Comments on this legislation    Post new comment    Text and Analysis    Add to Watch List 
  Previous   Next 

• Introduced by Sen. David Robertson (R) on September 7, 2011, to establish that if 51 percent of the parents or 51 percent of the teachers in a public school sign a petition, the school can be converted into a charter school, essentially subject to the same expanded chartering procedures and policies proposed by Senate Bill 618.
  • Referred to the Senate Education Committee on September 7, 2011.
    • Reported in the Senate on October 13, 2011, with the recommendation that the substitute (S-4) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
  • Substitute offered in the Senate on June 5, 2012. The substitute passed by voice vote in the Senate on June 5, 2012.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D) on June 6, 2012, to also allow a converted school to be returned to the regular school district ("de-charterized") if 60 percent of parents or 51 percent plus 60 percent of teachers petitioned for this. The amendment failed 17 to 20 in the Senate on June 6, 2012.
    Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
  • Amendment offered by Sen. John Pappageorge (R) on June 6, 2012, to exclude from the bill's "parent trigger" provision a failing school in which at least 10 percent of are not fluent English speakers. The amendment failed by voice vote in the Senate on June 6, 2012.
• Passed 20 to 18 in the Senate on June 6, 2012, to require a public school that is in the lowest-achieving 5 percent of schools statewide to be essentially converted into a charter school if 60 percent of the parents sign a petition requesting this, or 51 percent of the parents plus 60 percent of the teachers. Employees in the resulting "conversion school" would not be subject to the district's union contract or included in the state-run school pension system.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Moved to reconsider by Sen. Arlan Meekhof (R) on June 6, 2012, the vote by which the following bill was passed, reportedly due to some confusion on the first attempt (Sen. Green switched from 'no' to 'yes' and Sen. Schuitmaker from 'yes' to 'no'). The motion passed by voice vote in the Senate on June 6, 2012.
• Received in the Senate on June 6, 2012.
• Passed 20 to 18 in the Senate on June 6, 2012, to require a public school that is in the lowest-acheiving 5 percent of schools statewide to be essentially converted into a charter school if 60 percent of the parents sign a petition requesting this, or 51 percent of the parents plus 60 percent of the teachers. Employees in the resulting "conversion school" would not be subject to the district's union contract or included in the state-run school pension system.
  Who Voted "Yes" and Who Voted "No"
• Received in the House on June 7, 2012.
  • Referred to the House Education Committee on June 7, 2012.
    • Reported in the House on December 5, 2012, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-3) be adopted and that the bill then pass.