Tag Archives: State Legislature

Yesterday morning some of my Education Policy Center friends were down at the State Capitol (now, like me, they can hardly get out of their driveways… snow day!). They joined Dr. Michael Mannino, author of the Independence Institute report Deferred Retirement Compensation for Career K-12 Employees: Understanding the Need for Reform (PDF), for his informational presentation to the joint House and Senate Education Committee. New Ed News Colorado reporter Nancy Mitchell provided some colorful coverage of yesterday’s unusually well-attended proceedings (hey, I don’t even want to get out of bed at 7:30 AM): Rep. Michael Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, drew applause from a standing-room only crowd when he closely questioned Michael Mannino, a University of Colorado professor who helped write the report. “Is it possible that your phrases like drastic tax increases and meltdowns could be fear-mongering on your part … in support of your political agenda?” Merrifield asked, an apparent reference to the report’s sponsor, the Independence Institute, which bills itself as a “free market” think tank based in Golden. “Could it be that you’re making an assumption to support your personal views that teachers shouldn’t have a defined benefit plan?” Merrifield asked at another point. “I want people to […]

Last year it was a big issue to see many Denver area public charter schools get significantly shortchanged in bond election requests for more facilities money. It has come to light that charter schools across Colorado receive less than 2 percent of school construction bond money, even though they educate about 7 percent of the total public school enrollment. Why shouldn’t they be treated more fairly? Enter state senator Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, a perennial champion for school choice and educational opportunity. She introduced Senate Bill 176 (PDF) in the state legislature to address the inequity. The bill would require school districts to consult with charter schools about their facilities needs before holding a bond election, and would require school districts to include those needs in the election request “unless the district and charter school agree otherwise.”

Another day at the state legislature, more setbacks for school choice. I’m back from school, have my homework done, so I wanted to share this quick update. Dead on arrival? Yes, that would be a proposal by state senator Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, to create a modest pilot property tax credit for families who take their child out of public school and enroll him in a private school or homeschool program. The Democrat-controlled State Affairs Committee terminated Senate Bill 221 (PDF) on a party-line vote. In other news, the state house shot down an attempt to restore cuts in public charter school facilities funding. A double-whammy against school choice opportunities, and it’s only Monday….

With a proposal in the state legislature, Georgia is having a debate right now over universal vouchers for K-12 students. The bill, sponsored by state senator Eric Johnson, would attach $5,000 to each child for their parents to select the public or private school of their choice. The debate over such a radical change makes events down in the Peach State worth watching closely: Will one state dare to make the leap to truly competitive, student-centered, customer-friendly public education? Are our schools foremost a jobs program for adults or a place to serve the needs of students? I think most parents and many teachers would choose the latter, but connecting that perception to constructing a more competitive system of consumer empowerment is easily lost in the heated rhetoric that inevitably follows the word “vouchers”.

In just a few minutes the excitement begins anew: the Colorado state legislature reconvenes. With the economy in the doldrums and tax revenues down, it’s going to be an interesting four months under Denver’s golden dome. But what about the kids? What about K-12 education? Ed News Colorado gives us a preview of the speeches and schedules that kick off the new session. Ed News also takes a look at some of the bigger education issues that figure to be debated. Standardizing a system of concurrent enrollment, creating unique teacher identifiers, adding flexibility to the School Accountability Report, cutting back on CSAP tests, expanding charter school access to bond money – all these figure to be important debates. Given time, I’ll jump into all of them. For now, though, I wanted to hone in on this one: There’s talk that several lawmakers are interested in legislation to encourage greater parental involvement in schools, including possibly a bill that would require businesses to give employees time off for school activities. (Similar legislation has gone nowhere in past years.) I can’t understand why this idea hasn’t passed before. Who could possibly be against more parental involvement? While they’re at it, I hope […]

Do you live in Colorado? Does your school district or charter school have a compensation system that rewards successful teachers? If not, could you come up with a plan in the next 45 days? There may be state money in it to help your cause. Led by Senator Nancy Spence (R-Centennial), the Colorado state legislature earlier this year allotted some money for local education agencies that want to develop their own alternative teacher compensation systems. Now the chance has come to put this piece of legislation into action. The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) released an important reminder today: The program will allow districts to develop their own individual plans to alternatively compensate educators. A result of the passage of House Bill 08-1388, CDE’s Office of Professional Services will manage the program, with money appropriated from the Colorado Education Fund. A total of $980,000 is available for distribution. There is no maximum that any applicant may request. However, a strong justification for the amount being requested is required…. Applications are due Friday, Jan. 30, 2009 and can be found at http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprof/ALTCOMP.htm. Applicants will be notified of awards by Friday, Feb. 6. Awarded school districts will be required to submit a […]

The best education read of the Thanksgiving week goes to the Hoover Institution’s Terry Moe, writing in the Wall Street Journal: Democrats are fervent supporters of public education, and the party genuinely wants to help disadvantaged kids stuck in bad schools. But it resists bold action. It is immobilized. Impotent. The explanation lies in its longstanding alliance with the teachers’ unions — which, with more than three million members, tons of money and legions of activists, are among the most powerful groups in American politics. The Democrats benefit enormously from all this firepower, and they know what they need to do to keep it. They need to stay inside the box. And they have done just that. Democrats favor educational “change” — as long as it doesn’t affect anyone’s job, reallocate resources, or otherwise threaten the occupational interests of the adults running the system. Most changes of real consequence are therefore off the table. The party specializes instead in proposals that involve spending more money and hiring more teachers — such as reductions in class size, across-the-board raises and huge new programs like universal preschool. These efforts probably have some benefits for kids. But they come at an exorbitant price, […]

Okay, so the last time I told you Joe Williams from Democrats for Education Reform was about to appear on the Independent Thinking television program, it turned out to be a false alarm. Schedules change. Those things are beyond my control. But now I’ve been promised that this time it’s going to happen for sure. If you’re in the Denver area, you’ll want to tune in to KBDI Channel 12 this Friday, November 21, at 8:30 PM, or next Tuesday, November 25, at 5:00 PM, to watch Joe Williams and our own Pam Benigno discuss the movement to reform education in the Democratic Party and how it might play out here in Colorado. Set your VCR or TiVo, if you must, but please don’t miss it! (By the way, here’s a link to the hour-long video of the provocative discussion led by Joe Williams at our Independence Institute offices a couple months ago.) Colorado is the home of the first state chapter of Democrats for Education Reform. And after all, as our own Ben DeGrow pointed out a few days ago in the Denver Post, there is hope for more positive change in the area of school choice and other […]

As usual, Denise at Colorado Charters is keeping close tabs on the world of charter schools in our state. In the last few days, she has posted about: Support for a new charter school application in Colorado Springs Harrison School District An increase in the enrollment cap for Boulder Valley’s alternative charter Justice High The impact of this week’s elections on charter school support and opposition in the state legislature She also has more on Boulder Valley’s pending court case against the Charter School Institute. Public charter schools represent an absolutely vital type of alternative for parents seeking options for the best education available to their children. The grassroots movement continues to grow in Colorado, and you really can’t keep tabs on important developments without regular quick stops to Colorado Charters.

I hope that I get smarter as I go through school some day. Likewise, despite its success with advancing school choice and accountability so far, Colorado also needs to Get Smart(er) about education reform. At least that’s the premise behind a new group called Get Smart Schools Colorado. As the Rocky Mountain News reports: The idea behind Get Smart Schools is similar to school initiatives in Chicago and New York – one group pooling expertise and funding to help promising new school models get off the ground. That’s because research shows it’s typically more effective to start good new schools than it is to transform existing schools that are failing. In Colorado, the focus will be on importing quality school models that have been successful elsewhere and on helping promising new schools find facilities, an obstacle for many. Believe it or not, this sort of group really is needed. We know the importance of smaller schools, autonomy (big word!), strong leadership, high-quality instruction, research-based curricula, parental involvement (i.e., choice), and focus on student improvement. But with an experienced and qualified staff of its own, a group like Get Smart Schools Colorado can show new schools how to get it done […]