HOW ARIZONA LEGISLATORS VOTED IN 2020 ON HIGH PRIORITY K-12 EDUCATION BILLS ASK YOUR LEGISLATORS IF THEY SUPPORT OR OPPOSE: The Friends of ASBA is a 501(c)(4) private, non-profit organization that provides information on high-priority, high-impact policy issues related to K-12 education in Arizona, leading to greater public understanding and support for public education in Arizona. This guide is intended to be factual, non-partisan and a key resource for voters who want to take into account education issues when casting their ballots. We are proud to be a sister organization of the Arizona School Boards Association. II | Table of Contents 2 Letter from Friends of ASBA Executive Director 3 A User’s Guide to This Publication 5 2020 Legislative Session 6 Summary of Key K-12 Bills for 2020 A District-by-District Guide to Elected Representatives, Voters, Constituents, School Districts Served and Voting Records 9 Legislative District 1 39 Legislative District 16 11 Legislative District 2 41 Legislative District 17 13 Legislative District 3 43 Legislative District 18 15 Legislative District 4 45 Legislative District 19 17 Legislative District 5 47 Legislative District 20 19 Legislative District 6 49 Legislative District 21 21 Legislative District 7 51 Legislative District 22 23 Legislative District 8 53 Legislative District 23 25 Legislative District 9 55 Legislative District 24 27 Legislative District 10 57 Legislative District 25 29 Legislative District 11 59 Legislative District 26 31 Legislative District 12 61 Legislative District 27 33 Legislative District 13 63 Legislative District 28 35 Legislative District 14 65 Legislative District 29 37 Legislative District 15 67 Legislative District 30 | 1 A Trusted Resource to Find Allies in K-12 Education The Friends of ASBA, a sister organization of the Arizona School Boards Association and separate 501(c)(4) corporation, is dedicated to leading a more informed public discussion of K-12 education in Arizona and fostering greater understanding and support for our public schools and the more than 1 million-plus students who attend them. The mission of the board of directors is to provide a strong, equal-access, issue-focused voice that is pro-public education. The Friends of ASBA is focused on educating the people of Arizona so we, as a state, continue to prioritize a quality public education for all children as both a civic and an economic virtue. This publication focuses on the impact of the Arizona Legislature, specifically the votes of individual legislators on key bills impacting K-12 education and district public schools. Within this book, you’ll also find key demographics on the students in your legislative district and what makes them unique. School board members and other school district leaders are familiar with the color-coded voting records format, which provides at-a-glance insights into the level of support – or lack of support – each Arizona legislator provided for Arizona public school districts and the local school boards who govern them. This sixth edition of the Friends of ASBA voting record has been updated with additional legislative district data that illuminates the populations and constituents served, voter participation and registration from the 2018 election, and indicates whether your state representatives supported advancing a pro K-12 education agenda this session. Please use this book as a guide to decide which candidates earn your support in the primary and general elections this fall. Now more than ever, we must hold our elected officials to a higher standard and work to elect and retain candidates who don’t merely say they support public education, but are fighting along with us. We encourage you to share this resource far and wide. Sincerely, Dr. Sheila Harrison-Williams Executive Director, Friends of ASBA 2 | Using the Voting Records Arizona’s 90 elected state legislators serve constituents in our state’s 30 legislative districts. Each district has two representatives, who serve in the state House of Representatives, and one senator, who serves in the State Senate. On the following pages, you will find an overview of each legislative district and a record of legislators’ votes to highlight those who support and do not support public education in Arizona. The information is separated into two pages. The first includes data about the legislative district itself with the names and party affiliation of each elected representative, the partisan split of registered voters, and data regarding voter turnout in the 2018 general election. It also includes the most recently available census data on race/ethnicity of the total population, and the population under age 18 within the district. Also, note the number of school districts within each legislative district and the student enrollment of each. The second page displays the voting record of each legislator in that district on key K-12 education bills. Friend of Public Education Legislators will be rated on whether their overall record during the session was supportive of public education or not, in the estimation of Friends of ASBA. This rating is based on voting record, but also how helpful (or not) a given legislator was in advancing the ASBA political agenda during the legislative session, and how the legislator acted toward public education in general. A legislator may earn thumbs up, thumbs sideways or thumbs down. This is based in part on the member’s voting record, but also on other issues that may occur behind the scenes, such as helping to get bills heard (or not) in committee, helping to prevent bad bills from advancing, etc. Helpful actions are recognized by “extra credit.” New this year, we also consider the relative competitiveness of the legislative district. The bar on each district page indicates whether a district is most likely to elect a Democrat (blue) or Republican (red); the most competitive districts will be toward the purple center. Incumbents are evaluated in part based on how helpful they are relative to the partisan makeup of their district. Members are also evaluated based on whether the member is accessible and/or open to dialogue. This is intended to help our supporters determine at a glance which legislators have been helpful to Arizona public schools and the 1 million-plus students who attend them. You will note that the closer partisan split has had something of a moderating influence on this Legislature, though there are still many clear distinctions. Champions of Public Education Returning for 2020 as we head into a new election cycle are “champions of public education.” These members have been consistent allies on education issues for their entire term and are noted by a special trophy icon. | 3 4 | Legislator Accountability – How Did Your Legislators Vote On Key Legislation in the 2020 Legislative Session? The Fifty-Fourth Legislature, Second Regular Session adjourned sine die at 11:21 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, after 135 days. This session was defined by an unprecedented interruption of Legislative business due to COVID-19 as the Legislature, along with the rest of Arizona, suspended much of its activity during March and April. The general effective date for non- emergency bills is Aug. 25, 2020. Appropriation bills and bills with an emergency clause are effective immediately upon the signature of the governor. Without you, our advocates, our mission to ensure the success of all students would not be possible. This interim, we encourage you to use this guide to engage with others to educate them on how their representatives act over time. The following bill summaries represent the pieces of legislation we felt had the greatest impact on K-12 schools this session. Although most were voted on in some form in each chamber, not all were passed into law this year due to the shortened session. For a detailed summary of these bills and more, please consult the Comprehensive Legislative Wrap Up Brief published by ASBA. | 5 Key Bills HB2110/SB1048 (Udall & Brophy McGee) Creates disciplinary and reporting requirements for noncertificated school employees. Allows the State Board of Education to take action against employees who have substantiated allegations of misconduct, including suspension of the employee’s ability to work in a public school. ASBA Supported. Held in Opposite House HB2381 (Blackman) Exempts career and technical education districts (CTEDs) from receiving A-F letter grades under the state accountability system. ASBA Supported. Held in Senate HB2741/SB1403 (Udall & Mesnard) Allows CTED funding for 9th-grade students, and allows students to continue to attend a CTED after graduation to finish a career and technical education program. ASBA Supported. Held in Opposite House HCR2023/SCR1035 (Kern & Leach) Allows school districts to exceed the Constitutional aggregate expenditure limit for fiscal year 2021. ASBA Supported. Held in Opposite House SB1012 (Borrelli) Allows discussions of school safety plans to be held in executive session. ASBA Supported. Laws 2020 Ch. 59 SB1060 (S. Allen) Increases funding weights for pupils with intellectual disabilities to be equal between self-contained and resource settings. Also increases the lowest-funded, highest- incidence funding weight. Increases funding available for the extraordinary special education needs fund. ASBA Supported. Held in Senate SB1224 (S. Allen) Contains numerous revisions to the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. Places ESA program rules under the State Board of Education and requires appeals