A Colorado lawmaker says she's "sorry" for introducing a bill that would have affected the Native student tuition program at Fort Lewis College.

Rep. Karen Middleton (D) said she didn't expect controversy over the measure, which would have cut the school's budget by $1.8 million. She described the change as an "accounting situation" that would not have eliminated the program but critics quickly mobilized against its passage.

“I'm kind of caught up in something right now that was unintentional," Middleton told The Durango Herald. “I am truly sorry that the way this bill has been presented has been felt so personally."

Fort Lewis began as an Indian boarding school that was run by the federal government. When it became a public institution, the state promised to admit Indian students "free of tuition and on an equality with white students."

Get the Story:
Rep. 'sorry' about bill (The Durango Herald 1/22)

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