A bill that would allow chaplains to volunteer in public schools is moving through the Arizona Legislature. The bill passed through the House on a party-line vote.
Senate Bill 1269 would allow parents to give written permission for their children to see a chaplain on campus. House Republican Matt Gress supports the measure.
"We've heard that from our constituents all along is that we want parents to have a greater say in their child's education and their child's well-being," Gress said.
The bill would require a school principal to ensure that each volunteer school chaplain meets certain requirements, including fingerprinting. Schools would also maintain a list of approved volunteer chaplains. Democrats opposed the measure.
"We are creating a loophole for clergy who are not held to the same standards, high standards, as our educators or any other school personnel," said Democrat Stephanie Stahl Hamilton.
The measure now goes back to the Senate.
-
A new audit finds the state Department of Corrections may have unlawfully spent more than $50 million from an opioid settlement. -
The Trump administration has launched an online resource hub for new and expectant mothers. The majority of pregnancy centers that the website recommends in Arizona do not offer abortion services. -
The city of Phoenix has launched a multilingual platform where residents can report concerns or incidents related to federal law enforcement activity within the city. The Federal Enforcement Complaint Reporting Portal is available at the Community Transparency Initiative webpage. -
State auditors identified a litany of issues with Arizona’s $1 billion school voucher program that they say could put public dollars at risk. -
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called the recent reports from CNN and the New York Times “a fiction the size of the universe.”
