Press Releases

On April 7, 2021, the Arizona Education Association, Arizona Educators United, and Save Our Schools Arizona held a press conference at the Arizona Capitol to protect the Invest in Education Act and urge lawmakers to oppose Senate Bill (SB) 1783, which would cut up to $378 million from public schools.

AEA se mantiene en solidaridad con nuestros afiliados de la Asociación Educativa de Gilbert, y los más de 150 maestros que recibieron noticias de Reducción de Fuerzas (RIFs) por parte del distrito de las escuelas públicas de Gilbert.

AEA stands in solidarity with our local affiliate the Gilbert Education Association and the more than 150 teachers who recently received Reduction In Force (RIF) notices from Gilbert Public Schools.

For the past 11 months, educators have gone above and beyond to provide our students with learning opportunities as our communities were living through a pandemic. From the day the governor told schools to shift to distance learning the Arizona Education Association has been very clear in calling for the resources needed to support a safe return to in-person instruction.

For decades our state’s leaders have underfunded public education. Arizona is suffering a teacher shortage, our school buildings are crumbling, and our textbooks and technology are outdated. The pandemic has only made these problems worse. Today’s State of the State Address does not offer hope that the governor will provide any real solutions.

It has been two months since the Arizona Education Association called on Governor Ducey to implement a statewide COVID-19 school safety plan and there has been no action taken by the governor toward this important goal.

The Arizona Education Association calls upon Governor Ducey to implement a statewide COVID-19 school safety plan to ensure the health and safety of our children and their educators.

Today, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) released public health benchmarks for the safe reopening of schools.

From the early days of this pandemic we have been listening to our members’ concerns around its impact. Our primary concern has remained the health, safety, and welfare of students, families, and educators, as well as the health and safety of the broader community.

This report and its call for action summarize the initial work of the task force. We will continue to meet as new ideas and data present themselves, and we intend to broaden our discussion to include the voice and perspective of parents.