Overhauling Ritter's ed bill
Lawmakers back amended version focusing on ACT
By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published April 17, 2008 at 11 p.m.
Lawmakers in both parties Thursday moved behind a vastly different version of the education reform proposal Gov. Bill Ritter has touted as "revolutionary."
Under the version of SB 212 that won preliminary approval in the Senate, schools would focus on skills students need to score well on the ACT college entrance exam.
The original version of the bill, drafted with extensive participation by Ritter's office, gave the Colorado Board of Education broad authority to revise statewide academic standards to reflect skills students need for success in college or the work place.
The board also would have developed new tests to replace the exams administered under the Colorado Students Assessment Program.
Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, said lawmakers and educators were confused about what the state school board would come up with and how long the process would take.
"There was sort of skepticism about where's this bill headed," said Penry, a sponsor of the original bill and a major architect of the amended version. "This amendment creates the end game, and the end game is, we're going to adopt a nationally normed standard."
A system based on ACT could take effect as soon as the U.S. Department of Education declares that it complies with the No Child Left Behind Act, Penry said.
That could be as early as the 2009-10 school year, Penry said. Under the original version, changes would have taken effect in the fall 2012.
Evan Dreyer, Ritter's spokesman, said the governor is studying the amended bill and wants to discuss it with the education and higher education departments.
"This continues to be one of the most productive and exciting conversations that the legislature and the governor's office have had about education reform in this state in a very long time," Dreyer said.
Education Commissioner Dwight Jones said the new version of the bill ties the hands of the state education department in revising academic standards.
"By selecting a specific assessment before adopting new standards, we are putting on shoes before our socks," Jones said in a prepared statement.
He also warned that the U.S. Eduction Department may not approve substituting ACT for CSAP, which is the test Colorado uses to demonstrate compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act. No state has won such approval, he said.
The new version of the bill is backed by the Colorado Education Association and the Colorado Association of School Executives, which represents superintendents and other administrators.
The House sponsors - Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon, and Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Genessee - announced that they support the new version.
The bill won Senate approval on a voice vote. It could come up for a final vote as early as today.
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