The only two female Senate Majority Leaders will stand together on the Senate Floor this afternoon. Current Majority Leader Kimberly Yee will present SCR 1026 alongside the Honorable Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, retired Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In 1973, the Justice O'Connor served as the first woman Majority Leader, not only for Arizona, but for any state in the United States. She went on to be nominated by President Ronald Reagan and became the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, where she served for 24 years.

This year, Senator Yee became the second female to serve as majority leader in Arizona. Both women have a passion for civics and, coincidentally, happened to be the same age while serving their respective leadership positions.

SCR 1026 expresses the Arizona Legislature's continuing commitment to the promotion of civics education in Arizona schools, and was partly inspired by the creation of Justice O'Connor's iCivics program. In 2009, Justice O’Connor founded iCivics with the goal to restore civic education in our nation’s schools, and to give students the free and necessary tools to learn about and participate in civic life. Through games, young people address real-world issues, stepping into any civic role – a judge, a member of Congress, even the President of the United States – and doing the job they do. More than 155,000 teachers and five million students in all 50 states use iCivics resources.

In 2015, Arizona began its own commitment with the passage of the American Civics Act, requiring all Arizona high school students to pass a civics test, based on the United States Immigration and Naturalization civics test.

"It will truly be a special moment to stand alongside Justice O'Connor today. She is an inspiration to me and a real trailblazer. Not only will it be an honor to stand with Justice O'Connor, but I am also pleased her iCivics program is getting new exposure," said Majority Leader Yee. "I will be encouraging the State Board of Education to consider adding additional requirements in our schools for civics education, as they update the academic standards for social studies."

The resolution will be read at 1:30 today on the Arizona Senate Floor.