Author

Elijah Watson
Elijah Watson is a public education advocate working across Arizona to advocate for equitable solutions in the legislature, school districts and many boards and commissions. He currently works as the legislative affairs director for Keep Arizona Blue Student Coalition and also works closely with other advocacy organizations.
Tom Horne is targeting LGBTQ students, and putting them at risk in the process
By: Elijah Watson - August 30, 2023
If anyone had told me when I started advocating on behalf of my peers in a racially diverse school district in downtown Phoenix several years ago that, rather than focusing on the worryingly low number of school counselors or the mold I saw growing on the boys bathroom ceiling, we would instead see elected officials […]
The Arizona Department of Education doesn’t want to protect students from discrimination
By: Elijah Watson - May 1, 2023
State-funded hate has no place in our great state. Yet, that’s exactly what the Empowerment Scholarship Account voucher program continues to prop up — a wide network of religious and private schools that are taking hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars while deliberately excluding LGBTQ+ students, educators, staff and even families. These vouchers were sold […]
Every Arizona student will suffer if we implement book bans
By: Elijah Watson - March 30, 2023
Growing up in a small, conservative town in Kansas, I always felt like I was living in a bubble. I was constantly bullied for my beliefs, my mannerisms, my hobbies — anything you could think of. I remember having rocks thrown at me by a group of eighth graders for simply mentioning my support for […]