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School Discipline Bill Advances In Colorado Senate

DENVER (AP) - A proposal to erase strict Columbine-era school discipline policies is headed to a debate in the Colorado Senate.

A committee approved the bill Tuesday on a 5-4 vote.

The bill eliminates zero-tolerance policies that lawmakers say force school districts to expel students or refer them to police for minor infractions, such accidentally bringing a toy gun to class. Expulsions would be mandatory only when a student brings a real firearm to school.

Republicans say they're against requirements that school districts and local law enforcement to collect discipline data. They say that amounts to an unfunded mandate. Democrats say the local governments are already collecting the data and that it just needs to be compiled in one place.

The whole Senate will debate the bill later.

LINK: Senate Bill 46

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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