University of Wyoming Lab School bill approved in House committee, headed for floor

Yahoo

21-02-2025

CHEYENNE — In another narrow vote, a bill to keep the University of Wyoming Lab School open passed through the House Education Committee.
Co-sponsored by Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, Senate File 126, 'Establishment of a K-8 public lab school,' passed through committee in a 5-4 vote Wednesday. SF 126 comes after a set of 'unfortunate circumstances' between UW and Albany County School District 1, wherein the two educational entities could not agree on a memorandum of understanding governing school operations, according to Rothfuss.
That disagreement led to a 'unilateral decision' by the UW trustees, and a subsequent later announcement by the ACSD1 school board, to close the UW Lab School at the end of this academic year, Rothfuss explained to his fellow lawmakers this session.
He also acknowledged before the House committee Wednesday that neither the university nor ACSD1 is in support of SF 126.
Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie (2025)
Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie
'The university wants to close the lab school, and they have made that clear,' he said. 'The district doesn't want to continue to work with the lab school. … They see it as a funding threat.'
But teachers, students and staff at the lab school feel very differently — and feel unheard, after the UW trustees first made the decision to close it at a meeting in Sheridan, not Laramie, Rothfuss said.
Representatives from both UW and ACSD1 testified against SF 126 Wednesday.
Mike Smith, UW vice president for governmental affairs and community engagement, said that the decision to close the lab school was 'the epitome of a local control issue,' and that the lab school was 'a great school but serves no educational purpose' that the UW College of Education cannot fulfill without it.
ACSD1 Superintendent Dr. John Goldhardt said that keeping the lab school open represents a financial threat to the district, continuing that the effort behind SF 126 was 'nontransparent' as ACSD1 trustees were not informed or involved.
In comments limited due to time constraints while committees work to push legislation through in the final weeks of the session, former students at the lab school, parents and teachers pleaded with the committee Wednesday to pass SF 126.
Julia Crossland, who identified herself as a young Wyoming teacher, said her life was deeply impacted by the UW Lab School. She graduated in 2023 with a degree in secondary social studies education, after student teaching in Platte County.
'I was lucky enough to be able to participate in a specially designed practicum experience (including time at the lab school),' Crossland said. 'Lab has allowed us to work hands-on with students, and try out different teaching methods.'
UW Lab School art 1
Tori Brantner and Emily Mai work on their 4x4 projects in art class on Dec. 6, 2023, at the University of Wyoming Lab School.
Bradley Rettler, who said his own two children attend the lab school, said it is an important tool for keeping students training to teach in Wyoming. Rettler, who is an associate professor of philosophy at UW, said when he asks freshmen majoring in education why they chose Laramie, one of their top reasons is the lab school.
'We want our teachers to have grown up in the state, to have gone to college in the state, and to stay in the state,' Rettler said. 'The lab school is one of the things that keeps them in the state.'
Rep. Tomi Strock, R-Douglas, said that supporting the UW Lab School is much like supporting rural schools in Wyoming, where parents express a deep need for a facility of choice.
Rep. Tomi Strock, R-Douglas (2025)
Rep. Tomi Strock, R-Douglas
'We fight for (rural schools). School districts usually want to close them, and parents get out there and fight,' Strock said. 'This is no different.'
Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan, said that he was 'on the fence' about SF 126, but that the groundswell of support pushed him toward forwarding the bill out of committee.
Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan (2025)
Rep. Tom Kelly, R-Sheridan
'This is too large of an issue, with too much public input, and too many people paying attention, for this committee to shut it down at this moment,' Kelly said. 'This deserves its time in the House.'
However, Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland; Rep. McKay Erickson, R-Afton; and Rep. Laurie Bratten, R-Sheridan, all said they could not support the bill. Erickson said he worried a state decision would impinge on local control, and Bratten said she had concerns over how the bill structured administration at the lab school.
'There is a lot of verbiage here that is pretty gray,' Bratten said. 'Fundamentally, I would like to see this as a charter. … It is such a strange hybrid.'
Lawley pointed out that the lab school has not been performing for the last several years, and said that SF 126 would force UW and ACSD1 to operate a facility they no longer see as effective.
'Part of my concerns, it begins with the idea that the school hasn't been functioning for five years, basically, and so it is not like we are going to (pass SF 126) and all that is going to come back together,' Lawley said.
Rothfuss responded that the school may have struggled for the last few years, but it has a 138-year history.
'Do we get involved? In my view, that is a legislative decision. We are electeds, and this is a decision that should be made by electeds,' Rothfuss said. 'Believe me, (the College of Education) thrived with the lab school for many years.'
Kelly, Strock and Rep. Joel Guggenmos, R-Riverton; Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne; and Rep. Ocean Andrew, R-Laramie, voted for SF 126. Bratten, Erickson, Lawley and Rep. JD Williams, R-Lusk, voted against the bill.