Legislative Notebook Legislative Notebook Bill eases waiver process for large districts Large school districts would have an easier time applying to the state Board of Education for waivers from state laws under a bill approved by a House committee Monday. Listed as co-sponsors are the other 37 Republicans in the House. Fairbank said the measure is designed to remove unnecessary bureaucracy from the process under which schools apply for waivers. Waivers allow school districts to get exemptions from state law, such as when hiring a person who is not licensed as a teacher. Currently, schools in districts with more than 3,000 pupils have to win approval from a school's accountability committee.
Applications then go to the school board for consideration.
Districts with fewer than 3,000 pupils can send a school's waiver applications directly to the district board. Area men appointed to emergency committee Gov. Bill Owens has appointed two area men to his Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee. Mark Bernarr of Louisville and Kenneth Chao of Arvada were among eight appointments made to the committee, which will update the state's disaster plan dealing with bioterrorism, pandemic influenza and epidemics caused by infectious agents. The 19-member committee is to complete a supplement to the plan by July 1. Johnson is executive director of the Jefferson County Department of Health and Environment and an associate clinical professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.