Arizona Republican lawmakers approved a measure that critics worry could heighten discrimination against trans students, based on the argument that keeping trans students separated from their peers preserves modesty and keeps women safe. Read more»

Democratic legislators are working to bring free period products to Arizona public middle and high schools, but detractors say those products are already offered to students free of charge — if they go to the nurse’s office and ask for them, and the school has a nurse. Read more»

Guns would make it onto Arizona school campuses and into lesson plans under Republican-backed proposals that are echoes of legislation that was rejected last year. Read more»

Concerns that a proposal seeking to restrict drag shows could lead to the criminalization of transgender Arizonans were ignored by Republican lawmakers on Thursday, who defended their approval of the bill by equating drag with pedophilia and calling it “evil” that must be stamped out. Read more»

Parents who decide to sue teachers for lessons they perceive as violating their parental rights wouldn’t have to pay up if their lawsuit fails under a Republican-backed proposal that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Read more»

A bill that would establish manufacturing fentanyl around a minor younger than 12 as a dangerous crime, and, according to some, would decrease the amount in a person’s possession that could land them a charge for intent to sell, passed its first hurdle to become Arizona law. Read more»

An Arizona Senate bill would prohibit school employees and contractors from referring to students younger than 18 by pronouns not aligned with their biological sex and calling students names that aren’t their given name or a derivative nickname without permission from parents. Read more»

Arizona Democrats and public education advocates are urging Gov. Ducey and his fellow Republicans in the state Legislature to keep their promise to lift the state’s annual school spending cap, allowing districts across the state to spend around $1.3 billion already allocated to them. Read more»

A Republican bill sponsored by Rep. Quang Nguyen that would require a National Rifle Association gun safety course for Arizona middle and high school students is now one vote away from Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk. Read more»

An Arizona Senate committee approved a bill that would prohibit public schools from referring "sexually explicit" material to children without the consent of parents, despite objections that the legislation could prevent classical texts and other enhancing forms of literature from being taught. Read more»

Citing a need for academic transparency, Senate Republicans on Monday approved a bill that would require teachers to post all their lesson plans and materials online for parental review, despite some reservations. Read more»

Schools would be required to publicly post every new book bought for their libraries, have elected governing board members approve all new book purchases and let parents know every book their child checks out under a proposal Senate Republicans advanced Tuesday. Read more»

Arizona landscapes would have a better chance of ending up on the silver screen under a legislative proposal to lure production companies to the Grand Canyon State with $150 million in tax credits that the Senate has approved. Read more»

Arizona high school graduates would be eligible for in-state tuition and public financial aid at state universities and colleges, even if they are undocumented, under a proposal that won approval Wednesday in a legislative committee. Read more»

Following the initial count of early ballots received before Election Day, Democrats led in a handful of key legislative districts for control of both the House of Representatives and Senate. Democrats need net gains of two seats in the House and three in the Senate to take control of the chambers. Read more»