A legislative committee voted Monday to draft a bill that would exempt Wyoming’s alternative schools from the state’s accountability act.
Under the proposed law, alternative school performance would be evaluated by a different standard than that used to assess traditional schools.
Proponents of the bill say the general accountability model can’t make valid conclusions about alternative school performance.
Republican Representative Mike Madden of Buffalo voted against the bill. He says holding alternative schools to a different standard could cause problems.
“We had testimony by at least two superintendents today who said that one of the untendered consequences of going this route is going to be that new alternative schools will be created for an entirely new reason: to make scores from their standard school look that much better,” Madden says.
If the bill becomes law, the Wyoming Department of Education would pilot an accountability model for alternative schools beginning next school year.
