The Arizona Business and Education Coalition (ABEC) was founded in 2002 after voters passed Proposition 301, a ballot initiative which delegated more money into the classrooms of public K-12 education. Many of those same business and education leaders, who came together to support Proposition 301, founded ABEC.
Founding organizations of ABEC included: Intel Corporation, Motorola, Cox Communications, the Greater Phoenix Leadership, the Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC), Mesa Public Schools, among others.
Today, supporters of ABEC are a statewide representation of school districts, higher education institutions, business and education associations, small and large corporations, philanthropic and community organizations, state government agencies, as well as individual community leaders.