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Wyoming senators send a bill to rescue the UW Lab School to the House

Playground climbing rock in front of UW Lab School
Melodie Edwards
A climbing rock on the playground in front of the UW Lab School.

This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.

The Wyoming Senate advanced a bill that would preserve the University of Wyoming (UW) Lab School, a K-8 school focusing on project and outdoor-based education in Laramie. The university sent the school an eviction notice last year, saying it was no longer serving the function of training teachers like it used to.

But lawmakers want it to return to serving that role in the face of the state’s teacher shortage. The bill would allow the Legislature to create a statutory board, budget some $5.5 million and oversee the school like it does other campus programs. Those against SF 126 said it’s government overreach. But Senator Charles Scott of Casper called the school “precious.” He said it has grassroots support and that UW and the school district are only thinking about money. The bill passed by six votes and now moves to the House for its consideration.

The Lab School has existed on the UW campus in some form for 135 years.

Leave a tip: medward9@uwyo.edu
Melodie Edwards is the host and producer of WPM's award-winning podcast The Modern West. Her Ghost Town(ing) series looks at rural despair and resilience through the lens of her hometown of Walden, Colorado. She has been a radio reporter at WPM since 2013, covering topics from wildlife to Native American issues to agriculture.

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