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SB 1248 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

juvenile detention centers; education programs.

SB 1248 requires counties operating juvenile detention centers to provide education programs for all school-age youth held there, with county school superintendents and juvenile court judges agreeing on program delivery. It establishes state standards for these programs and creates a funding mechanism: counties receive a base amount ($100,000 for 2019-2020) plus variable funding based on the number of instructional days (240+ minutes daily) each youth receives, with additional support for youth with disabilities. The bill also extends similar education program requirements and funding rules to county jails for minors under 21 without high school diplomas. This directly affects juvenile detention/jail facilities, youth in custody, and county school systems managing these programs.
Issues: ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill establishes state funding mechanism with base/variable payments for juvenile education programs, directly allocating state budget resources to fund essential services.90% confidence ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeMandates education programs in juvenile detention centers to improve rehabilitation outcomes, aligning with criminal justice reform goals of reducing recidivism.95% confidence ✓ EducationSupports EducationMandates education programs in juvenile detention centers with state-funded standards and per-student funding, expanding educational access for incarcerated youth.95% confidence
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 21, 2026 Last action Mar 18, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Senate Engrossed Version (02/26/2026) · 5 edits · Feb 26, 2026
MODERATE
The bill was restructured and expanded to include education funding for both juvenile detention centers and county jails. While the juvenile detention section (Section 15-913) retained most of its original funding formulas and dates, the bill added a completely new section (15-913.01) to establish similar education programs and state funding for prisoners under 21 in county jails, a provision that was absent from the original version.
Scope change
The bill's scope was significantly broadened from only covering juvenile detention centers to also covering county jails, extending the state's educational support obligations to adult prisoners who are minors.
SCOPE

Added a new section (15-913.01) requiring county jails to offer education programs to prisoners under 21 without a high school diploma.

FISCAL

Established a new state-funded variable amount system for county jail education programs, calculating payments based on instructional days provided to jail inmates.

Modified the juvenile detention funding formula to include a specific calculation method for students with disabilities, ensuring they receive additional funding based on special education rates.

REQUIREMENT

Added specific requirements for transferring educational records between juvenile detention centers and county jails to ensure continuity of education.

TECHNICAL

Corrected numerous grammatical errors, inconsistent capitalization, and formatting issues present in the original draft text.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 26, 2026

How they voted

27–0
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 30
Feb 26, 2026
D Democratic13
12 Yea 1
92% Yea
R Republican17
15 Yea 2
88% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
8
Key actions
3
Committee
2
Mar 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
DP
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
PASSED
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
DP
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of T.J. Shope
T.J. Shope
RRepublican
AZ
16