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GOP Outlines Priorities For Education Legislation In 2015

Education Reform Committee Chairman Says School Funding Reform, Voucher Expansion Are On Agenda

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Photo: Rough Tough, Real Stuff (CC-BY-NC-ND).

Republican lawmakers are assembling a wish list for education in 2015.

Senator Paul Farrow, the chairman of the newly formed Education Reform Committee, said that expanding the statewide voucher program, a new school accountability bill, and potentially reexamining the state’s educational standards are at the top of his party’s priority list.

He also said he’d like to make changes to school funding.

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“I think it’s time for a serious conversation, especially when you look at education being one of the top three areas of our budget,” said Farrow. “How are we funding education across the board, and is it an equitable system that we’ve got in place?”

Lawmakers have punted on the complicated issue in the past. Farrow said he will push to establish a task force that will look at how state aid is distributed to publicly funded schools.

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