AZEDNEWS update for May 3

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FEATURED STORY

Legislature approves budget, including teacher pay increase

The Arizona Legislature approved the budget just after 9 a.m. today. The House and Senate will reconvene this afternoon at 1:30, and legislators hope to end the session for the year some time tonight. The Arizona Senate passed the K-12 education portion of the $10.4 billion budget and Gov. Doug Ducey signed it early Thursday morning, while the House of Representatives continued to discuss bills for several more hours. Read story

Vote on School Tuition Organization voucher bill may happen later today

Senators and Representatives may vote later today on a bill that would lower the cap on corporate STO contributions while at the same time allowing some families whose children are currently attending a private school and who have never attended public schools to take part in ESAs and receive public money for tuition. Legislators may also repeal last year’s universal voucher expansion which would negate Prop. 305, the grassroots push for permanent repeal that’s now scheduled to go before voters in the fall. Watch proceedings live at 1:30 p.m. on Arizona Capitol Television

Teachers rally, meet with legislators and attend hearings during budget process (+ Slideshows and Podcast)

About 10,000 educators and their supporters met legislators Monday as they returned to the capitol to work on the budget. #RedForEd and #MarchForOurLives supporters also attended budget hearings on Tuesday as the Arizona Legislature worked on the budget bills. Read story. listen to podcast and view slideshows

Teacher goes beyond the lesson

Rachel Perugini, an English teacher at Flagstaff High School, noticed that her students sometimes would get fidgety in class so she found a contest online that if won would provide stand-up desks for her classroom. Read more