Even during a pandemic where AEA members were going above and beyond every day to educate our students, Governor Ducey did not hesitate in doing everything possible to keep teacher pay low and their classrooms starved for resources. The word unprecedented is used too often and far too casually to describe daily events and actions. However, this is truly an unprecedented moment. By collecting approximately 340,000 signatures in 90 days to refer Governor Ducey’s tax cuts back to the voters, AEA and the Invest in Arizona Coalition has proven once again that the public favors education funding over tax cuts for the wealthy. In fact, education defenders have now gathered over 1,000,000 signatures since 2018 to stop the Governor’s unrelenting attacks on public education and related services.
“Today’s filing of the referendums on Senate Bill 1828 and 1783 is an effort to stop yet another one of the Governor’s reckless, desperate attempts to hand out money to the ultra-wealthy with complete disregard for the will of Arizona voters or the impact on our state’s education system, and therefore its future economy. Extremely similar policies like this have already been tried in other states and have failed with devastating economic effects. But those consequences are clearly of little concern to a Governor and Legislative Majority who have abdicated that responsibility,” said Joe Thomas, Arizona Education Association President at a press conference held at the Capitol on September 28, 2021.
“Invest in Arizona is important because it is our responsibility as educators and community members to show students that anything is possible. That even when it gets hard and you get knocked down, you stand back up, and you keep on going. Then your possibilities become realities. Today we celebrate our success. Today we start working to making these possibilities a reality for our students, our schools, and our communities,” said NEA Board Member for Arizona and Deer Valley Education Association Vice President Kelley Fisher.
Invest in Arizona coalition volunteers have been working since early July, when the 90 day window for signature collection officially opened, to collect the 118,823 valid signatures required, per referral, to force a halt to the implementation of Senate Bills 1828 and 1783. Should the signatures receive official certification by the Secretary of State, SBs 1828 and 1783 will then be referred as a question that will appear on the November 2022 ballot.
Earlier this week, we let you know about a court ruling in favor of our lawsuit against several provisions of the K-12 education budget signed into law by Governor Ducey, including bans on masks, vaccines, and "controversial" topics in the classroom. Today, the Court rejected the state's request for an injunction at all levels. That means Judge Cooper's ruling of these provisions being unconstitutional remains in effect. Districts remain free to adopt or maintain mask mandates and the "teacher gag law" will not be enforced. The appeal will now follow the normal course and will likely take several weeks, if not months, to conclude. Unless the Arizona Supreme Court agrees to take the case immediately, the next stop in the appeal process is the Arizona Court of Appeals. AEA and a coalition of education groups were part of this lawsuit. We will continue to keep you updated on these efforts. the State’s request for an immediate stay has been rejected at every level.
To learn more about the Invest in Arizona Coalition and the Referendums’ campaign, go to investinaznow.com.
To watch the full press conference video, go to arizonaea.org/investinaz.
Published: September 28, 2021
