Arizona superintendent-elect Teresa Leyba Ruiz has been cleared of wrongdoing by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which dismissed a campaign complaint filed by her former rival Kimberly Yee over posts showing Ruiz visiting public schools during her campaign. The decision closes out a dispute that spanned the final weeks of a race Ruiz went on to win.
Yee filed the complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office in September, accusing Ruiz of violating a state law that bars the use of public school resources to influence an election, according to KJZZ. The complaint centered on photos and videos the Ruiz campaign posted showing her visiting teachers and students at schools across Arizona, which Yee's attorney argued amounted to unlawful use of school district or charter school resources to sway voters.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes referred the complaint to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, for investigation. Mitchell's office ultimately found no evidence that Ruiz's campaign broke the law, concluding in a letter that publishing photographs and videos of a candidate's school appearance after the fact does not violate the statute. The office also noted that the complaint evidence did not identify any school district employee who knowingly misused resources to help the campaign.
Prosecutors Point to Free Speech and a Gap in the Law
In the letter responding to Yee's attorney, Mitchell wrote that candidate social media postings are considered free speech protected by both the U.S. and Arizona constitutions. She also noted that while a moratorium on politicians' school visits during an election cycle might protect instructional time, the Arizona Legislature has not enacted any such law.
The letter added that it is the Legislature, not the executive branch, that must weigh the balance between conserving public resources and protecting civil liberties when crafting laws governing public institutions' role in campaigns and elections. That reasoning echoes an earlier report from KJZZ in September, which noted that the cited statute defines school district resources to include facilities, personnel and buildings, and that Yee's attorney had asked the attorney general to impose penalties that could include fines up to $5,000 for each violation.
At the time, Ruiz's campaign maintained there was nothing improper about the school visits, telling KJZZ that both candidates for superintendent are routinely invited to schools because districts want people running for the office to see their work firsthand. That explanation held up through the investigation, which closed without any finding that Ruiz's campaign violated the law.
Ruiz Calls Complaint a Distraction After Winning the Race
Ruiz defeated Yee in the race for Arizona superintendent of public instruction, according to unofficial results, with Ruiz receiving approximately 53% of the vote. As reported by KTAR, the Maricopa County Attorneys' Office dismissed the formal complaint, with Ruiz's campaign saying the office concluded she had not violated the statute.
Ruiz called the complaint a baseless political attack intended to distract from issues important to Arizona students and families. She said the law was clear and the outcome was never in doubt, adding that she remained focused on Arizona's students, educators and families and would continue to be.
The two candidates had faced off at the 2026 Arizona Clean Elections superintendent debate in Scottsdale on September 15, part of a campaign season that included disputes over school visits beyond this complaint.
