Kathy Hoffman, Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction, described her campaign for reelection and the state of education in Arizona. She covered Covid and schools, teaching about racism in school, attacks on school boards, funding public education, and a scandal-ridden Republican challenger. She spoke at the November 8, 2021 meeting of Democrats of Greater Tucson. She is the first teacher and the first Democrat to be elected as the Superintendent. Superintendent Hoffman has spent her entire career working in public schools, first as a preschool teacher and later as a speech-language pathologist. She has fought for equal access to high-quality public [...]

Here they go again. Like monsters from B Movie franchises that never die (like Jason, Freddy Kruger, and Candy Man) school voucher measures are brought back to life year after year by Republicans in the Arizona State Legislature. Use Request to Speak to tell legislators you OPPOSE SB1452 The latest incarnation of voucher expansion is Senate Education Committee Chairperson Paul Boyer's Senate Bill (SB)  1452 which would allow students on free and reduced lunch or those children that attend Title One Schools to apply for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to attend private schools, including religious ones. This bill passed [...]

  Dr. David N. Gibbs, a respected Professor of History at the University of Arizona, is calling for the Republican-financed, Koch-sponsored "Freedom Center" to be kicked out of the university's academic program. He spoke at the January 26, 2021 meeting of the LD9 Democrats, which was attended by more than 100 participants on Zoom. Dr. Gibbs set forth three steps to expel the freedom center from university campuses: Make it a priority of the Democratic Party to cut state funds to the three freedom centers at Arizona universities. Put public pressure on the university to get information on [...]

In his 2021 State of the State Address, Governor Doug Ducey, in an attempt to make nice with the rabid Trumpist science-denying fringe, attacked public schools for not moving fast enough to reopen for in-person instruction. The most significant part of the address was Ducey taking a belligerent tone towards public schools. He said: “But it’s time to get our students back where they belong. With every public-health professional, from Dr. Fauci and the CDC on down, saying that the safest place for kids to be is in school, we will not be funding empty seats or allowing schools to remain [...]

  David Lujan explains why voters should pass Prop. 208, the Invest In Ed ballot initiative. He is one of the authors of the 2018 and 2020 versions of the initiative. Lujan is the Director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. He is a former member of the state Senate and House of Representatives and has worked in public policy in Arizona for 20 years. David Lujan is one of the authors of the 2018 and 2020 versions of the initiative. Lujan is the Director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. When Prop. 208 [...]