tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4708604233117976332024-03-05T01:37:14.743-08:00White Hat Research and Policy GroupWhite Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-52656908429495082562021-01-25T11:54:00.001-08:002021-01-25T11:56:19.241-08:00Naloxone 101<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvesChAukZTQWx0R0a0w9u5MsNBoMtv3K6i8LwbpAO1LI9uRlAFrOCbZDDlCR4wlGrOSW5CkRDYs7OtkpcgkxR56Q2HTJP0I2U44uQLo8fyVe1iRmjrIkWShlQi_hl6Hmr0w7F1CKI1PY/s768/narcan-spray-768x512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvesChAukZTQWx0R0a0w9u5MsNBoMtv3K6i8LwbpAO1LI9uRlAFrOCbZDDlCR4wlGrOSW5CkRDYs7OtkpcgkxR56Q2HTJP0I2U44uQLo8fyVe1iRmjrIkWShlQi_hl6Hmr0w7F1CKI1PY/s320/narcan-spray-768x512.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Written By: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Nikki Lewis</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;">, MPP, MSW</span></i></p><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Arizona’s Opioid Epidemic</span></span></h2><span id="docs-internal-guid-86e0bb22-7fff-b81b-f2b6-44a31882a2fc"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Opioid addiction and overdose is a nationwide epidemic, hitting the state of Arizona hardest over the last decade. This issue is not isolated to those experiencing homelessness or abusing illegal substances such as heroin, but spans the state’s population. Overdoses can happen to those experiencing chronic pain who take increasing doses of pain medication, veterans and others coping with the effects of trauma, and young people experimenting with substances. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The AZ Department of Health Services (AZDHS) estimates that there have been over 47,000 suspected opioid overdoses in Arizona from June 2017 to July 2020, resulting in approximately 6,500 deaths</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2017, Governor Doug Ducey declared a public health emergency in response to increasing numbers of fatal overdoses.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The emergency declaration urged first responders to learn how to administer and carry naloxone and set in motion a state-wide response to the epidemic. While the state of emergency was officially called to an end in May 2018, Arizona continues to address the high rate of overdoses.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><h4 style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">What is Naloxone</span></span></h4><div><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Naloxone, also known as Narcan®, is a drug used to treat the effects of opioids and opiates and can quickly reverse overdoses. Opiates are substances derived from the naturally occurring poppy plant, such as morphine, while opioids is a generic term for both natural and synthetic substances, such as OxyContin.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Both substances react similarly in the body and the terms are often used interchangeably. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An opioid overdose occurs when the body is overloaded with too many drug molecules. Opioid molecules fit precisely into the brain receptors that control breathing. When too many of those receptors are occupied by drug molecules, the body slows and stops breathing. This can be reversed by administering naloxone, which rapidly knocks the drug molecules off the receptors and takes their place, essentially putting the body in a state of withdrawal. Naloxone can last anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours and causes no harm to someone who does not have opioids in their system. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Naloxone can be administered in one of three methods, depending on the packaging:</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Via an injection directly into the person’s muscle, typically the upper thigh or upper arm</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Via a nasal mist, similar to common allergy medications</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Via an injection directly into the vein</span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Administration methods 1 and 2 are the most common and can be done outside of a hospital setting, while method 3 is reserved for licensed healthcare professionals.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From June 2017 to July 2020, over 27,000 doses of naloxone have been administered throughout the state</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><h4 style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Arizona EMS Usage of Naloxone</span></span></h4><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The state continues to explore new ways to tackle the opioid epidemic, including utilization by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies. While Emergency Medical Care Technicians (EMCTs) have long carried naloxone for usage in the field, the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. § 36-2266) now permit Arizona EMS agencies to participate in a naloxone leave behind program</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Any EMCT from a participating agency who has responded to an opioid-related overdose may leave behind a pre-packaged intranasal naloxone kit. Having naloxone on hand is hugely beneficial for the safety of those struggling with substance use disorder. In further effort to increase prevention, the AZDHS and the University of Arizona Center for Rural Health have trained 6 EMS agencies on screening, brief intervention, the referral to treatment model as well as offering free naloxone training to first responders</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">,</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the current legislative session, two parallel bills, SB1250 in the Senate and HB2625 in the House, would allow local governments and health departments to develop an overdose and disease prevention program which would include Naloxone training. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While EMS agencies across the state are expanding their efforts well beyond utilizing naloxone in the field, efforts are slowly being put in place to increase the number of law enforcement agencies that also carry it. There are 141 law enforcement agencies across Arizona, all with unique policies and approaches for the use of naloxone. In a future post we will dig deeper into the trends around the current use, results, and barriers related to law enforcement use of naloxone. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To find out where to access Naloxone in your area, you can use this </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://spwaz.org/arizonanaloxone/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">resource from Sonoran Prevention Works.</a></span></p><div><br /></div></span>White Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-46191668489742377532020-07-06T17:56:00.007-07:002020-07-06T18:05:40.013-07:00Arizona, take the lead in educational equity<span id="docs-internal-guid-3959c632-7fff-9b3e-6d3d-2df841b848ae"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIjq25E1mbgAbM9pOvBj_nz4SOukMuIU4BwFjNw4pTv94GQoSMbFmyZKGTSYL4OexSs9pU864BQJY5mh1hheyf_gVzAjATeCRqmrM3WsnOMRT9-OcCNcqD1qnnrqGyLxU9Klsr92FBP8/s2889/auditorium-benches-chairs-class-207691.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2063" data-original-width="2889" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIIjq25E1mbgAbM9pOvBj_nz4SOukMuIU4BwFjNw4pTv94GQoSMbFmyZKGTSYL4OexSs9pU864BQJY5mh1hheyf_gVzAjATeCRqmrM3WsnOMRT9-OcCNcqD1qnnrqGyLxU9Klsr92FBP8/s320/auditorium-benches-chairs-class-207691.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">Written By: Alexis Polokoff</span></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The allure of charter schools has hoodwinked many to think they increase equity by giving marginalized groups better school choices while increasing efficiency in fitting the right school to the right student. Theory does not translate to reality when it comes to charter schools. Data that reveal the racial disparities among student groups in different schools are not what is “naturally efficient.” These statistics are the result of information asymmetry, inaccessibility due to resource barriers (such as transportation and language), and charter cherry-pickers. Read Bergman and McFarlin’s </span><a href="https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/13007/education-for-all-a-nationwide-audit-study-of-school-choice#:~:text=A%20Nationwide%20Audit%20Study%20of%20School%20Choice,-Peter%20Bergman%2C%20Isaac&text=School%20choice%20may%20allow%20schools,perceived%20as%20costlier%20to%20educate.&text=We%20find%20that%20schools%20are,or%20a%20significant%20special%20need." style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Education For All? A Nationwide Audit Study of School Choice” </span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(2020) for more on these actions. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reality is that many of the best charter schools engage in manipulative enrollment actions, from who and how they promote enrollment, to telling parents of costlier students, “I just don’t think our school is the right fit for your child.” Due to charter schools sharing the same pool of state funding as district public schools, district public schools are left with less funding. When you look at who is left in the immensely underfunded and under-resourced public schools, you will find a greater number of students of color. These students are generally from families of low socioeconomic backgrounds and need more learning supports than their wealthier peers. Counterintuitively, these students receive an even smaller slice of the education funding pie had there not been charter schools to funnel away money. That is a form of institutionalized racism.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are a few questions to consider: How do people learn to accept and ignore systemic social problems? Where do people learn to stereotype and stigmatize others? When do people learn about their identities and role in society?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One system that plays a significant role in the answer to these questions is the education system. In spite of the enticing ideal of equal educational opportunity in the United States, inequities have run amuck through the system. Arizona’s education system does not fare well when it comes to educational equity. Some quick facts:</span></p><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Arizona consistently remains in the bottom 5-10% of states when it comes to per pupil spending. </span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of all 50 states, Arizona has the highest percentage of students (around 17%) enrolled in charter schools.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">White and Asian students attend charter schools at a higher rate than Hispanics.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In “rigorous” and “progressive” charter schools, Hispanic students are disproportionately represented at a low 30%.</span></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although only about 40% of Arizona’s students are white, white teachers make up 75% of the teacher demographic in the state. </span></p></li></ul><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During a time of remote learning, increasing COVID-19 cases in Arizona, and an uncertain, new school year beginning in the fall, Arizona policymakers need to develop an education stimulus package for Arizona’s public education system that builds on existing district public schools and does not empower the inequitable charter movement. A policy window is open and Arizona legislators must act on it. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the time to authentically and holistically invest in public education. Education funding must increase dramatically and be utilized effectively based on best practices in professional development, social and emotional learning supports, personalized learning, social work collaboration, and specialized staff. If we don’t, not only will the education system continue to segregate and decrease equitable learning for students in Arizona, but Arizona will face a steep economic plunge that will last at least until our current school-aged children are mid-career. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="442" src="https://docs.google.com/drawings/u/0/d/sfChv7AEbAh1Ah2u2XY49uA/image?w=341&h=442&rev=1&ac=1&parent=1IyAf4ehfd2zL3fukl0xKV_r-vgP6V286KIwiYDktKzI" style="border: none;" width="341" /></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Other informative sources:</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A study that reveals charter school responses to market pressures are not always efficient or equitable: </span><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0162373715577447" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Every Kid is Money”: Market-Like Competition and School Leader Strategies in New Orleans</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Huriya Jabbar</span></p></li></ul><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A study of Arizona’s charter school representation: </span><a href="https://azcir.org/news/2016/02/12/arizona-school-ethnicity-disparity-charter-district/#:~:text=Forty%2Dseven%20percent%20of%20the,black%20and%2078%20percent%20Hispanic." style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Arizona school data shows uneven distribution of ethnic groups”</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Griselda Nevarez and Evan Wyloge</span></p></li></ul><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><li dir="ltr" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A succinct blog post by the Learning Policy Institute regarding racism in schools and ways to mitigate this type of institutionalized racism: </span><a href="https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/racial-justice-educational-equity" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How Will Each of Us Contribute to Racial Justice and Educational Equity Now?” </span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">by Linda Darling-Hammond and Janel George</span></p></li></ul></span>White Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-80093393028955562942020-03-19T08:00:00.002-07:002020-05-26T11:43:37.029-07:00Coronavirus and the Need for Broad-Based Solutions<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryYs4lFk-CcCFZwSRVSEygSNwzFwZgyetTKWWRk8J-r6pMoeLBsf6LF4Wcuq25441H-ou7zPEbfaQntUP0lZ2cVtVm2aB7OoNtVcbKAUcTLUWBxbF4WtkATi2tf6hPPIAoNXj1YMY528/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjryYs4lFk-CcCFZwSRVSEygSNwzFwZgyetTKWWRk8J-r6pMoeLBsf6LF4Wcuq25441H-ou7zPEbfaQntUP0lZ2cVtVm2aB7OoNtVcbKAUcTLUWBxbF4WtkATi2tf6hPPIAoNXj1YMY528/s320/aa8f2032-0b1c-44dd-b597-4c0810d98d37.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">In the last week or so, the growing threat of the coronavirus pandemic has touched the lives of everyone in Arizona and across the country in some way. From shortages at the grocery store to school cancellations to uncertainty about Arizona’s Presidential Preference Election, virtually no aspect of American life has gone untouched. This is a scary and uncertain time, and none of us knows the answer to what lies ahead of us, but one thing is clear: this national and worldwide crisis has underscored the need for progressive, broad-based solutions to the various problems facing our state, our country, and the world because there is no such thing as a single-issue problem. We are deeply interconnected and so are our problems. So our solutions need to be as well.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">When White Hat Research and Policy Group was founded, we identified six key areas which would be the focus of our research and policy solutions:</strong></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">Civic Engagement</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">Criminal Justice</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">Economic Development</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">Education</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">Human Resources</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">Technology & Innovation</strong></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">But in addition to focusing on these issues, WHRPG has also sought to investigate the intersections of these issues and the impact they have on each other. And there is no better example of the interconnectedness of these issues than our current crisis, which has touched all of them:</strong></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc"><span style="color: red;">Civic Engagement: </span>Worries about spreading coronavirus at polling sites, and a lack of poll workers and cleaning supplies, led Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes last week to take the drastic step of <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2020/03/13/maricopa-county-mailing-ballots-democratic-presidential-preference-tuesday-election-coronavirus/5044933002/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">mailing early voting ballots</a> to all voters, including those, not on the Permanent Early Voting List. This led to a chaotic fight with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, which ultimately shot down the plan. But Fontes’ move highlighted the need to move to all mail-in voting, which state Republicans have resisted because they fear making voting more accessible would disadvantage them at the polls.</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc"><span style="color: red;">Criminal Justice:</span> Incarcerated people and workers at jails and prisons are at high risk of coronavirus, especially in prisons in Arizona which already have substandard health and hygiene practices, as <a href="https://kjzz.org/content/1485691/attorneys-inmates-correctional-officers-say-arizona-prisons-not-ready-coronavirus" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">highlighted in a letter</a> to the Arizona Department of Corrections from the Prison Law Office last week.</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc"><span style="color: red;">Economic Development: </span>The coronavirus is expected to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/17/economy/global-recession/index.html" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">cause an economic recession</a> that equals if not surpasses that of the 2008 financial crisis. Arizona, like many Republican-controlled states, has had a rickety recovery over the last decade because of its focus on giveaways and tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy and a refusal to return funding for critical infrastructure, most notably education, to pre-2008 levels. Now, facing down another financial crisis, Arizona needs to develop real, progressive solutions for economic recovery which benefit the state as a whole, not just the wealthiest.</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc"><span style="color: red;">Education: </span>Speaking of education, Arizona’s notoriously underfunded education system is <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/news/continuing_coverage/coronavirus_coverage/arizona-schools-close-statewide-amid-coronavirus-outbreak/article_fb8ac574-670f-11ea-a276-03421aafcc83.html" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">currently shut down</a>, following an announcement by Governor Doug Ducey and Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman on Sunday night. Perhaps now, as the entire state realizes the importance of teachers and our public education system, we can start to genuinely rebuild this part of the state’s economic and intellectual infrastructure.</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc"><span style="color: red;">Human Resources: </span>This crisis is also going to critically stress the state’s fragile and underfunded <a href="https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2020/03/02/health-services-2021-budget-impact/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">social safety net services</a>, from hospitals to services for the homeless and unemployed. Now is the time to develop long-term solutions for these issues instead of being forced to fund them only in an emergency.</strong></p></li><li dir="ltr" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc"><span style="color: red;">Technology and Innovation: </span>It is becoming clear that a major driver of this crisis in the US and here in Arizona has been a <a href="https://www.abc15.com/news/coronavirus/lack-of-testing-for-covid-19-in-arizona-heres-what-we-know" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">severe lack of testing kits for the virus</a>. A confusing lack of communication between federal and state agencies and commercial labs has added to the problems. Governor Ducey and the Republican leadership in Arizona have long touted the state as being a business-friendly environment that allows experimentation and innovation. But in this moment of crisis, when bold solutions and innovation are needed, the system has failed. Ducey’s encouragement of “innovation” typically amounts to nothing more than removing regulations and giving tax breaks, so now we need to develop a framework for what real encouragement of innovation looks like.</strong></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-6e64c42c-7fff-f204-672d-50b1fbe140cc">This is a scary time, as it is exposing how many of our critical systems in the state and the country is severely broken and how dependent they are on one another. But this is also a time to develop big, long-term solutions for these problems so we can proactively attack the next crisis instead of having to react.</strong></p></div>White Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-12966404837483337472020-03-13T08:00:00.001-07:002020-05-26T11:43:43.794-07:00 Save Our Schools Act<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvBcyTG3UQasEA7zAs_mZep8iIA5UJVEcQirY0f4fd4OtSXUO1H-5dR2m3PXEqJHYciTL_FpY6-CYScA1Vt9Iz6TeCy4mhhUA_Xz0EbCs19oUDSvRjrRg0Vuwp95TlMeEwxe_IwVSpdE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQvBcyTG3UQasEA7zAs_mZep8iIA5UJVEcQirY0f4fd4OtSXUO1H-5dR2m3PXEqJHYciTL_FpY6-CYScA1Vt9Iz6TeCy4mhhUA_Xz0EbCs19oUDSvRjrRg0Vuwp95TlMeEwxe_IwVSpdE/" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><h1 style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5284bcdd-7fff-e777-175d-b04a00020585" style="font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Education has been the dominant issue in Arizona politics for the past several years and it looks to be so again this November. Supporters of the #RedForEd movement are currently collecting signatures for a new version of the <a href="https://azednews.com/new-invest-in-ed-initiative-announced-for-2020-ballot/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Invest in Ed ballot initiative</a> which failed to make the ballot in 2018 and which would raise taxes on high-income earners to fund public education. And then last week, <a href="https://sosarizona.org/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ)</a>, the group behind 2018’s successful defeat of Proposition 305, announced a new ballot initiative they are calling the <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2020/02/26/save-our-schools-act-block-arizona-school-vouchers-again/4881213002/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Save Our Schools Act</a>.</strong></h1></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial, "helvetica neue", helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5284bcdd-7fff-e777-175d-b04a00020585">Save Our Schools Arizona, if you will remember, is the grassroots group that was formed in 2017 to fight the Arizona legislature’s expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) school voucher program. The group got the 2017 voucher expansion referred to the ballot in 2018, where it was resoundingly defeated by nearly two-thirds of Arizona voters. But this defeat has not deterred Republican legislators, many with ties to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ pro-voucher group <a href="https://www.federationforchildren.org/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">American Federation for Children</a> (AFC), which have tried to sneak voucher expansions through in each of the last two legislative sessions. The current attempt would allow voucher money to be spent in out-of-state schools for the first time. </strong></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial, "helvetica neue", helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5284bcdd-7fff-e777-175d-b04a00020585">And so, tired of having to fight these bills one at a time like Whack-A-Mole, SOSAZ has decided to go on the offensive with the Save Our Schools Act, which would prevent the legislature from approving any ESA voucher expansions in the future. This type of forward-thinking offensive maneuver is what is needed in the fight against the privatization of education. As outlined in the <a href="https://mailchi.mp/whrpg/esa" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">white paper</a> on ESA voucher White Hat Research and Policy Group released last year, co-authored by SOSAZ Research Director Sharon Kirsch and Katrina Hanna, ESA vouchers are one part of a multi-decade incrementalist strategy by groups like AFC to drain public education of funding.</strong></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: arial, "helvetica neue", helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5284bcdd-7fff-e777-175d-b04a00020585">So if you want to know more about why the SOS Act is needed, I would recommend going back and reading that paper. It lays out the long-term strategy to expand vouchers little by little, in which the SOS Act would finally end. It will provide you with all of the backgrounds you will need to understand and explain the SOS Act to others over the next few months, as this is sure to be one of the hottest topics of the election season in Arizona.</strong></span></span></p></div>White Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-70553515042168622992020-02-18T07:00:00.002-08:002020-05-26T11:43:50.543-07:00Copy Cat Legislation <p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong><br /></strong></p><h1 style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BIEWeKLC7-Uve_2N24kO2H0FT_KXr94OqvUFPNlUm70Jyf-b2oMpzYQ5Lw7F7Ez7H07PkOuI64btV7erbesJMgdquW3fmQqqTZVSCezH1taW-ULNTO6D1j07X0A37U5HKY-PilIJ4Xw/" style="background-color: transparent; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BIEWeKLC7-Uve_2N24kO2H0FT_KXr94OqvUFPNlUm70Jyf-b2oMpzYQ5Lw7F7Ez7H07PkOuI64btV7erbesJMgdquW3fmQqqTZVSCezH1taW-ULNTO6D1j07X0A37U5HKY-PilIJ4Xw/" /></a></h1><div><br /></div><div><h1 style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></h1></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5172c5c2-7fff-0903-0890-8fff2ce4d0db">If you follow state-level politics, you are probably familiar with the idea of “model legislation.” This is when someone, usually a lobbying group or think tank, creates a bill that can be copied and pasted among legislators in varying states with little or no changes. The practice is most closely associated with the notorious conservative group the <a href="https://www.alec.org/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)</a>, which is known for writing bills and sending them home with legislators from their lavish retreats.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5172c5c2-7fff-0903-0890-8fff2ce4d0db">The practice of model legislation and its association with ALEC first gained mainstream attention in 2012 after the shooting of Trayvon Martin. When Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman, was initially not charged due to a law in Florida few people had heard of called “Stand Your Ground,” reporters and activists did some digging and discovered <a href="https://www.pfaw.org/blog-posts/alec-the-hidden-player-behind-stand-your-ground-laws/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Stand Your Ground laws had originated with ALEC and been passed in 24 states</a>.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5172c5c2-7fff-0903-0890-8fff2ce4d0db">ALEC’s model bills often serve two purposes. In the first case, these bills are simply designed to benefit the corporations which sustain ALEC through generous donations. For example, the rise of private prisons across the US (including here in Arizona) was due in large part to ALEC legislation that served to <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/hidden-history-alec-and-prison-labor/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">benefit ALEC members the Corrections Corporation of America</a> (now rebranded as CoreCivic) and other companies that profit from the prison industrial complex.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5172c5c2-7fff-0903-0890-8fff2ce4d0db">But many ALEC laws are even more insidious. They intentionally push radical conservative and libertarian ideologies with the purpose of testing out these radical ideas and essentially seeing what they can get away with. And while the popular idea of an ALEC model bill usually involves a hapless state legislator copying and pasting their name and state onto a document like a college freshman plagiarizing a term paper (<a href="https://publicintegrity.org/politics/state-politics/copy-paste-legislate/how-we-uncovered-10000-times-lawmakers-introduced-copycat-model-bills-and-why-it-matters/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">which does happen</a>), this model usually involves introducing similar but slightly different versions in states across the country. They know many of these radical bills, which often seek to fundamentally alter current understandings of Constitutional rights, will face legal challenges, and the changes allow conservative legal groups allied with ALEC, like Scottsdale’s <a href="https://www.adflegal.org/donate?mwm_id=245065286138&sourcecode=10006833&creative=245065286138&keyword=alliance%20defending%20freedom&matchtype=e&network=g&device=c&keyword=alliance%20defending%20freedom&e&g&245065286138&1t1&c&1013313781&50021261029&sourcecode=10006833&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkKnyBRDwARIsALtxe7hgyLrZ5ApkjIpjBtbIANotyEY2vj1GD5CtByB5rYfopJFivo8vhU8aAmH8EALw_wcB" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Alliance Defending Freedom</a>, to try out different strategies and see which bills can past muster with the courts. Instead of copying and pasting, it’s more like throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5172c5c2-7fff-0903-0890-8fff2ce4d0db">For example, ALEC was notoriously behind Arizona’s infamous SB 1070. And while much of the media coverage focused on how the bill helped ALEC’s sponsors in the private prison industry, it is also important to understand how the bill was a trial balloon for radical anti-immigrant policy. While most of SB 1070 was <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/s-b-1070-in-plain-english/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">gutted by the Supreme Court</a>, it also inspired <a href="https://www.facingsouth.org/2015/11/alecs-fingerprints-on-harsh-new-nc-immigration-law" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">similar but not identical bills around the country</a>, many of which have had more success in court. And of course, SB 1070 and other state-level attacks on immigration created fertile ground for President Trump’s 2016 anti-immigrant campaign.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5172c5c2-7fff-0903-0890-8fff2ce4d0db">And now things have come full circle as, with President Trump’s reelection campaign on the horizon, Governor Ducey and GOP legislators are pushing forward with a <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2020/02/13/sanctuary-city-bill-arizona-would-please-trump-but-what-cost/4753618002/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">state constitutional amendment banning “sanctuary cities,”</a> which immigrant rights activists are calling SB 1070 Version 2.0. And they are not wrong. The sanctuary city ban, while not in the original SB 1070, was a feature of many of the bills ALEC tried out and got passed in its wake. </strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5172c5c2-7fff-0903-0890-8fff2ce4d0db">And it is not just about immigration. Conservatives are also currently introducing slightly varying copycat legislation around the country attacking transgender youth, of which Sylvia Allen’s <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2020/01/27/gop-lawmakers-seek-transgender-ban-on-school-sports/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">controversial bill to ban trans youth</a> from school sports is just one. As <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/156539/new-anti-trans-culture-war-hiding-plain-sight" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">writer Sydney Bauer explained in the New Republic last week</a>, this is part of a “throw it against the wall” strategy to see what kinds of restrictions on the rights of trans youth will survive a court challenge.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5172c5c2-7fff-0903-0890-8fff2ce4d0db">The fight against reactionary legislation that attacks the rights of marginalized communities and benefits the wealthy and corporations is never about a single bill. It is about a long-term strategy on the other side and requires long-term strategic thinking from those of us who want to oppose it.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;">P.S <br />If you share this with that one person you never have anything to about with then you have something talk about. Problem Solved.</p>White Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-32646335946180328782020-01-28T10:28:00.002-08:002020-05-26T11:43:57.414-07:00Preemption Laws and the War on Arizona Cities<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLz8TwdgCFaJBZZq9h9k2mrWSQSWcwnZK9DnYzyjknXUhmqHagl5DGDhWAJFwqVsCGnTJG1FtbMiz04Cu3x2AHAQphEcrcUxIZU7e-7BTHKKs0WNnFHs0HhaqXZyWMd3JzyPgNApp26U/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLz8TwdgCFaJBZZq9h9k2mrWSQSWcwnZK9DnYzyjknXUhmqHagl5DGDhWAJFwqVsCGnTJG1FtbMiz04Cu3x2AHAQphEcrcUxIZU7e-7BTHKKs0WNnFHs0HhaqXZyWMd3JzyPgNApp26U/s320/411502b0-6ba3-49c8-9668-5dd77cf835d2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">Guns. The Border Wall. Sanctuary cities. Solid waste collection. Industrial hemp production. AirBnBs.</strong><br /> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">What does this seemingly random grab bag of issues have in common? Well so far into this young legislative session, they have all been at the center of the Republican-controlled state legislature’s ongoing war on Democratic-led cities such as Phoenix, Tucson, Tempe, and Flagstaff. And the Republican legislators’ weapon of choice is an obscure tool known as preemption law. </strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">As explained by <a href="https://slate.com/business/2016/09/how-alec-acce-and-pre-emptions-laws-are-gutting-the-powers-of-american-cities.html" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Henry Graber in Slate in 2016</a>, preemption laws, like so much state-level Republican legislation, is a brainchild of the notorious <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/04/exposing-alec-how-conservative-backed-state-laws-are-all-connected/255869/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)</a>, the corporate-backed think tank which provides Republican legislators with model legislation which serves the interests of its corporate and billionaire clients. And preemption laws are a particularly pernicious tool that can be applied to almost any conservative hobbyhorse and harm the ability of cities to make their own laws.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">It works like this. The state legislature in Arizona, like the majority of state legislature around the country, is controlled by Republicans. But many of Arizona’s largest and most important cities, including Phoenix, Tucson, Tempe, and Flagstaff, are Democratic strongholds with liberal mayors and city councils. This dynamic is similar around the country, where diverse cities are heavily Democratic while the more homogeneous suburbs and rural areas lean more Republican.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">This leads to a disconnect between the city and state levels on a variety of issues. To take one example, Phoenix, Tempe, and Tucson all score perfect 100s on the Human Rights Campaign <a href="https://www.hrc.org/resources/mei-2019-see-your-citys-score" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Municipal Equality Index</a> thanks to their city-level antidiscrimination policies for LGBTQ+ individuals, while Arizona, which lacks statewide protections for LGBTQ+ people, <a href="https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/SEI-2018-Arizona.pdf?_ga=2.140531508.701818586.1580148053-695226786.1580148053&_gac=1.257275513.1580148204.Cj0KCQiAsbrxBRDpARIsAAnnz_PhtRMRaiYpVEvXZbVTdjo4pjA9B_9PdyaAW3Z0hWitSzKoHBd3jL0aAp8-EALw_wcB" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">scores much lower</a>.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">Preemption laws, simply put, are designed to take away the power of liberal-leaning cities to pass laws that Republicans don’t like. Remember Tempe’s ban on plastic bags? That was undone by a <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2015/09/30/tempe-councilwoman-sues-state-plastic-bags-lauren-kuby/73107130/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">state-level preemption law</a> that banned cities and towns from passing such bans. The same goes for a <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2019/04/16/ag-tempe-cant-require-dark-money-disclosure-and-heck-voters/3487801002/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">2018 Tempe ordinance </a>banning undisclosed political spending in elections which passed with over 90% support. The same goes for city ordinances <a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/12/19/506199963/arizona-law-targets-city-governments-by-cutting-off-funds" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">requiring paid sick leave and for buildings to measure energy use</a>. And another requires a city to post a bond <a href="https://www.epi.org/blog/preemption-laws-prevent-cities-from-acting-on-everything-from-labor-and-employment-to-gun-safety/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">“equal to the state shared revenue”</a> if the state attorney general files a suit alleging that a city’s law violates the state’s gun preemption law. In other words, if the state AG even thinks a city’s gun regulation violates the state preemption law, the state would surrender all of its revenue from the state while the case is litigated.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">These preemption laws, of course, make a mockery of conservatives’ common claim that they believe in local control of the government. In reality, conservatives believe in whatever form of government keeps them in power and disenfranchises progressives.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">And this session seems to be no different. Rep. John Fillmore, apparently not thinking Arizona’s current gun regulation preemption law is not strong enough, has introduced HB2003, which would expand it. While Rep. Warren Petersen, doing the bidding of the man in the White House, has introduced HB2084, which would prevent cities from blocking construction of the notorious Border Wall. And Rep. Jay Lawrence has introduced HB2095, which prevents cities from declaring themselves sanctuary cities after Tucson considered the idea last fall.</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">But there seem to be signs that even some Republicans are thinking these bills go too far. The first bill introduced in the House for this session, HB2001, introduced by Democrat Isela Blanc, would repeal a preemption law that bars cities and towns from regulating short-term rentals on sites like Airbnb. Frustration from neighbors of Airbnb “party houses” has caused the bill to already receive bipartisan support, with Republican Noel Campbell signing on as a cosponsor. </strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-72e33fee-7fff-129e-8146-0b56740b183b">Governor Ducey and most Republicans in the legislature still oppose the repeal, but it will be up to them to explain why they think the state is better equipped to set policy on short-term rentals than the citizens of the communities that are actually affected by them.</strong></p></div>White Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-4972646200165193252020-01-16T10:25:00.003-08:002020-05-26T11:44:05.205-07:00All Roads Lead Back to Home<p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEqRJVrcTZMpA_x4qqTQVq0zeqqZvN5J3nnxh7HnQl3aAVikJkQLTRsNiSO62i-qF4d4LRSt7Bk6G6IsJwCppnwRhmiT3mpyFGZ5scHCTcVwwYNS0P9xwFVtbSnPUeNvix5fuxQSlQl_8/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEqRJVrcTZMpA_x4qqTQVq0zeqqZvN5J3nnxh7HnQl3aAVikJkQLTRsNiSO62i-qF4d4LRSt7Bk6G6IsJwCppnwRhmiT3mpyFGZ5scHCTcVwwYNS0P9xwFVtbSnPUeNvix5fuxQSlQl_8/" /></a></div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-759218dd-7fff-5b58-9a0b-d8f2ab963f14">Recently the kickoff of the Arizona Legislative Session happened, a session that will undoubtedly be a party to vigorous debates surrounding matters of policy and legislation regarding education, voting rights and healthcare among others, the outcomes of which are of great importance with the ability to impact the lives of Arizonans for generations. There is no doubt that there is a need to keep an eye on the legislature and its policy outcomes in this 2020 session. While the eyes on the back of your head should be on the members and decisions of the various local Boards and Commissions.</strong></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-759218dd-7fff-5b58-9a0b-d8f2ab963f14">As I imagine most readers are aware, Boards and Commissions can be found at the city, county and state levels with a wide range of purposes and goals. Boards and Commissions make decisions and policies which also impact the lives and futures of Arizonans. One such Board is the <a href="https://boards.phoenix.gov/Home/BoardsDetail/52" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Phoenix Residential Investment Development Effort </a>which was created in 1989 with the purpose of assisting in community efforts to provide affordable housing within the Phoenix Corporation limits in conjunction with the City of Phoenix Housing Department. The importance of this board, in particular, is that Arizona is facing an affordable housing crisis, especially in the City of Phoenix. There is no one particular cause of the affordable housing crisis as they range from an increase in<a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2018/12/13/roadblocks-exist-for-affordable-housing/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> rental prices</a>, a <a href="https://arizonareport.com/affordable-housing-shortage-phoenix/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">lack of income wages </a>to legislative policy that restricts the zoning policy regarding affordable housing. </strong></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-759218dd-7fff-5b58-9a0b-d8f2ab963f14">While it is difficult to pinpoint the direct cause or even remedy to the affordable housing crisis, it is not difficult to pinpoint the effects of not having affordable housing. Some risks of not having affordable housing associated with increased <a href="https://homeforallsmc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Impact-of-Affordable-Housing-on-Families-and-Communities.pdf" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">health problems, poor educational school performance and lifelong anxiety/depression</a> There is not an easy solution to this problem, but it does contribute to long-term ones. Again, legislation and policy is critical to be updated and informed on, but it is also a necessity to keep an eye on all avenues of which decisions on those issues are being made and who is making them. </strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br />P.S<br />Please, help us spark conversation by forwarding this to 2 of your friends. </p>White Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-73286141287478004892020-01-07T10:21:00.003-08:002020-05-26T11:44:22.513-07:002020 Arizona Legislature Preview<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXFu3-o0yQEOMiOIBTYzTkSAuMcM38SmVjV5Mj8K-DP4q-IoKrrKw2RB4eQkSfwn0CDrUfeRRTSM5257K_kJ9HF4zU1kDlonYPwFZrFwsLjcIhUhhKp_cgJcofaqIV7tCviME-2SBr2M/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXFu3-o0yQEOMiOIBTYzTkSAuMcM38SmVjV5Mj8K-DP4q-IoKrrKw2RB4eQkSfwn0CDrUfeRRTSM5257K_kJ9HF4zU1kDlonYPwFZrFwsLjcIhUhhKp_cgJcofaqIV7tCviME-2SBr2M/s320/1620e89f-d30e-4346-bfb2-ed1e9cb23db0.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5a98953b-7fff-83ae-ed4d-9a204e24efd1">The opening of the 2020 Arizona legislative session is just around the corner and it should be an interesting one. The eyes of the country are going to be on Arizona as we go into a presidential election where Arizona could be a swing state and we once again have a high-stakes Senate race with national implications. But on November 3, 2020, all 90 seats in the Arizona legislature are also going to be up for grabs, so how are our legislators going to respond? Let’s take a look at how this legislative session may affect some of White Hat’s core Focus Issues:</strong></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5a98953b-7fff-83ae-ed4d-9a204e24efd1">Education</strong></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5a98953b-7fff-83ae-ed4d-9a204e24efd1">Education will most likely be one of the biggest issues at the legislature once again. Two key issues to watch out for, which we at White Hat have been paying close attention to, are the ESA voucher program and charter schools. After the resounding defeat of the ESA voucher program expansion in the 2018 election, and the election of Democrat Kathy Hoffman to Superintendent of Public Instruction, defenders of the program, which funnels state money to private schools, have worked to remove Hoffman’s authority over the program. Look for more attempts to undermine oversight of the program this year.</strong></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5a98953b-7fff-83ae-ed4d-9a204e24efd1">On charter schools, the continuing work of Craig Harris and his team at the Arizona Republic in exposing <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2019/10/24/arizona-charter-school-chain-pays-46-million-companies-affiliated-founder-glenn-way/4066101002/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">charter school fraud and waste</a> has put pressure on Governor Ducey and Republicans in the legislature to finally introduce meaningful charter school reform. Will the actually do it, or will they attempt more window-dressing like <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2019/04/11/arizona-charter-school-reform-too-bad/3429776002/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">last year’s failed effort</a>?</strong></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5a98953b-7fff-83ae-ed4d-9a204e24efd1">Civic Engagement</strong></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5a98953b-7fff-83ae-ed4d-9a204e24efd1">With Arizona poised to be a decisive state in the 2020 presidential election, and the once-a-decade redistricting just around the corner, Arizona Republicans are already looking for ways to game the system and preserve their power even as Arizona turns purple. Governor Ducey is already quietly working to influence the redistricting process by <a href="https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/12/23/sure-now-theyre-in-a-hurry-to-fill-spots/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">stacking the board</a> that will pick the Independent Redistricting Commission with Republicans. Meanwhile, Rep. Kelly Townsend has already introduced a bill to <a href="https://kjzz.org/content/1353181/arizona-lawmaker-wants-ban-student-ids-utility-bills-voter-id" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">ban the use of school IDs and utility bills</a> as forms of voter ID to prevent young and poor people from voting. Expect this to be the first of many attempts at voter suppression from Republicans this year.</strong></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5a98953b-7fff-83ae-ed4d-9a204e24efd1">Criminal Justice</strong></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5a98953b-7fff-83ae-ed4d-9a204e24efd1">Over the past year, local reporters including a <a href="https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/prison-doors" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">team from ABC15</a> and <a href="https://kjzz.org/staff/164" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Jimmy Jenkins</a> at KJZZ have done some incredible reporting on the sorry state of Arizona’s prisons. Most notably, they discovered that many prison doors don’t lock properly because of a lack of repairs. This led to a <a href="https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/final-report-set-to-be-released-after-abc15-exposed-broken-locks-inside-arizonas-lewis-prison" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">scathing report</a> commissioned by the Governor’s Office in August. Will the legislature and the Governor’s Office be prompted to look at any major reforms in the prison system, or will they once again kick it down the road?</strong></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-5a98953b-7fff-83ae-ed4d-9a204e24efd1">These are just a few of the major issues facing the legislature this session. Other important issues include the implementation of the recently-approved USMCA trade agreement, which has a major impact on Arizona due to our trade with Mexico, and the implementation of the major Colorado River water compact that was signed last year. White Hat Research & Policy Group will be tracking all of these conversations and more in our new biweekly newsletter and on our blog, as well as exploring the issues in depth in our ongoing research projects. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our newsletter and passing it along to </strong>2<strong> friends who also want to stay in the know on this consequential legislative session and beyond.</strong></span></p></div>White Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-29372376802171644082020-01-02T10:18:00.002-08:002020-05-26T11:44:30.753-07:00ALEC Comes to Town<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYszcdfbeSyGSnP_zZmGID_yu53GnQC9k16mdpEvQO8JJ_j0jOaizPmrdAagamx4Q2v-oS2-KcDaQPvB_Lx98gst_9OucGO1j_LmvczW6DHaoS1VHwHswdGMLgOhOr96GyFUBOWwAi2YA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYszcdfbeSyGSnP_zZmGID_yu53GnQC9k16mdpEvQO8JJ_j0jOaizPmrdAagamx4Q2v-oS2-KcDaQPvB_Lx98gst_9OucGO1j_LmvczW6DHaoS1VHwHswdGMLgOhOr96GyFUBOWwAi2YA/s320/5c7555fe-a070-4007-a8bc-8a3ec1231542.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-c02dc60b-7fff-7957-2d94-1eaf9041bdb5">It should come as no surprise that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the secretive right-wing lobbying group responsible for passing radical legislation in state legislatures all over the country, chose Scottsdale’s Westin Kierland Resort as the site of its <a href="https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/alec-arizona-protest-koch-brothers-corporate-money-politics-11403094" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">winter summit the first week of December</a>. Arizona is one of ALEC’s favorite states, as 26 of the 48 current Republican members of the Arizona legislature are ALEC members and ALEC legislation has radically shaped Arizona politics for the past several decades.</strong></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-c02dc60b-7fff-7957-2d94-1eaf9041bdb5">ALEC has been around since 1973, holding regular summits and conferences in which it connects its many corporate members (who pay thousands of dollars a year to join) with members from state legislatures around the country (who pay a nominal membership fee in exchange for access to the luxe conferences, held a fancy hotels and catered with top-notch food). This has allowed its corporate patrons to put “model legislation” in the hands of these legislators which greatly benefit themselves. </strong></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-c02dc60b-7fff-7957-2d94-1eaf9041bdb5">ALEC model legislation has been responsible for reshaping state-level policies to benefit the wealthy and corporations in areas such as criminal justice (where it has pushed private prisons), gun rights (where it pushed Stand Your Ground Laws to sell more guns) and the environment (where it has blocked environmental regulations). Arizona legislators have been particularly open to ALEC model bills over the years and nowhere has this had a more profound impact than in education.</strong></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-c02dc60b-7fff-7957-2d94-1eaf9041bdb5">Arizona’s controversial ESA voucher program has been pushed by ALEC and aligned conservative interests, including current Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who spoke at the Scottsdale summit. An attempt to radically expand the voucher program, which would have drained hundreds of millions of dollars from public education, was the center of last year’s Proposition 305 controversy, in which Arizona voters overwhelmingly voted against expanding the program. The history of the ESA voucher program in Arizona, including ALEC’s involvement, was the subject of <a href="https://mailchi.mp/whrpg/esa" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">WHRPG’s first white paper</a>, published in April of this year.</strong></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-c02dc60b-7fff-7957-2d94-1eaf9041bdb5">While ALEC has been able to operate mostly in secret for decades, their activities have been the subject of increasing scrutiny over the past few years, from Jane Mayer’s investigative book Dark Money to Ava Duvernay’s popular documentary 13th. That is why dozens of activists showed up outside the Westin Kierland last week to protest ALEC’s presence. As the people of Arizona have become more aware of how ALEC operates, they are speaking up in opposition to this group and the influence it has over our politics. This has been seen not only in the fight against school vouchers but also in the <a href="https://outlawdirtymoney.com/" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Outlaw Dirty Money</a> campaign which would require groups like ALEC to disclose their political spending with more transparency. And to coincide with the Scottsdale summit, two local civil rights groups, Puente and Mijente, took things a step further by <a href="https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/alec-arizona-legislature-republicans-latinos-sb1070-bds-democrats-11402870" style="color: #007c89; font-weight: normal; text-size-adjust: 100%;">filing a lawsuit</a> arguing that any ALEC meeting in which a quorum of state legislators from a particular committee are present should be open to the public under Arizona’s public meetings law.</strong></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "lucida sans unicode", "lucida grande", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong id="docs-internal-guid-c02dc60b-7fff-7957-2d94-1eaf9041bdb5">Here at White Hat Research & Policy Group, we are taking an approach to public policy that is the opposite of ALEC’s. Instead of telling Arizona’s state-level lawmakers what bills to enact to please their massive corporate donors, we are working with the community here in Arizona to develop solutions that are appropriate for Arizona. We no longer want Arizona to be a guinea pig for radical experiments like the ESA voucher program, but want to develop programs that make sense for Arizona, developed by Arizonans and people with the state’s best long-term interests in mind.</strong></span></span></p></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"></span></div>White Hat Research & Policy Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319758444046957186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-2012769131342340342019-07-23T16:26:00.000-07:002019-07-23T16:26:44.955-07:00Arizona Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: Education and the State Budget <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">W</span>hite Hat Research & Policy Group was launched with the goal of bringing high-quality research to policy debates around a set of intersecting issues that are important to the future of Arizona, including Civic Engagement, Criminal Justice, Economic Development, Human Services, Technology and Innovation, and Education. But as we have talked to people and organizations in the community, we couldn’t help but notice how education is at the top of everyone’s mind. While all of our core issues are important to Arizona’s future, many see education as the most critical and as essential solving any of the other major problems that face our state in the coming decades.<br /></div>
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It was for this reason that our <a href="https://mailchi.mp/whrpg/esa">first white paper</a> examined the history and impact of the ESA voucher programs at the center of last November’s contentious Prop 305 vote. And of course, it was just a little over a year ago that tens of thousands of teachers descended on the capital and launched the <a href="http://arizonaeducatorsunited.com/">#RedForEd</a> movement.<br /><br />So, with the 2019 legislative session wrapping up at the end of May, where does Arizona stand in its commitment to public education?<br /></div>
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<b>Fighting Market-Based Education Reforms</b><br /><br />The good news is that advocates for public education have become adept at playing defense and stopping the worst of the state legislature’s efforts to relentlessly privatize education and turn it into a commodity. This is significant. As detailed by Sharon Kirsch and Katrina Hanna in our white paper, Arizona has for two decades been ground zero for radical market-based education reforms pushed by a well-funded national network that wants to destroy public education and turn it into a commodity that a small group can profit from. But the activism of the past two years, led by Save Our Schools Arizona and #RedForEd, seems to have turned that tide.<br /></div>
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This was most clearly seen in bills related to the ESA voucher program that was at the center of Proposition 305. Despite the resounding defeat of Prop 305 last November, Republicans, led by Koch brothers flunkie Shawnna Bolick, <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2019/01/23/new-republican-bill-would-expand-vouchers-arizona-school-victims/2651010002/">introduced several bills</a> to further expand the program, though in more modest ways that Prop 305 would have. As detailed in the white paper, this incremental increase in the program, which takes money out of public school funding and puts it on debit cards to be spent by parents for private education, is part of a long-term plan to deprive public schools of funding. <br /><br />All of the bills expanding ESAs were defeated, as were bills which would have moved oversight of the program away from the Superintendent of Public Instruction after that seat was won by public school advocate Kathy Hoffman in November. Even a last-second end-around, which used attempted to <a href="https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/05/21/bill-allows-10-navajo-nation-students-to-use-arizona-vouchers-across-state-lines/">exploit confusion</a> over a handful of students on the Navajo reservation and expand the use of ESAs for out-of-state private schools, was defeated by pressure from Save Our Schools AZ and intervention from Superintendent Hoffman.<br /></div>
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People in Arizona are starting to see the big picture around school privatization and market-based education reforms that we outlined in our white paper. This is an important change as we move ahead with improving our education system.<br /></div>
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<b>What About Charter Schools?</b><br /></div>
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It also seems like public consensus has started to change around charter schools. After a series of investigations by <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/staff/17161/craig-harris/">Craig Harris</a> at The Arizona Republic and <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2018/09/11/rep-eddie-farnsworth-millionaire-charter-school-no-bid-contract/1257925002/">blatant corruption</a> by the likes of State Senator/charter school owner Eddie Farnsworth, Arizona voters are demanding greater accountability for charter schools. <br /></div>
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This session, the Republican majority tried to pay lip service to this concern with a <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2019/02/01/arizona-charter-school-reform-bill-leaves-big-loophole-some-operators/2737309002/">charter school “reform” bill</a> introduced by Senator Kate Brophy-McGee. But the bill was clearly a smokescreen with no real reforms to speak of and House Speaker Rusty Bowers refused to even allow it for a vote. There will be even more pressure next year, as all 90 state legislative seats are up for reelection, to do something meaningful on charter schools.</div>
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But what would that look like? Conservative interests like the Goldwater Institute are clearly invested in maintaining the status quo and will put forward only the most meaningless of changes to charters, like Brophy McGee’s bill. So that is why WHRPG is starting work on a new project examining what meaningful charter school reform would actually look like. It will examine how Arizona could put in place an accountability system that encourages real student learning and prevents the corruption and self-dealing we have seen among Farnsworth and other charter school operators.</div>
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As the people of Arizona have woken up to the problem of education in our state, and soundly rejected the market-based education reforms being pushed by out-of-state special interests, it is time to stop just playing defense and go on the offense with new ideas for what education in our state should look like for the next decade and beyond. And that is what we are working on here at WHRPG.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-61784120689881785932019-07-09T14:25:00.000-07:002019-07-09T14:29:31.167-07:00 "Origins" - By Damián Preciado, Executive Director <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I</span>t was a rude awakening. The results of November 9th, 2016 were not something most of us were expecting. It didn't help that I got a frantic call in the middle of the night from my then employer asking us all to come in early due to the election results. I had for the past 6 months been actively engaged for the first time in politics. I didn't like the direction things were going and wanted to do my part. I was still learning the ropes, getting to know how the process worked within the parties and becoming active with my legislative district. <br />
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It was a whirlwind of information that shattered many of my previous assumptions about how politics worked. One of my first realizations was that everyone was a volunteer and that the little paid staff there was worked for the County and State boards. My second realization was that being a registered Democrat and voting wasn’t the end of it; it was just the beginning of our political engagement. I learned that the parties were made up of members known as precinct committee people or PCs. That they are either elected or appointed and have varying roles within the party structure. As someone who understands systems and people, I started noticing why there were so many gaps and why it was so difficult to fill them. So I took the next step and became a precinct committeeman which gave me a vote in party affairs. Still new to it all, I did my best not to be critical and follow the lead set by more tenured individuals. <br />
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That November 9th it all changed. I was angry and afraid that we couldn't keep a man like Trump out of office. I had been contemplating this worst-case scenario and I had a plan. My plan was to strengthen the Democratic Party by recruiting and training as many PCs as possible. My logic being that there is power in numbers and of the ten thousand or more positions available, less than 20% were filled. We were out numbered 3 to 1 against the opposition. <br />
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At that time there was a flurry of activity by many people who felt they wanted to do more and their energy manifested itself in many ways. I chose to focus on PC recruitment by forming a grassroots group called White Hat Democrats. I and a handful of others streamlined the process for application to become a PC and held training and information sessions. Over the next couple of years, we recruited hundreds of PCs and did our small part to lend a voice to people who needed that guidance. <br />
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While we were proud of our work, over those two years we also grew to understand more and more of the complexities of the political ecosystem. In particular, we learned how conservative organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council and Goldwater Institute among others were using intellectual capital to poison the state legislatures with their agendas. How they chipped away piece by piece at our democratic institutions, masquerading as “freedom” when in reality it was just about lining their pockets. <br />
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We looked around and found that Arizona was missing a progressive policy group and at that point, we made the decision to take the fight to them. We formalized our nonprofit status and began to operate as the White Hat Research & Policy Group. It was a tremendous transition and we are glad to have made it. We have since then worked as Arizona’s progressive think tank. The antithesis of organizations like ALEC and Goldwater. We’ve made much progress, with more to come. Our first paper is complete. We’re building new partnerships. And we’ve established a fellowship program to help us craft our papers and train others on this important work. I am very proud of the talented individuals who dedicate their time and resources to this new mission and vision. We’re ready to keep fighting for our shared values with more purpose than ever before.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-470860423311797633.post-36777100647616652502019-07-03T11:33:00.001-07:002020-05-26T11:34:45.468-07:00Mission and Values -By Michael Christensen,Board Member<br />
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Today’s political climate is highly charged and very divided. Even within parties there are differences that can be difficult to reconcile. In part, this is the human condition. We have always had bar room and dinner table conversations that are charged with more emotional responses and the occasional overstep that leads to apologies or long-term fractures in the relationship. But today we have a lot more voices that get a chance to be heard. <br />
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A strong opinion can now start from a Tweet building momentum from an ever greater majority that retweets and comments until opposing ideas are pushed into a back corner. Legal and moral judgments come in a 280 character declaration providing a new mantra for those in agreement. If not for a judicial system, we might see public hangings and witch trials easily resume. It also threatens our societal fabric.<br />
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Our social mores and democratic system are both exposed to the whims of technologies that can create digital riots with few or no boundaries. The benefits of changing long-held discriminations can also be leveraged to promote those same discriminations. The relative anonymity of the Internet gives vehement voice to good and bad ideas but are consistently exaggerated (or not) to get more likes and retweets with the hope that it goes viral. These extremes are now a defacto methodology of gaining media prominence.<br />
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WHRPG intends to drive meaningful dialogue through data-driven research, policy, and advocacy through meaningful research. We will create datasets that will produce insight that can change mindsets - even our own - and help Arizonans be informed about their community and the challenges it faces.<br />
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For example, in our first white paper, “Arizona’s ESA Vouchers,” we started with this question: “With Arizona public schools chronically underfunded, why is the legislature diverting funds to private schools through the ESA voucher program?” We answered that question by not just looking at the 2017 ESA voucher expansion which caused so much controversy and led to the Proposition 305 vote in November of 2018. We expanded our view to look at the history of the ESA voucher program and other school privatization programs in Arizona and across the country. This research clearly demonstrated that the ESA voucher program was not designed to address specific problems in Arizona’s school system, but to advance an ideological agenda that was hostile to public education.</div>
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Each white paper that WHRPG creates will generate actions to take with citizens, legislators and affected groups. It will also require careful review of new information to help improve the understanding of the issue beyond a point in time report. At the core of the WHRPG charter is the concept of being open to this new research and changing conditions to create better understanding, collaboration and opportunity to improve our state and the lives of every Arizonan.</div>
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