It was the afternoon to hear charter school bills in the House Education committee. The first bill heard is sponsored by Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll (D-Denver). The Speaker's bill, HB 1345-Emergency Powers, addressed the issue that came up with Brighton Collegiate HS last winter when the district took over the troubled charter school. When the charter school governing board went to district court, the judge stated it wasn't his court's jurisdiction, but didn't elaborate on which entity was the appropriate venue, either.
This emergency powers bill clarifies the process should an authorizer want to step in and address address that don't necessarily fall under the "health and safety issues" for closure commonly covered in charter contracts. The bill clarifies that a district court is the appropriate venue to determine if the district takeover is appropriate. HB 1345 was unanimously approved to go to the floor of the House for second reading.
The next bill, also by Speaker Carroll, was HB 1412-Charter School and Charter School Authorizer Standards Review Committee. The bill would establish a 13-member advisory committee that will make a recommendation to the State Board of Education for rules to detail standards for both of these groups. Rep. Merrifield's amendment to change the deadline for the committee was adopted. The bill was approved 11-1 and will be on the Special Orders calendar on the floor of the House tomorrow.
The final bill, by Rep. Middleton (D-Aurora), HB 1419 was postponed indefinitely at the request of the sponsor. The bill wasn't "ready for prime time," according to the sponsor and needed additional discussion.
Showing posts with label Legislative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legislative. Show all posts
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sen. King's Charter School Bill Goes to the Full Senate
SB 161, Sen. Keith King's bill to allow charter schools to enter into "collaborative" agreements passed out of the Senate Education committee last week on a 6-2 vote. Senators Rollie Heath (D-Boulder) and Evie Hudak (D-Arvada) voted against the bill.
Current law doesn't allow a charter school to join a Board of Cooperative Education Services other than through their authorizing school district. SB 161 would allow charter schools to join directly. It would also permit charter schools to form "collaboratives" without obtaining approval from their authorizer.
The bill, if approved, would allow charter schools to seek federal grants by authorizing it the authority, under limited circumstances, to serve as an LEA (Local Education Agency). This wouldn't apply to Special Education funding.
If the bill receives a majority approval by the full Senate it then goes to the House where it will first be heard by the House Education committee.
Current law doesn't allow a charter school to join a Board of Cooperative Education Services other than through their authorizing school district. SB 161 would allow charter schools to join directly. It would also permit charter schools to form "collaboratives" without obtaining approval from their authorizer.
The bill, if approved, would allow charter schools to seek federal grants by authorizing it the authority, under limited circumstances, to serve as an LEA (Local Education Agency). This wouldn't apply to Special Education funding.
If the bill receives a majority approval by the full Senate it then goes to the House where it will first be heard by the House Education committee.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Colorado Aces One Section of the Race to the Top Application
Colorado's Race to the Top application scored 40 out of 40 in only one section: the section regarding charter schools!
Not surprising given that Colorado's charter school movement is known to have high performing schools as a result of slow, manageable growth. There's always been an emphasis in Colorado to push charter schools to increase student academic achievement. The Charter Schools Act has always prioritized accountability. The addition of the Charter School Institute Act in 2004 emphasized quality authorizing through the grant of exclusive chartering authority to districts who have demonstrated they were good authorizers through meeting certain criteria and CSI is statutorily mandated to be a best practice model in regard to authorizing.
What makes the Colorado charter school law strong? Our law provides for the automatic waiver of employment laws such as teacher licensing, tenure and salary schedules. Charter schools all use at-will employees and don't--at all--deal with collective bargaining agreements that bind most of the state's school districts. Further, the law provides for autonomy by granting the charter school board control over their operations, including the financial budget. Finally, another key point is that the Charter Schools Act provides a way for failing charter schools to close. In fact, more than 20 charter schools have closed since the law was originally adopted in 1993. A handful of these, about four, have closed for academic reasons.
The Center for Education Reform ranks Colorado's law as a "B."
Not surprising given that Colorado's charter school movement is known to have high performing schools as a result of slow, manageable growth. There's always been an emphasis in Colorado to push charter schools to increase student academic achievement. The Charter Schools Act has always prioritized accountability. The addition of the Charter School Institute Act in 2004 emphasized quality authorizing through the grant of exclusive chartering authority to districts who have demonstrated they were good authorizers through meeting certain criteria and CSI is statutorily mandated to be a best practice model in regard to authorizing.
What makes the Colorado charter school law strong? Our law provides for the automatic waiver of employment laws such as teacher licensing, tenure and salary schedules. Charter schools all use at-will employees and don't--at all--deal with collective bargaining agreements that bind most of the state's school districts. Further, the law provides for autonomy by granting the charter school board control over their operations, including the financial budget. Finally, another key point is that the Charter Schools Act provides a way for failing charter schools to close. In fact, more than 20 charter schools have closed since the law was originally adopted in 1993. A handful of these, about four, have closed for academic reasons.
The Center for Education Reform ranks Colorado's law as a "B."
Monday, March 22, 2010
School Finance Bill Passes House Education Committee
HB 1369, the School Finance bill, passed the House unanimously last week and now is waiting for a second reading by the entire House. The bill uses the negative .6% inflation rate to calculate the per student funding amount. This piece of legislation is sponsored by Rep. Scanlon and Rep. Pommer.
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