Action Alert: 6/24/25

June 24, 2025

Let’s just sum it up quickly: the Arizona Legislature is a hot mess.

With just days to go before the June 30 deadline — and a government shutdown — the GOP-controlled legislature is still wasting everyone’s time engaging in infighting. In a nutshell, the Republicans in the Senate (kind of) worked with Dems and the Governor to pass a budget and declared sine die, the Republicans in the House didn’t work with anyone and passed their own budget, no-one likes the stop-gap continuation budget, and everyone is mad about all of it.

Meanwhile, our state’s already-last-in-the-nation public education system circles the tank to the tune of $3 billion, thanks to Doug Ducey’s tax cuts and handouts to universal vouchers. Making matters worse, the leg failed to pass Prop 123 (in large part because Repubs tried to tie teacher pay to voucher expansion), further increasing budget woes. Because no bill is ever dead until the budget is signed, be ready to contact your representatives.

Masked federal agents are taking immigrants as they leave court hearings. Those who are less at risk of being targeted by ICE are needed to stand up and offer protection to our neighbors. Borderlands Resource Initiative and Puente offer rapid response trainings on how to help. More info and trainings here.

As you’re likely aware, religious extremists have been making a concerted, organized effort to take over school boards in order to push a Christian nationalist agenda. The Stand for Children Fellowship teaches you how to organize, engage with school boards, and push back effectively. Click here to learn more and apply.  

Action Alert: 3/8/25

March 8, 2025
Crossover week is over, so the list of bills is shrinking. Unfortunately, many that remain are aligned with the white Christian nationalist/Project 2025 agenda, promoting bigotry and racism.  Please take a minute to log into RTS, contact committee members, or contact your own representatives and fight these bills:
  • Oppose SB1269: Allows volunteer school chaplains into district/charter schools without specifying chaplains’ roles, requiring any training or certification, or requiring accommodation of a range of belief systems be accommodated. An attempt to replace trained social workers, take away parents’ rights to manage children’s religious education, and track students’ religious affiliations. Use RTS and contact members of the Senate Education Committee before Tuesday.
  • Oppose HCR2042: Would prevent school districts from specifically hiring BIPOC educators or having clubs related to DEI, prevent state contracts to BIPOC-owned companies, and ban content related to history, DEI, and certain topics such as diversity and inclusion from schools. Use RTS and contact members of Senate Government Committee before Wednesday. 
  • Oppose HB2113: Would ban certain flags, such as LGBTQ+ rainbow, Black Lives Matter, etc. from public property. Only flags approved by legislature could be flown. Use RTS and contact members of Senate Government Committee before Wednesday. 
  • Oppose HB2126: Would require health care provider to give parents of minors access to electronic data, including records of procedures that do not require parental consent. Could keep minors from accessing contraceptive, sexual health, gender-affirming care.Use RTS and contact members of Senate Health and Human Services Committee before Wednesday. 
  • Oppose HB2216: Forces taxpayers to fund fake “pregnancy clinics” that are a front to push anti-choice propaganda based on a specific religious perspective. Contact your own representatives directly.
  • Oppose HB2439: Refers to a website that isn’t required to discuss the full range of reproductive health; such as abortion care, and promotes fake “pregnancy clinics.” Use RTS and contact members of Senate Government Committee before Wednesday. 
  • Oppose HB2547: Bars state funding to any healthcare provider that promotes or performs abortion, even to save the mother’s life. Use RTS and contact members of Senate Government Committee before Wednesday. 
  • Oppose HB2728: Allows courts to order DUI defendants to attend a religiously based program. Use RTS and contact members of the Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee before Wednesday.

 

Thank you for defending separation of church and state.

Action Alert: 2/17/25

February 17, 2025

We’re coming down to the wire, folks: This is the last chance for most bills to advance, so speak up now. Use the Request to Speak system and contact Committee members (thank you CEBV) to express your opinion on these bills that impact church:state separation:

  • Oppose HB2058 (House Education, Tuesday 1:30p): Extends Arizona’s already lenient “personal belief” vaccine exemption to students attending public community colleges and universities.
  • Oppose HB20259: (House Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee 2:00p): Bars all Arizona city, county and state employees and agencies from enforcing the Endangered Species, Clean Water and Clean Air Acts.
  • Oppose HB2700 (House Education, Tuesday 2:00p): Adds “a specific focus on the Gulf of America,” a made-up subject, into high school social studies standards.
  • Oppose HB2725 (House Education, Tuesday 2:00p): Requires teachers to notify parents if a student refuses to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, which contains religious language.
  • Oppose HB2867 (House Education, Tuesday 2:00p): Bans public schools from teaching, promoting, funding or training “antisemitic conduct,” a concept that’s poorly defined, impinges on religious freedom, and opens the door to banning open discussion. Bill would also allow parents or students to sue for damages if they hear a point of view they don’t like.
  • Oppose HB2547 (House Government, Wednesday 8:00a): Bars state funding to any healthcare provider that promotes or performs abortion, even to save the mother’s life.
  • Oppose HB2191 (House Government, Wednesday 8:00a): Changes zoning restrictions to allow churches to build housing on their properties, leading to the creation of religious micro-schools. Only requires 40% of housing to be low-income; why not more, aren’t churches supposed to be helping the less fortunate? (This bill is likely a gift to a particular mega-church that’s encroaching on a low-density neighborhood.)
  • Oppose HCR2049 (House Government, Wednesday 8:00a): State sovereignty law that opens the door to a loss of civil rights protections such as marriage equality), healthcare, labor rights, education funding, environmental safeguards and more.
  • Oppose with comment HB2681 (House Judiciary, Wednesday 8:30a): Adds superfluous requirements to medical providers before and after prescribing abortion medication, including that it must be prescribed at an in-person visit. Note:  there’s a strike everything amendment which removes anti-abortion legislation , so RTS NO on the original bill but comment to SUPPORT the proposed strike everything amendment.
  • Oppose SB1586 (Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency, Wednesday 8:30a): Requires medical professionals to pay the costs for those who received gender-affirming care as a minor, and later want to “gender detransition” and “reclaim their God-given gender.” Retroactive for 25 years after the care was received.
  • Oppose SB1584 (Senate Regulatory Affairs and  Government Reform, Wednesday 8:30a): Forces public schools hiring policies to be based solely on “merit” and encourages individuals to sue for claims of reverse racism. Would lead to discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation, etc.
  • Oppose SB1694 (Senate Education, Wednesday 1:30p):  Makes higher education institutions ineligible for state funding if they teach information on gender identity, systemic racism, whiteness or other forms of discrimination.
  • Oppose SCR1032 (Senate Education, Wednesday 1:30p): Funnels guaranteed financing to charter schools (which can discriminate on a religious basis) from the state land trust.
  • Oppose SB1694 (Senate Education, Wednesday, 1:30p): Bans public universities from receiving state funding if they offer DEI courses.
  • Oppose HCR2015 (House Appropriations, Wednesday 2p): Allows the legislature to direct federal funding to charter schools (which can discriminate based on a religious basis) if the Department of Education is dissolved.
  • Oppose HCR2045 (Public Safety and Law Enforcement, Thursday 1p): Positions law enforcement as first line of defense against foreign and domestic enemies, which legitimizes the Christian nationalist “Constitutional Sheriff” movement.

Action Alert: 2/2/25

February 2, 2025

Here are harmful bills headed for hearings this week. Take action now. 

We recommend using the Request to Speak system and directly contacting Committee members (thank you to our friends at CEBV for compiling this Committee guide).

  • Oppose HB2123: (House Public Safety, Monday 2p) Provides expanded confidentiality to religious leaders using narrowly defined terms; such protections should be extended to all religions and none for those who are targeted by extremists. Religious privilege. 
  • Oppose HB2670: (House Education, Tuesday 4p) Requires health education in grades 7 and 8 to include fetal development — may be added in 1-12 if age appropriate, parents can opt-out — but doesn’t include info about birth control, abortion, consent, etc. Anti-reproductive choice.
  • Oppose HB2438: (House Judiciary, Wednesday 8:30a) Bans judges from amending birth certificates in an attempt to prevent accurately reflecting transgender individuals’ identities — a form of legal erasure. Anti-LGBTQIA+.
  • Oppose HB2216 (House Government, Wednesday 9a) Forces taxpayers to fund fake “pregnancy clinics” that are a front to push anti-choice propaganda. Anti-reproductive choice. 
  • Oppose SB1256 (Senate Government, Wednesday 9a) Prevents state agencies or contractors from providing or requiring DEI in hiring, training and promotion. Racist.
  • Oppose SB1269 (Senate Education, Wednesday 2p) Allows volunteer school chaplains into district/charter schools without specifying chaplains’ roles, requiring any training or certification, or requiring accommodation of a range of belief systems be accommodated. An attempt to replace trained social workers, take away parents’ rights to manage children’s religious education, and track students’ religious affiliations. Religious Privilege.

New to advocacy? We’re here to help! info@secularaz.org.

Action Alert 1/27/25

January 27, 2025

A slew of harmful bills (and a good one, too) are headed for hearings this week. Take action now. 

We recommend using the Request to Speak system and directly contacting Committee members (thank you to our friends at CEBV for compiling this Committee guide).

Here’s the rundown:

  • Oppose HB2062: Would remove gender-related terms in AZ law and replace with sex-related terms, effectively erasing trans, non-binary and intersex people. Use RTS/Contact House Rules Committee.
  • Oppose HB2113: Would ban the display of certain flags, such as Pride and BLM flags, on public property. This bill targets the LGBTQ+ community. Use RTS/Contact House Rules Committee.
  • Oppose SB1002: Would require educators to obtain written parental permission before using a student’s chosen pronouns, if they don’t match student’s biological sex at birth. This bill targets trans students (who already face higher risk of harm) and politicizes teachers. Use RTS/Contact Senate Education Committee members.
  • Oppose SB1003: Would prevent students from using the bathroom, locker room, sleeping facility, etc. that aligns with their gender identity. Trans and non-binary students would face bodily scrutiny, and public schools would be exposed to lawsuits. Use RTS/Contact Senate Education Committee members.
  • Oppose SB1090: This book ban threatens public school teachers with up to two years incarceration for teaching a (broad, vague) range of subject matter that legislators deem “sexually explicit,” and bans “sexually explicit” materials from libraries. Lawmakers decide what “sexually explicit” means. Use RTS/Contact Senate Education Committee.
  • Oppose SB1099: Another book ban that bans charter and district schools from teaching materials that legislators deem “sexually explicit.” Again, lawmakers decide what “sexually explicit” means and the bill uses vague language, which means it would cast a wide net. Use RTS/Contact Senate Education Committee.
  • Oppose HB2058: Would allow non-minor students to exempt themselves from vaccine requirements through a simple statement of “personal belief.” Use RTS/Contact House Education Committee.
  • Oppose HB2063: Would require school communications about vaccines to include exemption information, thus making it easier to not vaccinate. Use RTS/Contact House Education Committee.
  • Support HB2213: Finally, a good bill that would fund free school lunches for children. Use RTS/Contact House Education Committee members.

New to advocacy? We’re here to help! info@secularaz.org.

Hilary Wething: How Vouchers Hurt Public Schools

Join us on February 28 at noon (AZ Time) for special guest economist Hilary Wething, who’ll discuss her research on quantifying the harm vouchers cause to public schools. 

Click here to watch on Secular AZ’s YouTube channel

Hilary Wething (she/her) is an Economist at the Economic Policy Institute. Her research examines the relationship between labor market policy, household economic security, and social safety net programs. Prior to joining EPI as an Economist, Wething was an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Pennsylvania State University School of Public Policy.

She holds a Ph.D. in public policy and management, with concentrations in demography and economics, from the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. Wething has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and economics from Creighton University.

 

Religious Exemptions and Vaccine Law: What to Expect in 2025 with Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, LLB, Ph.D

Join us on February 7 at noon (AZ Time) for Professor Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, LLB, PhD. She’ll discus religious exemptions to vaccines in school and in the workplace, anti-vaccine misinformation around them, and where the law and policy is going in 2025.

Click here to watch this presentation on Secular AZ’s YouTube channel.

Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, LLB, Ph.D.  is a professor of law and the James Edgar Hervey Chair in Litigation at UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings). She specializes in vaccines law and policy, including exemption laws and tort liability related to non-vaccination. She published in law reviews, peer reviewed journals and blogs on legal and policy issues related to vaccines and co-authored a book on Vaccines Law and Policy with Professor Y. Tony Yang. Professor Rubinstein Reiss received her undergraduate degree in Law and Political Science from the Faculty of Law in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her Ph.D. from the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program in UC Berkeley, writing her dissertation on accountability in the liberalized telecommunications and electricity sectors in England, France and Sweden.

More about Professor Rubinstein Reiss here.

Prof. Madiba Dennie – The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back

Join us on February 21 at noon (AZ Time) for special guest Professor Madiba K. Dennie, author of The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back.

Click here to watch for this presentation on Secular AZ’s YouTube channel.

Madiba K. Dennie is the author of The Originalism Trap, and deputy editor and senior contributor at the critical legal commentary website Balls and Strikes. She is also the co-director of the Democracy Committee of the New Jersey Reparations Council, and was previously a counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice. Her legal and political commentary has been featured in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She has taught at Western Washington University and New York University School of Law. Dennie is a graduate of Columbia Law School and Princeton University. Her debut book, The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back, is now available wherever books are sold.

 

Arizona Trans Youth and Parent Organization

Join us on November 1  to learn more about the important work of AZTYPO – the Arizona Trans Youth and Parent Organization: https://www.aztypo.com/.

Click here to watch on Secular AZ’s YouTube channel.

Tami Staas (she/her/hers) is an Arizona native,  a professional educator, and a fierce advocate. She currently teaches  third grade at Summit Academy, an International Baccalaureate school in the Mesa Public School system.  In addition to being a classroom teacher, she is also the Executive Director of Arizona Trans Youth and Parent Organization (Aztypo). In her role with Aztypo, she has been advocating and educating in Arizona on behalf of transgender and gender diverse youth and their families for over a decade.  Tami often finds herself providing guidance to teachers, counselors, and administrators on best practices for trans and gender diverse youth in the classroom and around the school.

 Tami is passionate about educating the community on how to best serve transgender and gender diverse  youth. Over the years, she has worked with various agencies in the greater Phoenix area to foster and create inclusive practices in public spaces such as schools (both elementary and high school), hospitals, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, and community spaces.   

Tami has served as the committee chair of the LGBTQ+ subcommittee of the Equity and Inclusive Practices advisory council at the Arizona State Board of Education and is a member of the Learn to Lead team for the Arizona Education Association.  She has created and presented training on topics such as raising a trans child and creating gender inclusive classrooms to groups such as the Arizona Psychological Association, the Mesa Education Association,the Arizona Education Association, ASU inservice teachers,  the Arizona State Legislature, and many more. 

In addition to her education and activist work, Tami is the mother of two children: one who identifies as a trans man and the other who identifies as non-binary. By sharing her family’s  journey, Tami has been able to provide guidance, resources, and support to so many families and educators in and out of Arizona.