Happy Friday! The Governor continues her work on signing or vetoing different pieces of legislation, and the pen was certainly active this week on various different education bills. ASBA continues to deliver timely updates on education bills making their way to the Governor’s desk, so read on to find out what has happened to some of the most important educational bills this session!

Secretary of Health RFK. Jr. Visits AZ, Discusses School Health Bills

This week, Arizona lawmakers sent two nutrition-focused bills to Governor Katie Hobbs’ desk, aligning with U.S. Secretary of Health Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. House Bill 2164 is supported on a broadly bipartisan basis and would aim to remove ultraprocessed foods from school lunches.

Specifically, HB 2164 would ban the serving, selling, or third-party sale of ultraprocessed foods on school campuses. The measure calls for a list of restricted ingredients—including artificial dyes, additives, and preservatives—to be codified in state law. Schools would be required to confirm compliance with the Arizona Department of Education and have this list publicly posted. The law would go into effect starting in the 2026–2027 school year. However, the bill passed without funding to cover the additional costs for students in the free and reduced-price lunch program, a key point of concern for Democrats.

Despite the divide, bill sponsor Rep. Leo Biasiucci, Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp, and Secretary Kennedy praised the measure as the beginning of a broader effort to remove processed and sugary foods from schools and public assistance. “It’s happening at the grassroots,” Kennedy said. “People are saying we are not going to take it anymore. We are not going to be mass poisoned.”

SB 1050 is Vetoed

This week, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed Senate Bill 1050, rejecting its proposed changes to the Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET) program as potentially harmful to Arizona’s economic growth. The bill, sponsored by Senator Vince Leach, aimed to increase K–12 classroom funding by removing property tax exemptions for school-designated revenues within the GPLET framework. Senator Leach and supporters argued the change would ensure that school districts receive a greater share of tax revenue from developments on government-leased land.

Hobbs countered that the bill could deter economic development by making Arizona less attractive to private investors who benefit from current GPLET incentives. In her short one sentence veto message she stated that SB 1050 “has the potential to stunt Arizona’s economic development and negatively affect opportunity in the state.”

Senator Leach criticized the veto as contradictory to Hobbs’ stated commitment to increasing public education funding. He called the decision “a missed opportunity” and suggested it was driven more by partisanship than policy. “Governor Hobbs continuously preaches she wants more money for public schools,” Leach said, “but when my bill to provide just that was sent to her desk, her response didn’t match her constant virtue signaling.”

With her veto of SB 1050, Governor Hobbs reaffirmed her stance on preserving the GPLET program’s economic incentives, even amid calls from Republican lawmakers to redirect more funds toward Arizona classrooms.

SB1447 is Signed into Law

Further this week, Arizona leaders praised the passage and signing of Senate Bill 1437, a new law that strengthens the state’s response to child abuse by creating clearer rules for reporting and investigation. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell and other political figures across the state applauded the bill’s passage, calling it a critical move to ensure that abuse cases are handled properly and that children are better protected throughout the investigative process. The bill, sponsored by Senator Carine Werner, expands the list of mandatory reporters to include substitute teachers and school board members, ensuring that more adults in school settings are legally required to report suspected abuse.

SB 1437 establishes that school employees must report abuse directly to law enforcement and the Arizona Department of Child Safety — simply notifying a school resource officer is no longer sufficient. It also requires that alleged victims be interviewed by trained forensic professionals rather than school faculty, a change intended to reduce errors that can prevent prosecutions.

In cases where abuse involves school employees or contractors, the law mandates reporting to the Arizona State Board of Education within 72 hours. The bill also expands whistleblower protections for educators and school staff who report allegations of abuse in good faith.

Many Education Bills remain to be Signed

We have already seen the Governor’s pen be active in both executive aspects of the legislative process this week, and there remains many more education bills passed by the legislature for her to sign in the coming weeks. Some that were passed this week that await her signature are S/E: HB 2058 school immunizations; exemption; adult students (now: immunizations; proof; exemptions; higher education) (Fink), HB 2062 sex-based terms; laws; rules; regulations (Fink), HB 2063 parental notification; school immunization exemptions (Fink), HB 2164 public schools; ultraprocessed foods (Biasiucci), HB 2484 School policies; internet; wireless devices (Pingerelli), HB 2514 notices; directory information; disclosure; consent (Olson).