Arizona education bills signal a high-stakes 2026 session

By Stacy Mantle
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Arizona’s education system sits at the crossroads of rapid policy change and rising legal scrutiny. As lawmakers expand school choice, revisit curriculum standards and push new interpretations of parental rights, districts are navigating overlapping federal mandates, state directives and local expectations.

By 2026, many of the state’s most consequential education decisions are expected to be shaped not in classrooms or boardrooms, but in courtrooms. The following is a high-level overview of education bills already filed or advancing ahead of the 2026 session.

Curriculum, instruction and academic standards

Several early bills target what is beign taught — and how much discretion districts retain.

Senate Bill 1025, sponsored by Sen. Dave Farnsworth, R-Mesa, would allow evolution to be taught in public schools only if accompanied by instruction in intelligent design, reopening long-running debates over science standards and academic content.

House Bill 2021, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Fink, R-Glendale, would prohibit the State Board of Education and the Arizona Department of Education from requiring school districts or charter schools to change K-3 reading curricula if at least 70% of third-grade students demonstrate sufficient proficiency on statewide assessments.

Together, the bills signal a push to limit state-level instructional mandates at the same time sharpening scrutiny of classroom content and leaving ESA oversight and accountability largely untouched.

School funding, teacher pay and ballot referrals

Funding remains one of the session’s central fault lines.

House Bill 2956, sponsored by multiple Republicans, would implement the fiscal year 2026 K-12 education budget, shaping how dollars flow to school districts, classrooms and staffing. At the same time, lawmakers are negotiating whether to renew Proposition 123, which directs additional state land trust earnings to public schools. A renewal proposal could appear on the 2026 ballot and significantly affect district budgets.

Two ballot referrals — HCR 2007 and HCR 2008 — sponsored by Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, would tie future state land trust distributions to teacher compensation, require equal per-teacher base salary increases and lock in minimum distribution rates through at least fiscal year 2035-36, subject to voter approval.

Supporters frame the measures as a long-term stability play for teacher pay. Critics are expected to question flexibility, sustainability and oversight.

School safety, firearms and emergency response

School safety proposals form one of the largest bill clusters.

House Bill 2076, sponsored by Rep. Selina Bliss, R-Prescott Valley, would create a reimbursement fund for school safety training and equipment and allow certified school employees to carry concealed firearms on campus under specified training, notification and confidentiality requirements.

House Bill 2142, sponsored by Gress, would establish a School Safety Center within the Arizona Department of Education to centralize school safety grants, risk assessments and statewide training.

Additional measures would require high school students to receive automated external defibrillator training under Senate Bill 1009, sponsored by Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills; mandate cardiac emergency response plans in all public schools by 2027 under Senate Bill 1131, sponsored by Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista; and prohibit colleges and universities from banning concealed weapons for permit holders under Senate Bill 1068, sponsored by Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff.

ESA access, athletics and facilities

ESA policy continues to expand beyond tuition.

Senate Bill 1004, sponsored by Kavanagh, would require school districts to allow Empowerment Scholarship Account students to participate in interscholastic activities under the same eligibility rules as enrolled students, with limited cost-sharing provisions.

Senate Bill 1080, again sponsored by Kavanagh, would allow school districts to enter public-private partnerships to sell or lease district-owned land for the development of affordable housing for critical public workforce sectors, with proceeds restricted to maintaining or upgrading district facilities.

Governance, transparency and student protections

Several bills focus on governance and reporting.

House Bill 2075, sponsored by Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, would require public posting and state-level reporting of superintendent and senior administrator contracts and compensation. House Bill 2110, sponsored by Rep. Teresa Martinez, R-Casa Grande, would require public school governing bodies to allow a member to pray during meetings upon request.

Other proposals address student welfare and parental rights, including adoption-related instruction tied to sex education under House Bill 2040, sponsored by Rep. Rachel Keshel, R-Chandler; restrictions on abortion-related facilitation by educational institutions under House Bill 2060, also sponsored by Keshel; expanded disclosure requirements to child safety investigators under Senate Bill 1126, sponsored by Sen. Carine Werner, R-Scottsdale; and new statutory definitions tied to biological sex, accommodations and pronoun use under SCR 1006, sponsored by Kavanagh, which would be referred to voters in 2026.

Early childhood and alternative education

Not all proposals focus on restriction.

Senate Bill 1102, sponsored by Sen. Brian Fernandez, D-Yuma, would appropriate $175 million to expand early childhood education access for low-income families through Head Start and Title I preschool providers beginning in the 2026-27 school year. As of mid-January 2026, it is the only education bill prefiled with a Democratic primary sponsor.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 1026 sponsored by Sen. Dave Farnsworth, would ease ongoing certification requirements for alternative schools and programs operating in good standing, reducing administrative burdens while preserving oversight for new or closing programs.

What comes next

Taken together, the early 2026 education docket points to a session defined by ballot-box policymaking, expanded parental choice, heightened transparency demands and renewed fights over curriculum, safety and who ultimately sets the rules for Arizona classrooms.

With multiple measures likely headed to voters — and others expected to draw legal scrutiny — the coming months will shape not only next year’s budgets, but the long-term structure of public education across the state.

Editor’s note: A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.