Now is the Time to Speak Up, Arizona!

As you may know, HB2613, legislation that includes an important provision to exempt yoga teacher training programs (YTTs) from regulation by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education (SBPPE), has been gaining support as it makes its way through the Arizona legislature. The bill was passed by the Arizona House of Representatives on March 3, 2016, and was passed by the Senate Commerce & Workforce Development committee earlier this week.

On your behalf, Yoga Alliance has supported legislative efforts to protect Arizona’s YTTs from unnecessary and burdensome government intrusion. Thank you to the Arizona legislators who are taking a stand for the yoga community and to the Arizona yogis who have spent so much time attending hearings, meetings, and sharing their experience with Arizona’s policy makers.

We have made excellent progress, but there is more to do and we need your support more than ever. The next big step is a vote by the full Arizona Senate, which we believe will occur in the next couple of days, and now is the time to make your voices heard!

If you oppose the unnecessary and burdensome regulation of YTTs in Arizona, you can send a short message to your Senator to let them know you support the YTT exemption provision included in HB2613. We’ve included quick and easy instructions below.

• Find your Senator. First, you can find your Senator online using your address and zip code. Or, if you prefer to send more than one message, you can use the Arizona Senate Roster to contact all 30 Senators. A few minutes of your time could make a world of difference to Senators on the fence concerning the bill.
• Share your story. Using the online form, you can send a quick message to any Senator explaining why legislation to exempt YTTs from unnecessary regulation is important to you. We’ve included a sample message below that you may consider utilizing.
• Get your friends, family, and fellow yogis involved. Do your friends, family, and fellow yogis also support Arizona’s yoga community? Ask them to send a message too! Please forward this email to anybody who may be interesting in supporting this cause.

Sample Message for Arizona's Senators

I am contacting you today to encourage your support for HB2613, which includes an important provision to protect the rights of yoga studios to operate in Arizona without unnecessary intrusion and regulation by the State Board of Private Postsecondary Education.

This legislation would prevent the State Board of Private Postsecondary Education from requiring yoga teacher training programs around the state to pay expensive fees and to comply with onerous and unnecessary requirements in order to open shop or continue operation.,

The Board is only supposed to license vocational or occupational schools in Arizona, but the vast majority of individuals who attend yoga teacher training do not make a living teaching yoga, rather, they attend classes for recreational and avocational reasons for example, for personal improvement or practicing yoga in a group setting. The language included in HB2613 seeks to remedy this overreach by the Board.

Many yoga studios that offer teacher training programs are small businesses with tight budgets. The fees imposed by the Board are hefty and may force small studios to shut down their doors or YTTs. Legislative action is necessary to prevent these consequences from affecting Arizona’s vibrant and growing yoga community.

There simply is no reason for the Board to regulate YTTs, especially because there are already laws in place to protect consumers that apply in full force to yoga businesses. To be clear, exempting YTTs from regulations intended for vocational schools would have no effect on all other business and consumer protection laws and regulations.

Please support Arizona’s small yoga businesses. Thank you for your consideration and support.

Sincerely,
[Your Name and Address]

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Thank you for your support, Arizona. We’re proud to work on your behalf to protect our yoga community. If you have further questions or suggestions please contact us at yaadvocacy@yogaalliance.org or call us at 888-921-9642.