First off, I - like you - have a vested interest in public education in Colorado. My family has taken a slightly different approach to our children’s education in that we’ve chosen to enroll Emma in the Colorado Virtual Academy. No, it’s not technically homeschooling, as any homeschooler will be sure to point out to you. This is still public school, through the Adams County School District.
So the recent move by the Colorado State legislature to limit parental choices regarding charter schools (including virtual academies) has been of particular interest to me. This past Monday was a big day at the Colorado State legislature regarding charter schools as the House Education committee heard SB 61, Charter School Institute. Senate Bill 61 was written by Sue Windels, (D - Arvada), would do immeasurable harm to all charter schools in the state. A few weeks ago several Democratic Senators voted to overhaul the bill and make it easier for parents to choose a school for their children. From the Colorado Senate News:
Earlier this week, Republican senators banded together with key dissenting Democrats, including Senate President Pro-tem Peter Groff, of Denver, and Joint Budget Committee chief Abel Tapia, of Pueblo, to turn a Democrat bill that attacked charter schools into one that helps them. Assistant Senate Minority Leader Nancy SpenceThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , R-Centennial, offered a succession of amendments to Senate Bill 61 that were embraced by the GOP as well as the Democrats who broke ranks.
Bully for them. But Monday got rough. After initially agreeing to allow debate on the proposed amendments acting chair Rep. Solano abruptly closed debate. In the following uproar 3 Republican Senators (Rep. Gardner, Rep. Ray Rose and Rep. Ken Summers) walked out in protest.
Ben, who covers this kind of thing professionally as part of the Independant Institute… has more here, and brand new blog Colorado Charter Schools has a full blow by blow description of Monday’s action.
UPDATE: Also new on the scene is The Colorado Index, who has some scathing, albeit well deserved comments on exvigilare.
One Comment
Rich, I like the new design. Well done. Also, I have, as of today,
offically changed my mind about virtual academies. Given all the
stuff happening at public schools, any way you can educate your
child away from the masses is a bonus. Plus, we are technically
enrolled in APS so who am I to throw stones. So I say go ahead
and consider yourself homeschoolers. We won’t tell.
I think this bill was fueled by the recent awful virtual
academies that aren’t K-12, and so it’s unfortunate that
all of them may have had to suffer. Trying to be charitable,
there.
Cheers.
P.S. Your comment feature is acting funny.
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[…] 3rd largest school district in Colorado). So far, both Republicans and smarter-than-most Democrats banded together against Senate Bill 61 (written by Sue Windels, (D - Arvada)) to keep that from […]