Ducey signs measures for sex ed, Prop. 208
Gov. Doug Ducey signed a slew of education-related bills on Friday, many of which weigh in on highly controversial issues in Arizona education, including the debate over “critical race theory,” sex education and new tax-related revenue streams for school funding.
Those signatures cap an unusually long legislative session that ended last week after days of fiery debate in both chambers over private school vouchers and a partisan divide over how this year’s budget surplus should be used for schools.
Even as Ducey put pen to paper on a number of bills, one bill that would require that health education instruction include mental health instruction remained without a signature. Here’s the legislation he signed Friday:
Limits on sex education for young students. Students in Arizona schools won’t be taking sex education classes before fifth grade, and parents will be required to opt their children in, rather than out, of lessons, according to House Bill 2035. The bill also creates new requirements for schools to grant timely parental access to sex ed and other curricula.
The legislation is a watered-down version of a proposal Ducey vetoed in April, but it still has some educators concerned that it could have devastating effects, especially for young LGBTQ Arizonans.
In particular, critics say it is part of a history of the Arizona Legislature passing bills that limit information around sexual education, such as the “no promo homo” provision, which forbade any HIV/AIDS-related instruction. The law was repealed by the Legislature in 2019.
“There was nothing about safe sex practices, there was nothing about contraceptives other than, like, a condom,” one Arizona student told The Arizona Republic. “There was nothing talking about any other forms of birth control than just pills. There was nothing about HIV and AIDS, there was nothing of the sort. There was not even really much about consent, either.”
A new tax category that cuts into Proposition 208 income
Arizona now has a new tax category for small-business income, a classification created to shield many high-income earners from the education tax surcharge voters approved last fall.
In signing Senate Bill 1783, Ducey touted it as “protecting small businesses from the threat of a 77-percent tax increase.”
Proposition 208 created a 3.5% surcharge on taxable income above $250,000 for single filers or $500,000 for joint filers. That increased the top tax rate to 8% from 4.5%, an increase of 77%.
By creating a new tax category that was not in existence when Proposition 208 passed, taxpayers can avoid the surcharge. The law defines small-business income as “interest, dividends, profits and certain capital gains.” That captures many small businesses, but also includes individuals with investment earnings.
Proponents of the bill hailed it as a way to keep Arizona competitive by keeping tax rates low. The legislation taxes small-business income earned this year at a rate of 3.5% and drops the rate to 2.5% by 2025.
Critics have called it an insult to the voters who approved Proposition 208 last November and have signaled they will fight it, possibly in court as a violation of the Voter Protection Act.
It is estimated to cut the projected revenue from Proposition 208 by up to $378 million a year, more than a third of the measure’s anticipated tax collection.
A requirement for Arizona students to learn about genocide
A state law signed Friday would require students to learn about the Holocaust and other genocides at least twice between seventh and 12th grades.
House Bill 2241 was championed by Holocaust survivors and comes after a documented uptick in antisemitic incidents in 2020.
“Knowing that all Arizona students will learn about the Holocaust gives me hope,” said bill sponsor state Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson. “We must teach the atrocities of the past to ensure it never happens again.”
Banning ‘critical race theory’ from employee training
Amid debate in school districts across the state about diversity and inclusion efforts often described by critics as “critical race theory,” legislators included a mandate that prevents a teacher or administrator from using public funding on instruction that “presents any form of blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex.”
On Friday, the governor signed a bill that prohibits state or local governments from requiring employees to engage in any trainings that suggest an employee would be “inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.”
Devin Del Palacio, Tolleson Union High School District Governing Board president and chairman of the National Black Council of School Board Members, said he expected the employee training bill would cause a lot of confusion and stymie efforts to have culturally relevant curriculum in classrooms. “I think this is further going to halt the process of the work needed to advance all students,” he said.
A reading certification for teachers and more
The governor also signed bills:
Creating an endorsement in reading for certified K-5 teachers and an evaluation tool for students who enter kindergarten.
Establishing a best practice for how students and school staff communicate on social media and cellphones.
Ensuring that at least one kindergarten or third grade teacher in every school was trained to recognize dyslexia in students.