JANUARY 2023

Happy 2023!

We’re so glad to have you in our powerful network of advocates who are using their voices to ensure every Arizona student receives an excellent education.

This year, Education Forward Arizona is prioritizing our focus on increasing education attainment and supporting P-20 education funding. We’ll be working on key issues like dual enrollment, expanding the Arizona College Promise Program, the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) and more.

During this year’s session, we’ll bring you regular updates on the latest happenings at the Capitol, opportunities to take action and our monthly Education Power Hours where you can hear from guest speakers and experts about the latest at the Capitol.

On Monday, Governor Hobbs gave her first State of the State address where she laid out her vision and her priorities for the year ahead.

Today, the Governor released her budget proposal, which includes, and expands upon, some of the ideas presented in her speech earlier this week.

We’re thrilled about the Governor’s proposed expansion of the Arizona Promise Program ($40M) and to create a scholarship program for Dreamers ($40M).

The Governor also proposed an investment in dual enrollment ($20.5M), which will provide a stronger on-ramp for students to pursue postsecondary education.

Investments like these will be transformational in changing our students’ lives and the future of our state.

The additional investments in K-12 funding are also very encouraging.

To fully realize these future investments for next year and for this year, the legislature must allow schools to exceed the AEL (FY23 and FY24) and propose a long-term fix so that it is not a barrier to schools being able to spend the funds they currently have each year. 

Join us on Jan. 25 as we hear from special guests former state Representative Joanne Osborne and former state Senator Martin Quezada about the most effective ways to connect with legislators and have your voice heard. In this Power Hour, participants will learn about:

• The most effective ways to communicate with legislators;
• The best advocacy tools to use;
• How legislators use the Request to Speak system;
• and more!