A wide-ranging education bill dealing with everything from funding for high-performing universities to high-school membership in athletic associations made it through the final day of the legislative session Friday, despite the long odds that such policy “trains” often face.
But in the process, lawmakers cut a provision aimed at ensuring that taxpayer-provided construction dollars for charter schools don’t end up enriching private companies, causing angst in both the House and the Senate.
The legislation (HB 7029) passed the Senate on a 29-10 vote after a debate that included arguments about the charter-school provision and an issue dealing with whether schoolchildren have to remove their headdresses during the Pledge of Allegiance. The House then approved the bill in an 82-33 vote.
