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Gov. Bill Ritter on Wednesday signed Senate Bill 08-130, the Innovation Schools Act designed to make it easier for schools, groups of schools and entire districts to obtain waivers from state laws and regulations and from some provisions of union contracts.
The signing ceremony was at Bruce Randolph School in Denver, which had to fight hard last year for various waivers.
The goal of bill, which was pushed by Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, is to make it easier for schools, especially those with at-risk students, to try innovative programs to boost student achievement. Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver and House assistant majority leader, was prime sponsor in the House.
He and Groff both represent northeast Denver districts with their share of troubled schools. Prime sponsors also included Republicans Sen. Nancy Spence of Centennial and Rep. Rob Witwer of Golden.
Wednesday, Groff said, “A status quo approach is no longer working and in fact is hindering our ability to graduate our students with the skills they need to succeed in a global economy. These schools and districts of innovation will have the potential to instruct students in exciting new ways. We have the potential to improve student achievement by offering flexibility in the way education is administered.”
It's possible for schools to get such waivers now, but it's difficult and time consuming, as the experience of Bruce Randolph showed. The new law sets up a standardized process of plan development, school community agreement, school board review and then state Board of Education Review for waiver requests.
Groff has said he expects school boards will lead the way in requesting waivers.
As introduced, the bill raised concern with teachers' union lobbyists. But, amendments brokered by Senate Education Chair Sen. Sue Windels, D-Arvada, brought every education group into line behind the bill. The amendments were meant to ensure teacher pension and due process rights and to require broad support within schools before they seek waivers.
The bill passed the Senate 35-0 and the House 53-11.
SB 08-130 is one of the top education bills of 2008, along with the BEST construction program, the CAP4K education reform bill, the budget bill containing additional money for full-day kindergarten and preschool and legislation giving additional construction money to colleges and universities. All have been signed by Ritter.
The governor Wednesday also signed House Bill 08-1403, which creates a process under which the Denver Public Schools retirement system can merge with the Public Employees Retirement Association.
The DPS system is the only independent teachers’ retirement plan in the state. Merger has been long discussed and is seen as beneficial because of potential operating efficiencies and because it will make it easier for teachers to move in or out of the Denver schools without losing benefits.
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