Taman Siswa

The usual education issues of funding, test assessments and school choice will be reviewed this legislative session, but a relative newcomer to the scene — online learning centers — also will draw scrutiny in the statehouse.

Gov.-elect Bill Ritter has said education ranks among his highest priorities. He wants to boost high school graduation rates and access to higher education. At the K-12 level, Ritter has suggested a training institute for principals, merit pay and a cadet program to promote careers in teaching.

“It will be interesting to see the shift,” Marlene Schuman, a school board member in Greeley-Evans School District 6, said of the new Democrat-controlled statehouse. “I do know that our legislators are pro education, even though it doesn’t sound like it sometimes. They want what’s best for our kids just as much as we do at our local levels. Sometimes it gets lost in the one-size-fits-all for our districts. We are all so different.”

The three government measures used to evaluate the effectiveness of schools — School Accountability Reports, state accreditation and the Colorado Student Assessment Program, which is tied to the federal No Child Left Behind Act — are likely targets for tweaks this legislative session.

Sen. Sue Windels, D-Arvada, who leads the Senate Education Committee, is planning legislation to add more information to the school report cards, that parents receive each year about their schools.

Windels is also expected to propose legislation to tighten oversight of online schools, which have burgeoned in recent years. A recent audit found some schools blur the lines between separation of church and state, fall short on staff background checks, and post chronically low scores on student assessment tests.

District 6 has its own problems on the tests, ranking among the lowest districts in the state. The 18,000-student district continues to struggle to pull itself off state accreditation watch.

Schuman said a continuing problem is how the three government accountability systems don’t align.

“The state would like it so we get useful information from all three systems and not necessarily have the punitive sanctions that are in the three different systems,” she said.

Schuman said a bill will likely be submitted that proposes changes to construction project funding in smaller districts. They lack the bonding capacity of larger districts.

“This bill would make the state go through and look at the districts and do a capital improvement assessment and see how much money needs to go into the schools,” Schuman said.

State Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, expects the Legislature to address qualifications for principals, tweaks to CSAP, including a possible alternative test for 10th-graders, and improved teacher training.

As childhood obesity continues as a problem, he said, a bill could be again introduced to address student nutrition. Last year, Gov. Bill Owens vetoed a bill that would regulate snack foods in vending machines. Owens, who leaves office in January, said the issue should be decided by local school boards.

More to watch for

Other education topics expected to be considered by the 2007 Legislature:

» More boosts to preschool funding; the Legislature increased preschool spending by more than $5 million last session.

» All-day kindergarten.

» Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, plans to introduce a bill calling for a statewide public school audit.

» State House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, plans a task force to develop a Colorado version of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. That panel has called for a revamping of education funding. The panel also advocates expanded preschool and directing 10th-graders with vocational interests into technical colleges while channeling other high schoolers into rigorous preparatory programs for elite universities.