Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill on Monday that continues funding for schools with people with hearing and vision disabilities but said that stakeholders were not adequately included in the process.
House Bill 2456 will extend funding for the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, which came after negotiations about the duration of the bill with the state Legislature.
“The Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind is a cornerstone of the visually impaired and Deaf and hard of hearing communities in Arizona,” Hobbs said in a statement.
“The ASDB community has been treated with disrespect and was not given equal access to participate in the legislative process. I encourage the Legislature to reflect on the passage of HB2456 and send me a bill next session that includes a full eight-year continuation,” she added.
According to KTAR News, the House originally cleared funding for eight years, which was rolled back to two in a Senate committee, then eventually reached four years.
In her letter signing off on the bill, the governor used stronger terms about the funding debate.
“Parents, students, and teachers were made to worry about the continuing existence of their school while caught in the middle of political games being played by a fringe majority of the Legislature,” she said.
Despite the disagreements over how long to continue funding in the Senate Government Committee, the bill passed both chambers with close to unanimous support.
Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
