Democrat Bill limiting charter schools moves to Senate floor
A Democrat bill that targets charter schools passed out of the Senate Education Committee Thursday over strong Republican opposition.
Senate Bill 61, authored by Sen. Sue Windels, D-Arvada, effectively undermines the state’s chartering authority, Republicans charged. The measure also limits the type of students schools are allowed to enroll, shutting out many of the kinds of students charters now serve.
The bill was approved by the Education Committee Thursday in a 4-3 party-line vote and is scheduled for consideration with the full Senate today.
“I cannot vote for yet another attempt to undermine parental choice in education simply to reserve the interests of school bureaucracies,” said Assistant Senate Minority Leader Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, during Thursday’s committee meeting. “I do not understand why these types of proposals to limit the growth of charter schools keep coming before us.”
Spence also noted Gov. Bill Ritter’s expressed commitment to “educational opportunity” and questioned whether the measure would meet his approval if it reached his desk.
Windels defended the bill in committee as an attempt to improve communication and cooperation among school boards, charter schools and State Charter Institutes.
Established by legislation during the 2004 session, the State Charter Institute is provides charter schools an alternative means of gaining approval when local school boards stand in their way.
“There is an onerous catch-22 in this bill,” said Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, referring to the quota system imposed by SB-61.
The bill would apply quotas to institute charter schools, requiring that they enroll no fewer at-risk students than the percentage of at-risk students in the surrounding school district. Republicans on the committee have argued that charters serve a much wider range of students whose needs are not being met by regular public schools.
Community members and educators from school districts near Carbondale, Pueblo and North Denver came forward in committee Wednesday to voice their disapproval of SB- 61. They were concerned that the bill would leave them with not one, but two bosses — the institute and the school district.
Spence commended community members for speaking in front of the committee as she voiced her own concerns.
“The school board won’t listen to you, the superintendent won’t listen to you, so I applaud what you’ve done,” Spence said to a Carbondale mother who helped establish one of the districts institute charter schools.
Filed under: Colorado Senate News, School Choice