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House panel approves bill making Alternative Learning Environment optional for districts
Summary
The House Education Committee voted to pass House Bill 19‑03, which changes the existing requirement that schools provide an Alternative Learning Environment (ALE) to an option districts may adopt; sponsors and Department of Education staff said funding and obligations for student services do not change.
The House Education Committee passed House Bill 19‑03 on a voice vote, moving a statewide ALE requirement to an optional program that local school districts may adopt.
Supporters said the change is intended to preserve ALE for districts that run it well while avoiding a one‑size‑fits‑all mandate. Representative Steven Walker, sponsor of the bill and a legislator from House District 27, told the committee the measure "gives schools the option" to operate an alternative learning environment and does not change funding.
The Department of Education's Courtney Salas Ford told the committee ALE is meant to serve students who struggle in a traditional classroom by providing more targeted instruction, wraparound services and counseling. Salas Ford said the bill "does not remove the responsibility of a school district to address student behaviors, to provide them the support and services that they need." She added that some districts had used ALE seats to meet administrative or consortium needs rather than the program's original purpose.
Representative Ricky Grutter and others asked whether students placed in ALE for disciplinary reasons would lose recourse under the bill; Salas Ford said ALE placements should not be used as a disciplinary warehouse and that the bill preserves districts' obligations to address behavior and provide needed services. Committee members also asked whether districts that recently built ALE facilities or won awards for ALE programming would lose funding or authorization; Salas Ford said "No. Not at all. They can still continue to have that program. The funding does not change. Nothing at all changes."
With no members signed up to testify for or against and no further discussion recorded, Representative Walker moved to pass the bill. The committee chair called the voice vote; the committee recorded the measure as passed and advanced it out of committee.
The committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript; the clerk stated the bill "has passed." The committee noted there were no registered proponents or opponents present for formal testimony.
