Legislative Watch

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
February 20, 2012

Dear Parents and Friends of Public Education,

HB 2260, the online schools payment bill, has been renegotiated and is now a very limited striker bill that we would like to ask you to support. In its current form, the bill only addresses summer school, stating that the state will not pay for any summer school, regardless of the educational platform. This closes a small loophole, and charter, traditional and almost all online schools are supportive of this fix; it is fair and equitable for all types of schools and students.

There is only one online provider opposed to this bill, largely because this corporation has actively marketed to students using the loophole in the law that has allowed it to collect for summer school even for students fully enrolled in a charter or traditional public school. Thankfully, this practice seems to be limited to one main online provider, as many other online providers support the new bill and the uniform code of payment for all summer school classes.

Please send a quick note of support for HB 2260 to your House representative. This bill is very limited, evens the playing field for all education providers, and is supported by the vast majority of schools - online, charter and district. Thanks so much for taking action.

Together we can make a difference!

Heather Heroldt
President

DETAILS
Districts 8, 11 and 17 are within the SUSD boundaries

INFO:
Francesca Thomas, VP Legislation

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AZ STATE LEGISLATOR
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PROJECT VOTE SMART

Our Legislators

                          Senate Rep                            House Rep                                    House Rep
District 8        Michele Reagan-R                    Michele Ugenti-R John Kavanagh-R
                        Ph: 602-926-5828                    Ph: 602-926-4480 Ph: 602-926-5170
                        Email: mreagan@azleg.gov    Email: mugenti@azleg.gov   Email:jkavanagh@azleg.gov

District 11        Adam Driggs-R                        Kate Brophy McGee-R                 Eric Meyer-D
                        Ph: 602-926-3016                   Ph: 602-926-4486 Ph: 602-926-3037
                        Email: adriggs@azleg.gov      Email:kbrophymcgee@azleg.gov   Email: emeyer@azleg.gov

District 17        David Schapira-D                    Ed Ableser-D                                    Ben Arredondo-D
                          Ph: 602-926-3028                   Ph: 602-926-4118 Ph: 602-926-4124
                          Email:dschapira@azleg.gov    Email: eableser@azleg.gov   Email:barredondo@azleg.gov

Governor Jan Brewer
azgov@az.gov

OUR 2012 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

The Scottsdale Parent Council (SPC) works as an advocate for the parents of the Scottsdale Unified School District, who want to improve the quality of public education in Arizona. We will supply our elected officials with information about our community’s priorities, and encourage maximum support of K-12 public education. SPC also provides ongoing education of parents on legislative actions affecting public education.

Our legislative priorities for the 2012 session are:

1. Advocate to preserve education funding, especially that which directly impacts classroom instruction, with the ultimate goal of completely overhauling the public education funding formula.

2. Advocate for the maintenance of funding for a well-rounded curriculum at all levels, in recognition of the research based findings of the value of fine arts in education.

3. Work directly with legislators to craft legislation that loosens restrictions on spending and procurement for public schools, and maximizes the efficiency of public school funding.

4. Support real State School Facilities Board reform that recognizes the unmet facilities needs of all districts including the modernization needs of established districts with aging facilities.

5. Support efforts to fully fund unfunded special education mandates, including gifted education.