No piece of legislation is absolutely dead — until after the end of session.
A proposal that opponents said would stifle critical thinking in the classroom failed to advance in the Arizona Senate one day but was revived and got the approval of committee members the very next day.
The content of the failed bill was placed onto S1542. Students spoke against the proposal but failed to convince members of the government committee to reject it.
The measure sponsored by Sen. Thayer Verschoor, R-22, received a 4-3 recommendation and would now go to the full Senate for approval.
“I will vote yes to get this out of committee, but there’s a whole lot that needs to be cleaned up in this,” said Sen. Linda Gray, R-10.
Gray made the same comment when she also supported the original bill but emphasized that the measure needed a lot of work, expressing doubts whether it could still be salvaged.
The Arizona Capitol Times failed to reach Verschoor for comment.
The bill prohibits a list of activities by teachers, such as endorsing particular political views, laws or politicians when acting in their official capacity.
A violation could result in a disciplinary action or suspension.
Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor, D-16, said during the Senate K-12 Committee on Feb. 14 that the bill has too many loopholes, an assessment shared by senators in the Republican and Democratic caucuses.
In that committee, the bill went down 2-5, with those who supported it registering strong reservations.
Sen. Charlene Pesquiera, D-26, said she took into consideration her son’s experience when assessing the bill’s merits.
“I think the greatest thing is debate and learning differences and I think taking that away is not something that I particularly favor,” she said.
Another lawmaker said an open dialogue is essential in a classroom and that children learn to articulate themselves, among many other ways, by disagreeing with teachers’ viewpoints.
“This bill is out there directed at those who want to use the classroom as a pulpit to advance their own political agenda,” Verschoor said in committee.
He related a story about how his daughter, then in grade school, was told by her teacher to write a letter to a state senator urging the passage of a certain bill.
“The classroom isn’t a place where you should be saying this person or this elected official or this law is a good law or a bad law….” he said.
But while Verschoor said he is willing to work on the bill to plug its holes, his colleagues appeared largely unimpressed.
During the discussion, Landrum Taylor asked if the bill would no longer permit schools to write letters to legislators discussing pieces of legislation, noting that senators regularly receive a large number of such letters.
“I think if they’re advocating, I do think that’s a problem,” Verschoor said.
While Sen. Tom O’Halleran, R-1, agreed that teachers should not be promoting their political views in certain environments, he said the bill as written would affect even sporting events and class tours.
O’Halleran told the Arizona Capitol Times after the hearing that the bill was too broad and that it would even touch on trips to the museum, where the history of a political party might be discussed.
Current laws
Under current laws, a teacher in his or her official capacity is barred from using school resources to influence the outcome of elections. The teacher is also prohibited from providing pupils with written materials to influence the outcome of polls or to advocate support or opposition to laws or pending legislations.
Policies also exist touching on participation in political activities.
The bill prohibits a K-12, university or community college instructor acting in official capacity from endorsing, supporting or opposing 1) elected or appointed officials and electoral candidates; 2) pending, proposed or enacted laws; or, 3) federal litigations or judicial actions.
It also bars a teacher from engaging in any activities that hamper or impede access of military recruiters to the campus.