Press Room

Hudak bill to improve Colorado schools passes Senate

Monday, May 2 2011

“The goal of this bill is to make sure that community input is heard”

DENVER— Today, a bill to improve public input in school turnaround improvement plans passed the Colorado State Senate.  Senate Bill 80, sponsored by Senator Evie Hudak (D-Westminster), directs local school boards to seek input from the public by conducting a public meeting prior to adopting a school turnaround plan. A school turnaround plan occurs when a school has shown inadequate performance relative to annual and long-term academic proficiency targets for all students. The Colorado Department of Education and local school districts are required to intervene in schools that persistently do not meet these targets. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

Under Senate Bill 80, local school boards must hold public meetings and take public input before submitting a turnaround plan for evaluation by the state review panel. This will substantially increase the level of public involvement in the turnaround process for a particular school.

Senator Hudak offered the following comment on the committee passage of Senate bill 80:

“I’m very proud that this bill passed the Senate today. It is critical that any school turnaround plan involve parent and community participation and transparency. The goal of this bill is to make sure that community input is heard during the school turnaround process.  It is my hope that this will give the public an increased leadership role in school improvement plans.”