In January of 2024, Governor Hobbs led the full-fledged attack against Education Freedom in Arizona. On January 2, 2024, Governor Hobbs announced her proposal to hyper-regulate private schools and restrict Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. The first attempt at her “death by a thousand cuts” attack on Education Freedom. On January 12th, Governor Hobbs added to her initial threats by proposing a total repeal of tax credits (STOs), buried in slides 49 and 50 of her Executive Budget. As of January 29th, Governor Hobbs endorsed the total repeal of Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. Arizona’s Education Freedom is well under attack.
With each attack, The Love Your School League presses back for the sake of Education Freedom, not only for Arizona but for every other state looking to pass an Education Savings Account. If Arizona falls, we all fall.
On January 3rd, the Love Your School League issued an immediate press release in support of Education Freedom. That same week, Love Your School League rallied 50 families in 3 days notice to rally at the Capitol for Governor Hobbs’s State of the State Address, and received over 10,000 signatures on the Defending Education Freedom Love Your School Letter. On February 13th, the Love Your School League mobilized 550 families in 24 hours. The families called and emailed in light of bill 1354. With a 4-3 vote, the League mobilized, the bill did not pass through committee and private schools remained free from hyper-regulation. With over 670 parents mobilized under the League within two months along with over 15,600 new HubSpot CRM contacts of concerned parents and citizens, the Love Your School League is actively mobilizing to defend Education Freedom. Newsletters are distributed weekly to give parents step-by-step instructions on how to advocate for a free Arizona. The League empowers families to find and connect with their legislators, share their stories on the LYS platform(s), and attend Education Freedom training and advocacy events.
We are on the front lines, fighting for education freedom for Arizona families – and continuing our regular parent concierge support work alongside it!
The Love Your School League is gearing up for the fight to defend Education Freedom in 2024 and the years to come. The League launched DefendingEducationFreedom.com and Defending Ed Freedom social media accounts with the goal to gain 1,000 followers in the first 6 months. Defending Education Freedom will provide parents with a “one-stop-shop” resource data bank of all essential, up-to-date information needed to defend Education Freedom such as articles, research, white papers, podcasts, graphics, and fact sheets, to promote parent advocacy and be one-step-ahead of the attacks against Education Freedom. The Defending Education Freedom platform will help identify advocates in two ways:
1) Those who are interested in learning about Education Freedom will interact with the website and social media platforms
2) Parents are empowered to mobilize when they are provided accurate advocacy information.
We are growing fast. Demand for our parental support and advocacy exceeds our current capacity. With Arizona under attack, the prospects for future ESA and school choice programs across the country grow ever weaker. Love Your School is the leading actor fighting against these attacks. If you are interested in learning more about the Love Your School League advocacy efforts email [email protected].
Let’s defend not only Arizona’s Education Freedom, but the nation’s, together!
