FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ADHA Opposes Arizona Senate Bill 1037 Amendment
Letter to state senators warns House amendment eliminates educational standards for oral preventive assistants and threatens patient safety
CHICAGO, June 19, 2025 – The American Dental Hygienists’ Association sent a letter today to Arizona Senate leadership opposing an amendment to Senate Bill 1037 that would eliminate Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) requirements for dental assistants seeking to become oral preventive assistants (OPAs).
The letter urges senators to reject the amended version of SB 1037, which passed the Arizona House on June 18 and is expected to return to the Senate for a final vote before the legislative session ends June 30.
The amendment would allow dental assistants to attend any licensed private postsecondary educational institution to qualify for oral preventive assistant training, rather than requiring graduation from CODA-accredited programs as originally mandated in Arizona’s recently passed SB 1124.
“This change opens the door for non-CODA-accredited programs to train OPA students, lowering educational standards and jeopardizing patient safety,” said Erin Haley-Hitz, RDH, BSDH, MS, ADHA president, in the letter.
ADHA expressed concern that the amendment was “heavily influenced by lobbying from for-profit private dental assisting schools, prioritizing financial interests over the public’s oral health.”
The letter states that CODA standards “exist to ensure consistency, safety, and competence in dental care” and warns that “circumventing these standards undermines the profession and endangers the communities we serve.”
ADHA requested that the Senate “refuse to concur with the House amendments and take immediate action to stop SB 1037 in its tracks.”
The association also launched a Voter Voice campaign for Arizona dental hygienists to contact their state senators in opposition to SB 1037. Arizona residents can take action at adha.org/AZSB1037.
The full letter is available here.
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About the American Dental Hygienists’ Association
The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) is the only organization representing the professional interests of the more than 226,000 dental hygienists in the United States. Dental hygienists are preventive oral health professionals, licensed in dental hygiene, who provide educational, clinical and therapeutic services that support total health through the promotion of optimal oral health. The Journal of Dental Hygiene (JDH), published bi-monthly, is ADHA’s scientific journal and flagship publication. To learn more about the ADHA, dental hygiene or the link between oral health and general health, visit adha.org.
Media Contact
Bronwyn Barrera, MBA
ADHA
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