State senators approve charter schools bill

CARSON CITY, NV (AP) - A bill allowing parents to develop specialized public schools has passed unanimously in the Nevada Senate, but the 25 charter schools allowed in the measure may be scaled back by the Assembly.

Senators who spoke in favor of SB220 hailed it as a milestone in educational reform. A similar measure failed in 1995.

Charters are agreements among a group of parents or community leaders and a local school district allowing a public school to operate independently with the intention of allowing for innovative teaching methods that will improve student performance.

A charter school could, for example, run longer than the 180 days required for Nevada public schools. A charter school also could focus on helping dropouts or provide a specialized curriculum.

Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, chairman of the Human Resources and Facilities Committee which worked on the measure, said it is a product of compromise.

``I think it's a safe bill for the Legislature to be considering now,'' Rawson said.

But supporter Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, warned that the 25 charter schools allowed in the bill far exceeds the six schools unanimously recommended in a 1996 legislative interim study.

Assembly Education Committee Chairman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, has already said the number of schools is too high, he said, adding, ``Everybody better be prepared for a reduced number.''

The number of schools allowed in the Senate's bill is limited to no more than 12 in any one school district. The limitation on the number of charter schools would end in 2003 under the bill.

Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, a sponsor of the legislation, said the charter school movement is growing throughout the country.

As of November 1996, there were 481 charter schools in 25 states serving 105,149 students, he said.

Under the bill, an existing public school could petition the local school board to convert to a charter school if more than 50 percent of the teachers agreed.

Private groups of parents or teachers also could form a charter school, but existing private schools would not be allowed to convert.