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A New Year, and the Lines Being Drawn
- Carol Tappenden
- Jan 9
- 4 min read
The start of a new year has not slowed the pace of attacks on queer and trans students. It has clarified them.
Across the country and here in Arizona, the same ideas are advancing through different pathways at once: courts, legislatures, ballot measures, school boards, and culture-war pipelines aimed directly at schools. These are not disconnected moments. They are part of a coordinated effort to shift power away from students and educators and toward forced disclosure, surveillance, and exclusion.
What is at stake in 2026 is not theoretical. It is whether queer and trans students can access support without being outed, whether educators are allowed to act in students’ best interests, and whether fear replaces care as the default governing principle in public schools.
Below is what is moving right now, where pressure is building, and where action still has the power to change outcomes.
🏛️ Federal Policy Watch
Political Movements Move Directly Into Schools
Recent national reporting shows well-funded political organizations expanding their reach into high schools under the banner of civic engagement, while advancing ideologies that target LGBTQ+ students and educators. At the same time, federal courts and agencies remain locked in litigation over gender identity, parental rights, and access to care.
This instability matters. When federal leadership is unclear, districts often respond by pulling back rather than standing firm, leaving students with fewer protections and educators with less room to act.
What happens next:
Expect continued federal inaction paired with aggressive state-level and cultural pressure on schools.
What you can do right now:
Pay attention when national narratives show up in local schools or board meetings
Ask school leaders how outside organizations are vetted before being allowed access to students
Push back on misinformation framed as “protecting children”
📰 Read more:
🌵 Arizona Legislative Update
Session Opens Next Week With Ballot Measures Already Filed
The Arizona Legislature reconvenes next week, and lawmakers have already pre-filed measures that signal where this session is headed.
Several proposals would move high-impact education and student-rights decisions directly to voters through ballot referrals, bypassing the governor and insulating lawmakers from accountability. These include measures targeting transgender student participation in athletics and expanded parental-rights frameworks that reach deep into student privacy and health care.
One proposal, HCR 2010, would dramatically expand parental access to student medical records, including services that currently do not require parental consent, and create new grounds for parents to sue schools.
If advanced, these measures would:
Undermine student confidentiality around gender identity and mental health
Pressure schools to default to disclosure over safety
Chill educators, counselors, and nurses from offering support
Normalize litigation as a tool of school governance
This is a national strategy playing out locally: when direct bans face resistance, policymakers move the fight to ballots and courts.
What you can do right now:
Track which legislators are sponsoring or co-sponsoring ballot measures
Submit early written comments when bills are heard in committee
Talk with friends and community members before ballot messaging hardens
📰 Read more:
🏫 School Board and District Updates
Peoria Unified School District
Peoria Unified leaders are considering closing Kachina and Pioneer Elementary Schools, framing the discussion around enrollment and efficiency.
School closures are never neutral. They disrupt access to trusted adults, school-based services, and community stability. For queer and trans students, that disruption often means losing informal safety nets.
What you can do right now:
Watch upcoming Peoria Unified agendas and meeting materials
Submit public comment early, not just at final votes
Ask how closures will impact vulnerable student populations
📰 Read more:
🗳️ Weekly Civic Power Series
Part 7: Why Ballot Measures Are a Power Shift, Not a Compromise
Ballot measures are often framed as giving “the people” a voice. In practice, they are frequently used to avoid accountability and lock harm into place.
Why this matters for schools:
Ballots strip nuance from complex student-rights issues
High-dollar messaging crowds out lived experience
Once passed, these measures are difficult to undo
What effective intervention looks like:
Naming impacts early, before campaigns launch
Educating neighbors and networks ahead of election season
Refusing neutral language when real harm is at stake
Bottom line:
When decisions about student safety are pushed to the ballot, it is rarely about democracy. It is about distancing power from responsibility.
Next Week - Part 8:
What Sustained Resistance Looks Like When Attacks Become Routine.
🗞️ In the News
🧾 Discrimination & Harassment Complaint Form
Queer students continue to face discrimination, slurs, and harassment from peers and even faculty. Documenting these incidents matters. Each report ensures state officials can’t ignore the problem. Bullying and discrimination harm students’ education, mental health, and safety.
💪 Stand With Students
Every student deserves to feel safe, supported, and seen at school. Your involvement, whether as a Hall Monitor, volunteer, or donor – keeps that promise alive. Get involved today!
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