Date: 01/28/2010
Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB10-1054
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
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03:08 PM -- House Bill 10-1054
Representative S. King, sponsor of House Bill 10-1054, concerning presenting school safety information at higher education institutions, presented the bill to the committee. He explained how the human brain processes information in a crisis situation. He noted that there is no uniformed incident protocol in Colorado.
03:13 PM
Representative Solano asked why the bills requires that the presentation be 45 minutes in length. Representative King responded that he believes that student orientations generally set out 45-minute to one-hour time blocks for presentations. Representative Solano asked how long a typical new student orientation is. Representative King stated that in his experience it is a day-long event. Representative Solano raised concerns about setting a specific amount of time for the presentation in statute.
Representative King responded that he is willing to work on how to present the safety information because in speaking to community colleges, they explained that they do not hold a new student orientation. Representative Merrifield asked what kind of materials or formats could be used for providing safety protocol information. Representative King responded that there are many ways to present the information. Representative Merrifield asked how he would resolve the issue the community colleges raised. Representative King responded that he is willing to change the 45-minute requirement as long as there is a mechanism for providing the safety protocol information to students.
03:20 PM
Representative Summers asked if each individual college is required to develop its own materials and what assistance will be provided by the Department of Higher Education and the Colorado Department of Public Safety. Representative King noted that he added the School Safety Resource Center to the bill to indicate that the center is a resource for the schools. However, he further explained that the director of the center feels that the bill requires the center to create materials and train schools, which requires additional funding for the center. Therefore, Representative King stated that he has prepared an amendment to remove references to the center in the bill.
03:22 PM
The following people testified on the bill:
03:23 PM -- John Michael Keyes, representing himself, shared his experience as a parent of a student who lost her life during the Platte Canyon High School incident. He noted that the intention of the bill is the right place, but stated that he has concerns with the bill. He explained that in conducting research to understand school safety plans, he discovered an inconsistency in school safety protocols. He shared the work at Adams 12 Five Star Schools to standardize school safety protocol. He reviewed the four elements of the standard response protocol (SRP) which uses standard terminology and is aligned with the National Incident Management System (NIMS). He noted that 436 schools have implemented or are in the process of implementing the standard response protocol, which 24 percent of schools and 31 percent of students in Colorado. He presented concerns about the outdated language that is presented in the current bill under debate. He shared a handout with committee members (Attachment A).
03:31 PM
Representative Benefield asked if the information he has presented could be incorporated as an amendment to fix the outdated language used in the bill. Conversation between Mr. Keyes and Representative Benefield ensued on how safety protocol information regarding fire safety is provided, but not other safety threats. Representative Massey asked about NIMS alignment for the bill. Conversation on the NIMS certification process for teachers and administrators ensued.
03:37 PM
Mr. Keyes also responded to questions from Representative Middleton regarding cultivating an environment at higher education institutions that values school safety standards, as opposed to making school safety protocols as another item on the checklist. Representative Middleton asked if it is necessary to pass legislation for higher education to implement the provisions of the bill or if there is information that can be currently disseminated to higher education institutions. Representative Todd asked whether Mr. Keyes has presented the SRP to higher education institutions. He explained that he has presented to churches and has discussed with other localities about the possibility of implementing the SRP for senior communities, but that he has not yet presented to colleges. He discussed the review committee for the SRP and that the roadmap for this year is to extend the protocol to higher education.
03:42 PM -- Einar Jensen, representing the Fire and Life Safety Education Association of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. He noted the importance of sharing safety protocol information with higher education students and shared some statistics on fatalities and accidents pertaining to higher education students. He stated the importance of planning as an effective method for prevention injury and death.
03:45 PM
Representative Todd responded to Mr. Jensen's remarks, particularly noting the lack of safety information provided to higher education students. Representative Todd also asked whether the fraternity or sorority systems or student activity organizations have taken an active role in sharing safety information. Mr. Jensen responded that there are programs in existence through Pan-hellenic groups.
Representative Middleton asked if there are alternate formats such as on-line information that could be provided to students because she noted that often times students do not attend all parts of an orientation. Mr. Jensen explained that there are alternate formats, but the face -to-face presentation is more effective, in his opinion. Representative Merrifield asked how the presentation would be provided to students who register on-line and do not attend an orientation. Representative S. King responded that he is willing to work on the delivery method to make it friendly to higher education.
03:50 PM -- Rob Geislinger, representing the Colorado Fire Chiefs and Fire Marshals Association, testified on the bill and stated his support of the concept of the bill. He noted that fire fatalities occur annually at higher education institutions and presented concerns that the bill did not address the issue of fire safety for higher education.
03:52 PM
Representative Solano asked Mr. Geislinger to discuss the SRP presented by Mr. Keyes and how it might fit into the bill. He responded that this is the first time he saw the SRP, but he believes that the concept of having a standard language and procedure is a good one.
03:54 PM -- Joe Roy, representing the Colorado Association of the Institutional Law Enforcement Directors, testified against the bill. He outlined the concerns his association has with the bill: the language around the type of information to be presented; the required length of presentation; and the lack of a requirement of providing information on how to ensure day-to-day safety.
04:01 PM
Representative Middleton asked if it is necessary for legislation to be passed in order for higher education institutions to implement the requirements of the bill. Conversation on this topic ensued between Mr. Roy and Representative Middleton. Representative Summers asked what is the status of implementing such protocols at CU - Boulder. Mr. Roy noted that the officers train with Boulder police department to be prepared for active harm situations such as Virginia Tech. He also noted that there is a "Shots Fired" video available on its website.
04:05 PM
Representative Merrifield explained that the bill would be laid over to a later date.