Bill: SB 1241, 84(R) - 2015
Committee
Senate Education
Vote Recommendation
| Vote Recommendation |
Economic Freedom |
Property Rights |
Personal Responsibility |
Limited Government |
Individual Liberty |
| Yes |
Positive |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Author(s)
Larry Taylor
Bill Caption
Relating to authority of school districts, home-rule school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools to establish innovation zones and the authority of school districts to obtain designation as districts of innovation.
Fiscal Notes
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is
anticipated. It is assumed that there would be costs to participate in
the program, but these costs would vary and participation would be
voluntary.
Bill Analysis
SB 1241 would allow public school districts to create multi-campus innovation zones, which may include campuses from multiple districts or open-enrollment charter schools. The bill would set forth the procedures for requesting and establishing the innovation zones, the appropriate standards for the zones, and the approval process by the commissioner.
Vote Recommendation Notes
This bill would affirm the principle of a free market. School district innovation zones allow public schools more flexibility from bureaucratic requirements, similar to charter schools, in order to explore new ways of teaching and learning in hopes to gain higher level of achievements. School districts feel that they need to compete with charter schools, so allowing innovation zones may lead to competition among schools, which hopefully, will result in higher quality schools, therefore we support SB 1241.
