A bill requiring high school students in Colorado to be proficient in the English language before receiving a diploma won initial approval before the full state Senate this morning.

Senate Bill 89, by Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, would require school districts to require English language competency as a graduation requirement by 2013. But it leaves it up to the districts to determine what competency means and how to test for it.

“Senate Bill 89 represents a statewide policy that we serve our children when we teach them English,” Mitchell said. “… We fail those students if we fail to teach them English.”

The bill saw little resistance on the Senate floor this morning. Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, said he worries about adding even more testing requirements for schools, saying, “the more testing we do, the less time we have to teach.”

But Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, said English language competency is an obvious requirement.

“I do believe, as an educator, that all students who graduate and have a diploma would be understood to have a certain understanding and use of English,” she said.

The bill passed on a voice vote. It comes up next for a third reading in the Senate, before heading to the House.