The Wyoming Senate today is finishing up debate and will later vote to send Senate File 104 down the hall to the house.

The proposed bill would change who runs the state Department of Education.

Senate File 104 would remove the voter-elected state superintendent of public instruction as the administrative head of the agency in favor of a new director appointed by the governor.

Legislative leaders proposed the measure after they say they’ve had to wrangle with current schools superintendent Cinty Hill over the past year over how the state should implement education accountability measures.

Hill is continuing to oppose the legislation that despite amendments to it that were passed yesterday would make her post mostly ceremonial.

In a news release today from Hill’s office to both lawmakers and the media, taped testimony from Ruth Sommers to the Joint Education Committee, apologizes to the committee saying that Hill’s office did not miss one deadline of implementing new reforms passed by the legislature aimed at education accountability.

Sommers is a liaison with the Legislative Services Offices.  Click here to hear a portion of her testimony to the JEC.

Yesterday, the Senate approved an amendment that would make the elected schools superintendent a member of the education department’s board of directors.

The senate also approved an amendment that outlines some of the qualifications the new director of the education department would need for the position.

Hill calls the overall bill a power grab by state lawmakers.