Today, an Arizona court ruled that an abortion ban from 1901 will take effect.
Abortion is now illegal in the state of Arizona, including in cases of rape and incest.
We need to flip the legislature this November to protect access to abortion in Arizona.
Today is son's birthday. He died because of fentanyl overdose, while recreationally using. I miss him everyday & take his memory with me always.
My wholistic policy approach to address the fentanyl crisis has become a right-wing talking point - Here's why the GOP is wrong: (🧵)
As the 2016 Arizona Teacher of the Year, Christine Marsh knows firsthand what it’s like to teach in Arizona public schools. She will ensure that our kids have access to a quality public education. We proudly endorse
@ChristinePMarsh
for State Senate in Arizona’s 28th district.
The decision by a judge today that Arizona’s early vote system is constitutional is a relief to hundreds of thousands of Arizona voters. Arizonans have been voting early for decades and nearly 90% choose to vote early.
I am so proud of and thankful for the support of our LD28 community. It will be an honor to serve as your state senator and work to demonstrate to our district’s kids--and our state’s kids--that they’re worth investing in. Thank you. Let's get to work!
The news released about the potential fate of Roe v. Wade has made me realize that the decision Arizona voters face in November is even more critical than we thought. Arizona has a “trigger law” outlawing abortion in all cases. This is an urgent wake-up call to defend our rights.
Just a reminder...it is not an accident that AZ schools are woefully underfunded--which results in underpaid teachers, which results in a teacher shortage. We got here through decades of intentional & deliberate choices by the legislature.
As we near the end of
#TeacherAppreciationWeek
, a reminder that we can show our appreciation for teachers by paying them a fair salary. Teachers make between 2.0% and 32.7% less than other comparable college-educated workers, depending on the state.
Like I said on the floor yesterday: the current legislative majority does not trust teachers to teach content. And now members of the majority are suggesting that they do trust teachers to carry guns to school. Give me a break.
For far too long, Democrats in Arizona have been shut out of the budget process. It’s time to change that and pass a budget that puts the priorities of Arizonans first.
Yesterday, my Democratic colleagues and I forced a vote in the Senate on a bill to close the gun show loophole to make our communities safer. I’m disappointed that Senate Republicans didn’t support this common sense legislation.
I’m disappointed that the Arizona budget does not place a cap—even temporarily—on Arizona’s voucher expansion.
Expanded vouchers are costing the state nearly half a billion dollars this year and are causing problems for the original beneficiaries: special ed students.
No. We should be listening to healthcare experts and following the science of COVID-19, how it’s spread, and how it’s treated instead of propping up the voices of those who call COVID-19 a “hoax” and spreading misinformation.
#AZLegChat
#FlipAZ
Q3: Arizona’s Republican governor lifted the state’s stay-at-home order weeks ago. Now Arizona is experiencing a massive spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations. Has the GOP-led legislature done enough to prepare communities for this tidal wave of infection?
#AZLegChat
#FlipAZ
Reminder that it's not "school choice," but the school's choice on kids they accept.
"...families who already have their kids in private schools will have a big chunk of their children’s tuition paid for by working class families with students in struggling public schools."
This is my 27th year as a teacher. I have bachelor's and master's degrees. But I make less money than my 25 year old son, whose job only requires a bachelor's degree. I've been teaching for longer than he's been alive, but he makes more.
Today, I had the honor of being sworn in for my second term as an Arizona State Senator! I’m honored to get to work for the people of LD4 and Arizona for two more years alongside Governor Hobbs!
Months after former President Trump and his allies in Congress attempted to overturn Arizona's election results, Republicans in the state's legislature are trying to make it harder for some residents to vote
I believe that we can & must do better than this. To protect our communities against the rising fentanyl crisis, our approach cannot simply be further criminalization.
We desperately need drug treatment care, decriminalized testing material, and strong community empowerment.
In my teaching career, at least 2 of my medically fragile students have died, which was soul-crushing for their families, teachers, friends, schools. People seem to forget that we have many medically fragile kids in our schools, & I admire the controversial stance PXU has taken.
It’s hard to overstate just how important public schools are to me as a teacher. I still remember how a student asked me if Arizona kids were worth less than kids in other states because of how little we funded their education. It made me sad, but also furious. 1/
I'm the proud teacher of Yassamin, who spoke at my kickoff, and then I spoke at hers. She's headed to a run-off in March after being the top vote-getter, and I am so proud! I love this picture.
My favorite teacher from high school is a state senator!!!!!!!!! I’m literally crying. This is absolutely incredible news for Arizona!
Congratulations
@ChristinePMarsh
!!
In a state where we pay our teachers a ridiculously low wage and have trouble retaining educators.. the Dept. of Education has now added the "empower hotline" for parents to report topics they don't approve of... in other words...'critical race theory'.
"What Ducey is really doing is creating a two-tiered system of education in Arizona: Schools for the haves – the ones who can afford to supplement that $7,000 voucher with the funds to cover private school tuition – and schools for the have-nots. The ones who can’t."
Reminder: our public schools are already funded near the bottom of the nation; We already have among the highest class sizes in the nation; our kids whose families have CHOSEN public schools are already suffering.
Vouchers will make that worse by funneling even more $$$ away.
This young man, only 13, has made thousands of calls to voters in my district.
He inspires me. I think he inspires our entire team of volunteers and field organizers.
And he's one of the reasons we are working so hard. Be like Herschel and volunteer!
Herschel is only 13 and can't vote in this election or the next one, but he's made THOUSANDS of calls to voters.
Do the right thing and the right thing to do RIGHT NOW is to help people vote, take it from Herschel:
I’m proud to endorse these outstanding Democratic candidates who will work to get the virus under control, rebuild the economy and the middle class, and protect Americans’ health care and preexisting conditions protections. Support these candidates––and vote early if you can.
You never know what you’ll see out canvassing. Today, one of the Republican households I visited invited me into their house so all five of us could chat and then asked if they could put my sign in their yard.
This week, I am excited to introduce three bills to fix the Aggregate Expenditure Limit and ensure our schools can continue to spend the money allocated to them by the state legislature!
The lack of transparency & accountability is 100% intentional, not an accident or an oversight. I ran an amendment on the voucher-expansion bill that would have added some reasonable financial & academic transparency & accountability, but the R's wanted nothing to do with it.
In case you were wondering if there was ANY accountability of the ESA funds and the potential theft of voucher funds … there isn’t.
Your taxpayer monies are being stolen right in front of your eyes.
Numerous studies show that there is no credible evidence that drug-induced homicide (DIH) laws decrease overdose deaths.
When we draft policy from a place of anger, we aren't solving the problem as much as we are likely going to create a new one.
My bill to legalize fentanyl test strips is in House Rules tomorrow. Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid & is driving the spike in overdoses we are seeing during the Pandemic. In AZ, we had a 48.1 % increase in deaths in the first 8 months of 2020.
SB1486 will save lives. 1/
Reminder, Prop208 filled a need that AZ legislature 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 to fill. AZ schools have been near bottom of the US on every $$ metric for yrs & voters were tired of it. So they dealt with it by collecting signatures & voting.
SB1783 undermines voters & schools.
My speech:
We’re still awaiting the results from my race. I’m grateful, blessed, humbled, and inspired by so many people who helped in the past 534 days. This morning I’m back in the classroom doing the important work of preparing our future leaders to lead.
Thank YOU.
Today I submitted legislation to limit fireworks to New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July. Limiting the use of fireworks will help support the mental health of our veteran community.
I’m honored to be named the Arizona Legislator of the Year by the All Arizona School Retirees Association! I will always stand up for our public schools and those who dedicated their lives to supporting the education of our students.
@NicholasFerroni
The more accurate question may be...are there m/any teachers who don't have to cover for other teachers during their prep because of the lack of subs?
AND IT'S OVER Republican State Sen.
@KateMcGeeAZ
survives challenge by Democratic newcomer
@ChristinePMarsh
, former AZ teacher of the year, by 267 votes. Don't let anyone tell you that your vote doesn't count.
#LD28
Thank you
@NBCNightlyNews
for raising awareness about fentanyl and for allowing me (and my son--who suffered the deadly consequences of hidden fentanyl) to be part of it.
"One pill is too many."
.
@LesterHoltNBC
is granted rare access to the DEA’s evidence vault to see the scale of the fentanyl crisis first hand. The majority of counterfeit pills intercepted by the DEA are seized in Arizona.
This will save lives.
I am so grateful to everyone who supported this bill and helped get it through, and I am especially grateful for
@DougDucey
signing it on the 1 year anniversary of son's death. Landon would want to help save others from the fate he faced.
Drug use and addiction claims far too many lives each year. Senator
@ChristinePMarsh
, who lost her son a year ago to a fentanyl overdose, introduced
#SB1486
to help protect those who are using drugs or battling addiction. 1/
"4 of the 6 states that have enacted DIH laws since 1999 now rank worse among the 50 states in overdose mortality rate - than they did before they enacted their laws."
AZ has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world already.
@annehelen
Phoenix, Arizona had 15,000 at the march! I do believe we woke the kids. I was inspiring and reinforces this teacher's hope.
#MarchForOurLives
Vendors for school vouchers are not required to follow the same procedures as public and charter school teachers. I proposed a bill this session to close the fingerprinting loophole and protect our students, but unfortunately the majority party refused to even give it a hearing.
“…allowing inaccurate representations of history into Arizona classrooms does students a disservice, and will put them at an academic disadvantage later in life.”
Our students deserve a historically accurate education.
Every day, 106 lives are lost due to gun violence. Even out canvassing, I
#WearOrange
on National Gun Violence Awareness Day to raise awareness because we need to make our communities safer from gun violence by passing common sense gun safety measures.
Thank you Senator
@MitziEpstein
for your legislation.
This bill will “help prevent ‘the mortification of a 13 year old being caught off guard and needing access to such products.’”
Universal school vouchers are expected to cost almost $1 billion next year. We need common sense accountability to protect our state's financial future so we can continue to invest in public safety, affordable housing, and water.
I
#WearOrange
on National Gun Violence Awareness Day because more than 100 lives are lost and more than 200 people are injured by gun violence every day. We need common sense gun safety measures to keep our communities safe.
So to put this another way...schools and districts that take care of their medically fragile students and staff, by following science, are being penalized.
@NicholasFerroni
I'm an Az State Senator & still a teacher (part time now); my legislative colleagues heard the consequences of this bill...but they don't care. This was just one bill in a focused attack on AZ public schools. Our students will ultimately pay the price of these foolish choices.
Today marks my 32nd first day of school as a teacher. It’s a great feeling to be back in the classroom, helping to ensure that our students get the education they deserve.
Arizona is the No. 1 global pandemic hot spot, according to today’s New York Times. This is not bad luck; Arizona is suffering from policy decisions. Arizona is a hot spot because current leadership prioritizes politics over data.
Arizona has had more new virus cases (per capita) over the last week than any country in the world.
Here's a ranking that treats each U.S. state as a country:
1. Arizona
2. Florida
3. S. Carolina
4. Bahrain
5. Louisiana
6. Qatar
7. Oman
For more:
As a teacher, getting an F is normally a bad thing. I consider this F a badge of honor as I work towards common sense gun safety measures supported by the vast majority of Arizonans.
I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving filled with gratitude & love.
I celebrated by running the Turkey Trot 5K put on by AZ Road Racers. It's the slowest race I've ever run in 41 years, but it's also the only race I've ever run while undergoing chemo,so I'll count my blessings.
Thank you so much,
@kyrstensinema
, for your support! It’s such an honor to have you with us working to move our state forward.
(And, as a runner, your Ironman record is a SERIOUS inspiration!)
Thank you. Thank you for sharing your stories with us at the doors and over the phones, and thank you to everyone who helped us tell ours. Let's get to work.
I was glad to join Governor Hobbs for the signing of the repeal of Arizona’s territorial era abortion ban so quickly. I’m proud that legislative Democrats were able to work so quickly to repeal this arcane ban.
I am disappointed the Arizona Department of Education chose to threaten schools for offering bilingual education opportunities to help those learning English.
“We can argue the merits of school choice, and if the state had sufficient funding to support two different systems, there might not be much argument about the issue.”
Our state cannot afford to fund two separate school systems.
Our students suffer the consequences of underfunding (our kids gets $5000 less than kids in the average state); it's time to invest in them.
"Instead, our legislators are being asked to vote for a budget that continues to shortchange our children."
We are already facing crisis-level teacher shortage.
It's worth nothing that the teacher shortage is not an accident; it's the result of many years of intentional decisions by our legislature.
It doesn't have to be this way.
On this Roe Day, 50 years after Roe v Wade was decided, Arizonans abortion rights remain under attack. I will work to make sure that all Arizonans have access to the fundamental right to choose.
Five years ago, I joined my fellow teachers in walking out because our students deserve fully funded classrooms and teachers deserve better pay.
#RedForEd
This week, I reintroduced legislation requiring educators who have contact with minors at schools accepting ESA voucher money have a valid fingerprint clearance card.
Last year, a similar bill of mine never received a hearing because the majority party refused to do so.
Our meetings need to be accessible to everyone, particularly when we’re dealing with legislation that directly affects the ability of deaf and blind Arizonans to access education. Not having services so they can participate is unacceptable.
🚨 ARIZONA: Senate Republicans are moving forward to cut down the 8yr continuation of the AZ State School for the Deaf and Blind...
We are in a surprise caucus today. The community was given no time to address this and no translation services will be provided.
#ASDB
#azleg
It doesn't have to be this way:
School boards are exploring "scenarios on how they would handle a 16% budget cut beginning in March. Options are limited, school officials say, and most certainly would include larger class sizes, layoffs and likely an early end to a school year."
Today is National Overdose Awareness Day.
Two years ago, I lost my son to a fentanyl overdose. Since then, I've been fighting to prevent as many parents as possible from having to experience that tragedy.
It was great to talk with
@shannonrwatts
and local Moms Demand Action volunteers today about how we can work together to keep our communities safe from gun violence.
"Focus on that handful of districts where an upset may be possible. Among them: Districts 6 (northern Arizona), 8 (Pinal County), 17 (Chandler), 21 (Peoria). 28 (Paradise Valley)." Let's get this done, folks! Join me; join us.
Did you know that despite making up nearly half the Arizona Senate, less than 15% of Democrats bills actually received a hearing?
We have good ideas to address short term rentals, support public education, and protect the freedom to vote but our proposals are rarely considered.
🚨 There he goes again! Horne defends SEI like it's a relic from ancient times. Newsflash: Language education has evolved! 🌐👀 Read more about why
@RealTomHorne
is WRONG about Dual Language Immersion: via
@azcentral
Remember this...he "followed every law and every contract" to make his millions. It should be criminal to make money on the backs of kids. But it's not. We need to change the laws, which will happen only when we change the balance of power at the Capitol.
The teacher shortage in Arizona reached a new high, with nearly 1/3 of teaching positions left vacant one month into the school year. Half of Arizona teachers are employed under alternative pathways, and only 17% are formally certified to teach.
Story⬇️
Thank you
@AZSenateDems
. I consider it an honor and a privilege to serve students within the four walls of my classroom while also serving in the AZ State Senate.
Yesterday, I ran the Women’s Health 5K and took 1st place in my age group! This year, proceeds will benefit diabetes prevention education through Sun Health Wellness.
BREAKING Maricopa County judge strikes down Arizona ban on face-mask mandates as unconstitutional. Ban was to have taken effect Wednesday. Ruling affects several other pending laws.
I’m disappointed that my bill was pulled from committee today, but hopeful it will be added for a future week. The bill simply requires that all schools receiving public money fingerprint their staff for the safety of our students.
BILL UPDATE: Senator
@ChristinePMarsh
’s SB1266 has been pulled from the
#AZSenateEducation
committee.
Make your voice heard & stand up for accountability!
Our schools get near-the-bottom-of-the-nation funding, but we're ranked at roughly 36 in the nation in terms of NAEP scores. We get, as the saying goes, a lot of bang for our buck...But imagine where our scores might be if our funding wasn't at the bottom of the nation.
Not calling a special session is a betrayal of our students and our schools. It’s also a betrayal of the legislators who voted for a less-than-ideal budget with the promise that there would be a special session to address the AEL.
Senator Marsh: “The legislature and Gov Ducey are refusing to allow schools to spend money we already gave them… Phoenix Union would lose $56 million… Scottsdale Unified would lose $28 million… it’s time for Governor Ducey to step up…”
@12News