In a contentious, late-night session on Saturday, June 15, 2024, the Arizona state legislature finally passed a bill (Senate Bill 1457) that allows remote testing for online students.

Remote testing has been a top priority for our parent coalition, Arizona Parents for Education, for years now. Similar to past legislative efforts, this was no easy task. The bill failed on the first vote, but our lobbying team, coalition director, and parents pulled together, and put pressure on the legislature to bring it up for reconsideration. In an ironic twist, we were successful in getting a legislator who voted "no" on the bill to bring it back! Later in the evening, we were told by staff that the bill for reconsideration was dead and there would be no chance of revival. But, in typical fashion, strange things happen in the legislative process, especially towards the end of session, and our bill made it back to the floor for a vote. Parents stepped up, called, and emailed their state representatives and we were able to flip a handful of votes and get the measure passed with 35-20 (with 5 abstentions)!

The bill immediately went back to the state Senate in the middle of all-out political fights about the budget. We were told by staff getting our bill even heard on the floor would be next to impossible. Well, the impossible happened and our bill passed 29-ZERO (with 1 abstention).

Now, we await signnature by Governor Katie Hobbs. We’re keeping the pressure on the governor and her staff to make the case as to why allowing remote testing for our students is the right thing to do.

We're so close to making this bill a reality. We cannot thank the parents enough for their advocacy on this critical issue. And on behalf of the coalition team, we thank the parents for their patience during this rambunctious legislative session.

-Chad Willems, Arizona Parents for Education Coalition Manager