HB 2110 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

school governing bodies; meetings; prayer

HB 2110 requires Arizona school governing bodies - including school boards, charter school boards, and other educational institution leaders - to allow any member to pray during meetings upon request. It specifically applies to governing groups at public school districts, charter schools, career technical education districts, the Arizona state schools for the deaf and blind, community colleges, and public universities. The bill mandates that if a member requests to pray, the meeting must accommodate that request without requiring prayer. This policy change directly affects how school governance meetings are conducted across Arizona's public education system.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Jan 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Dec 29, 2025 Last action Mar 19, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version House Engrossed Version (02/24/2026) · 5 edits · Feb 24, 2026
MODERATE
The bill was significantly rewritten to add a 48-hour advance notice requirement for members requesting a prayer and to explicitly prohibit prayers that proselytize, disparage other beliefs, or coerce observers. The language was also updated to define the prayer as an 'invocation' and to specify that these rules apply to 'deliberative governing bodies' that do not include student members.
Scope change
The scope of applicability was narrowed by adding a condition that the governing body must not have a student member, and the definition of 'governing body' was updated to include specific legislative findings about the quasi-legislative nature of these bodies.
REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory 48-hour advance notice requirement for any member requesting a prayer before a meeting.

Added explicit prohibitions against prayers that proselytize, advance one faith over another, disparage other beliefs, or coerce participation.

DEFINITION

Changed the term 'prayer' to 'invocation' and added a specific definition for the term.

Added a new section containing legislative findings regarding the quasi-legislative and deliberative nature of school governing bodies.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a condition that the governing body must not have a student member for the prayer provisions to apply.

Floor votes · House Feb 24, 2026

How they voted

3323
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 60
Feb 24, 2026
D Democratic27
1 Yea 23 Nay 3
85% Nay
R Republican33
32 Yea 1
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
11
Key actions
3
Committee
1
Amendments
1
Feb 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
PASSED
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
DPA
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
DP
lower
1 primary · 6 co-sponsors

Sponsors