Colorado House of Representatives (May 11, 2010) |
DENVER - Lawmakers in the Senate stood and applauded in triumph, while others hugged and cried in disappointment, after they gave final approval to a controversial bill that will tie teacher tenure to student performance and sent the bill to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk on the final day of the 2010 legislative session.
After concurring on nearly 200 amendments added to the bill in the House, the Senate voted 27-8 in favor of Senate Bill 191 Wednesday afternoon, after a final debate capped by a stirring speech from the bill's sponsor, Sen. Michael Johnston.
"This is about us making a long-term commitment to the fact that the only way we get to seeing the outstanding results for all kids is making sure we have a great teacher in every classroom and a great principal in every school," said Johnston, D-Denver, the first-term lawmaker who sponsored the controversial bill. "What we're saying now is that it matters to us that every kid gets across the finish line."
There was little of the drama around the actual vote, especially compared to the emotional and tearful debate in the House Tuesday night; and yet there was a palpable sense of history in the chamber as Republican senators stood as the votes were called out and joined in applause as the bill cleared its final legislative hurdle.
Interestingly, six Democrats who voted against the bill on third-reading last week switched their vote to 'aye' on the amended final version.
As Johnston shook hands with other supportive lawmakers and hugged his parents, who were watching from the floor, two of his Democratic colleagues who ardently opposed the bill, Sens. Evie Hudak, of Westminster, and Lois Tochtrop, of Thornton, consoled each other and cried.
Such was the extent to which Democrats were divided by the proposal at the heart of the measure, which ties teacher evaluations to student academic growth. Teachers who receive two consecutive "ineffective" ratings could lose their tenured status and, potentially, their jobs.
Many teachers strongly oppose the bill and worry that it relies too heavily on test scores and will scapegoat teachers while taking away due process rights for teachers who already have tenure.
"The amendments we were allowed to make in the Senate and the House don't address the fundamental concern teachers have with the bill -- that at its heart, it assumes that the main problem with public education is that there are too many ineffective teachers," Hudak said.
(Interactive Coverage of Colorado Politics)
After concurring on nearly 200 amendments added to the bill in the House, the Senate voted 27-8 in favor of Senate Bill 191 Wednesday afternoon, after a final debate capped by a stirring speech from the bill's sponsor, Sen. Michael Johnston.
"This is about us making a long-term commitment to the fact that the only way we get to seeing the outstanding results for all kids is making sure we have a great teacher in every classroom and a great principal in every school," said Johnston, D-Denver, the first-term lawmaker who sponsored the controversial bill. "What we're saying now is that it matters to us that every kid gets across the finish line."
There was little of the drama around the actual vote, especially compared to the emotional and tearful debate in the House Tuesday night; and yet there was a palpable sense of history in the chamber as Republican senators stood as the votes were called out and joined in applause as the bill cleared its final legislative hurdle.
Interestingly, six Democrats who voted against the bill on third-reading last week switched their vote to 'aye' on the amended final version.
As Johnston shook hands with other supportive lawmakers and hugged his parents, who were watching from the floor, two of his Democratic colleagues who ardently opposed the bill, Sens. Evie Hudak, of Westminster, and Lois Tochtrop, of Thornton, consoled each other and cried.
Such was the extent to which Democrats were divided by the proposal at the heart of the measure, which ties teacher evaluations to student academic growth. Teachers who receive two consecutive "ineffective" ratings could lose their tenured status and, potentially, their jobs.
Many teachers strongly oppose the bill and worry that it relies too heavily on test scores and will scapegoat teachers while taking away due process rights for teachers who already have tenure.
"The amendments we were allowed to make in the Senate and the House don't address the fundamental concern teachers have with the bill -- that at its heart, it assumes that the main problem with public education is that there are too many ineffective teachers," Hudak said.
(Interactive Coverage of Colorado Politics)
