The Senate Education committee today killed a bill by Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, that would have prevented students -- and their schools -- from being punished for being absent during testing for the Colorado Student Assessment Program, or CSAP.

Critics charged that the proposal would have effectively made CSAP tests optional.

“This was a back-door attempt to undermine accountability in our public schools,” said Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial. “The fact that this proposal lasted as long as it did is just sad.”

House Bill 1284 had passed the House on a narrow vote, with every Democrat in favor and every Republican opposed, before being sidelined in today’s Senate committee.

Sen. Ron Tupa, a Democrat from Boulder and a substitute teacher, joined with all of the panel’s Republican senators to vote against HB-1284. “I just can’t approve this bill,” said Tupa. “I do know somewhat the mindset of high school kids, and if they can get out of a test without any repercussion to them, and possibly no repercussion to the school, they will.”

The CSAP tests are administered to Colorado’s school children every spring, and are used as the standardized guidepost for measuring the effectiveness of each school. The tests are used for both state and federal funding decisions, including mandates from the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The NCLB Act requires a 95% participation rate in accountability tests in order to receive certain federal funds. Both Spence and Tupa expressed concern that HB-1284 would have endangered those funds.

“This bill was as reckless as it was underhanded,” said Spence. “I’m glad that the forces of reason carried the day.”