Arizona Dems who caught COVID rebut GOP call to sanction schools for masks

PHOENIX — Democrats in the Arizona Legislature that caught and survived COVID-19 are rebutting the call of state Republicans for Gov. Doug Ducey to sanction schools that are mandating masks.

Republicans are demanding Ducey to withhold federal funding from districts with mask mandates, give students of districts that have mask mandates vouchers known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts that can be used at private schools as well as initiating legal action against the school districts.

A ban on mask mandates was part of the state budget Ducey signed at the end of June. While the law doesn’t go into effect until Sept. 29, it contains a clause to make the mask provision retroactive to June 30.

At least nine school districts in the state, including Phoenix Union High School and Tucson Unified, are requiring face coverings as the fast-spreading delta variant drives a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Among the list of Arizona Democrats to sign the letter rebutting the Republicans’ demands was Rep. Lorenzo Sierra, who became so ill from the virus in October that he was hospitalized and put on a ventilator before recovering.

“As COVID-19 survivors, we are acting out of personal experience and compassion,” the letter read. “As legislators, we are compelled to take action so that children do not suffer through what we have endured – and are enduring – with long hauler symptoms.”

Other representatives to sign the letter were Andrés Cano, Alma Hernandez, Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton, Raquel Terán, Myron Tsosie as well as Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Rios and Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras.

They said in the letter that withholding federal dollars from school districts would further weaken educators’ ability to offer high-quality instruction, and Arizonans have overwhelmingly rejected any expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts most evidenced by Prop 305 failing in 2018.

“Using a global pandemic as an excuse to expand ESAs is shameful,” the letter read.

The legislators added they welcome legal action, as they said the prohibition is unconstitutional in addition to being bad policy that endangers lives.

“We believe this prohibition violates the single-subject clauses of the Arizona Constitution,” the letter read. “The single-subject clause says that only fiscal items can be included into the state budget. Policy is not allowed.

“When the prohibition on mask mandates was added to the budget, Republican legislators and Gov. Ducey handcuffed local jurisdictions from doing what they believe is in the best interest of their respective communities. This is among the worst types of tyranny – denying life-saving self-governance at the local level.”

They are urging Ducey to not only reject the requests from Republican legislators but also use his emergency powers to suspend the prohibition included in the state budget, especially during the surge of the virus.

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