocacy skills.

House Education

Senate Education