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SF 126

Establishment of a K-8 public lab school.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Ocean Andrew and 10 co-sponsors

Creates a K–8 public lab school on UW campus with up to 200 students to model innovative instruction and support teacher education, funded within K–12 formulas.

H COW:Failed 24-32-6-0-0
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Bill Summary · SF 126

Summary — SF 126: Establishment of a K–8 public lab school

Status: Introduced Jan 23, 2025 — Passed Senate (3rd Reading 2/10/2025, 18–12–1) — Failed in House Committee of the Whole (2/28/2025, 24–32–6). Companion: HF 1285.

Purpose

SF 126 would create a public K–8 "lab school" on the main campus of the University of Wyoming (UW). The school is intended to:
- Model developmentally appropriate, learner‑centered and differentiated instruction;
- Serve as a teacher education site for pre‑service teachers and a site to identify best practices for Wyoming public schools;
- Provide a coordinated program between UW and the local (resident) school district (Albany County School District No. 1).

Key provisions

  • Creation of a K–8 public lab school to be located on UW’s main campus and administratively part of the resident school district.
  • Enrollment capped at 200 students and planned to begin in school year 2025–2026.
  • The lab school must meet state uniform education program standards and statewide assessment requirements, but the bill allows processes for requesting waivers from some state statutes or rules.
  • The Department of Education is directed, for 2025–26 funding purposes, to use University of Wyoming Lab School 2024–25 data when calculating resources (i.e., the school will not be treated as a "new school" for resource generation).
  • Reporting: the governing board must report annually (by Sept. 1 beginning 2025) to the Joint Education Interim Committee on student achievement, enrollment, teacher placement, UW engagement, impact on UW teacher programs, and proposed statutory changes.

Governance and operations

  • Establishes a governing board to operate the school: seven (7) voting members plus one ex‑officio, nonvoting member (the principal who serves as board chair). Typical listed members include a resident district trustee, the resident district superintendent (or designee), the UW College of Education dean (or designee), an appointee of that dean, the state superintendent (or designee), a teacher selected by school teachers, and a parent selected by parents.
  • The board has authority to prepare budgets, contract for services (including with the resident district or UW), hire personnel and may sue or be sued in its own name.

Funding and fiscal impact

  • Fiscal note (Legislative Service Office): increased K–12 foundation program costs estimated at $2,500,000 (FY2026), $2,000,000 (FY2027) and $1,100,000 (FY2028), based on the 200‑student assumption and treatment as a charter school under the bill. UW indicated indeterminate administrative impacts.

Who is affected

  • University of Wyoming (program and campus operations);
  • Albany County School District No. 1 (resident district);
  • Pre‑service teachers and UW College of Education programs;
  • Up to 200 K–8 students and their families;
  • State K–12 funding formulas and the Public School Foundation Program.

Legislative/timeline notes

  • Senate: passed with committee and floor amendments; included a provision that the new lab school not be treated as a new school for certain funding calculations for 2025–26.
  • House: recommended by House Education Committee (5–4) but a Committee of the Whole amendment failed and the bill failed in COW (24–32–6); therefore the bill did not advance into law in this session.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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