Bill Summary for Bill Number HB12-1124

Date: 02/13/2012

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB12-1124

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt a conceptual amendment to House Bill 12-1124 Adopt prepared Amendment L.002 (Attachment B). The Refer House Bill 12-1124, as amended, to the House	Pass Without Objection Pass Without Objection PASS

02:42 PM -- House Bill 12-1124

Representative Massey, sponsor of House Bill 12-1124, presented his bill. Subject to the receipt of sufficient money from public and private donations, the bill requires the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to commission a study of digital learning in Colorado. At a minimum, the study must address issues including:

student eligibility for and access to digital learning;
the quality of available digital learning content and instruction;
funding models for digital learning that create incentives for performance;
other state experience integrating digital learning into K-12 education;
information technology infrastructure;
current state statutes and rules concerning digital learning; and
the extent to which current school accountability measures are appropriate and sufficient to measure the performance of online students.

The bill requires CDE to select a Colorado-based vendor to conduct the study, and report its name to the State Board of Education (SBE), the Governor, and the education committees of the General Assembly, no later than July 1, 2012. The vendor cannot be a provider of digital learning or related technologies, or otherwise have a conflict of interest in conducting the study.

The CDE is authorized to seek, accept, and spend gifts, grants, or donations to fund the study; however, the study will not be commissioned until the CDE receives sufficient moneys. The CDE must submit the completed study to the SBE, Governor, and the education committees of the General Assembly no later than January 31, 2013.

Representative Massey responded to questions from the committee concerning the vendor selection process.

The following persons testified:

02:47 PM -- Reilly Pharo, Vice President of Education Initiatives, Colorado Children's Campaign, expressed support for the bill. She stated that the study will look at how the state integrates digital learning into schools and what needs to be done to support these efforts. She stated that digital and blended learning lead to individualized learning systems that allow kids to progress at their own pace.

Ms. Pharo responded to questions from the committee. Representative Schafer asked if Ms. Pharo's organization has studied the psychological and social development of students to identify when they are ready for digital learning. Ms. Pharo referenced a study that the CDE will be completing along side the study purposed in the bill. She said that she understands that this study will look at the profile of students and their needs. Representative Holbert asked how many Colorado-based entities are eligible to conduct the study and if Ms. Pharo believes that the vendor to conduct the study has already been chosen. Ms. Pharo responded that she feels comfortable that the vendor has not already been selected and that the CDE will conduct a strong RFP process.

02:54 PM -- Van Schoales, Democrats for Education Reform, expressed support for the bill. Mr. Schoales stated that digital learning shows enormous promise, especially in blended or hybrid programs. He stated that he worries about having one vendor through the CDE to conduct the study, stating that it may be good to have a committee conduct the study so that a variety of perspectives are represented. He added that digital learning is here and expanding rapidly. Mr. Schoales responded to questions from the committee.

03:01 PM -- Randy DeHoff, representing himself, expressed support for the bill. He spoke to a recent conference he attended concerning digital learning, saying that the same questions of money following students, quality of education, and equal access in rural communities, were raised at the conference. He stated that the value of the study proposed by the bill is that it will provide concrete steps to implement digital learning in Colorado. He said that what works for one state, will not necessarily work for another state. He expressed concern about limiting the vendor to conduct the study to only Colorado-based vendors, saying that several organizations across the nation do good studies in this arena.

03:07 PM -- Jane Urschel, Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), expressed support for the bill. Dr. Urschel stated that she received authorization from the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) to express support for the bill on their behalf, as well. She stated that the bill brings online learning into line. She stated that Representative Massey is onto something with blended learning. She referenced a recent tour she attended of the Hope Online Learning Academy's Learning Center at Tubman Hilliard in Denver. Represnetaive Ramirez asked what the study would investigate. Dr. Urschel referred to page four of the printed bill where the scope of the study is described.

03:10 PM -- Tunda Aswego, Founder, Tubman Hilliard Learning Center, expressed support for the bill. Mr. Aswego provided background on the student population served at Tubman Hilliard and how the school became a blended learning school. He stated that the school has always been an individual-centered institution. He stated that individualization is a huge advantage of blended learning. Mr. Aswego responded to questions from the committee.

Representative Schafer commented on the role public libraries play in delivering digital technology and access to those of all ages.

Representative Massey distributed and explained Amendment L.002 (Attachment B).


BILL:	HB12-1124
TIME:	03:17:37 PM
MOVED:	Massey
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.002 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Beezley
		VOTE
	Hamner
	Holbert
	Joshi
	Kerr A.
	Murray
	Peniston
	Ramirez
	Schafer S.
	Solano
	Summers
	Todd
	Beezley
	Massey

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:18 PM

Representative Hamner moved a conceptual amendment to the bill: page five, line nine, after "(VIII)" insert: "The financial benefits and impacts to school districts including".


BILL:	HB12-1124
TIME:	03:18:33 PM
MOVED:	Hamner
MOTION:	Adopt a conceptual amendment to House Bill 12-1124. Amend printed bill page 5, line 9, after "(VIII)" insert: "The financial benefits and impacts to school districts including". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Massey
		VOTE
	Hamner
	Holbert
	Joshi
	Kerr A.
	Murray
	Peniston
	Ramirez
	Schafer S.
	Solano
	Summers
	Todd
	Beezley
	Massey

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB12-1124
TIME:	03:22:30 PM
MOVED:	Massey
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 12-1124, as amended, to the House Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a roll call vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Peniston
		VOTE
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Murray	Yes
	Peniston	Yes
	Ramirez	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Todd	Yes
	Beezley	Yes
	Massey	Yes

Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:32 PM

The committee adjourned.