Bill Summary for Bill Number HB12-1306

Date: 03/05/2012

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB12-1306

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt prepared Amendment L.001 (Attachment K). No Adopt prepared Amendment L.002 (Attachment J). The	PASS

02:06 PM -- House Bill 12-1306

Representative Holbert, sponsor of House Bill 12-1306, presented the bill and provided several handouts to the committee members (Attachments F through I). The bill creates a process for school districts to seek supplemental funding for enrollment gains after School Finance Act funding has been calculated. The bill permits a school district or an institute charter school to compare the total number of students enrolled in grades three to eleven on the October 1 pupil count day with the total number of students in these grades who participate in the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and the ACT.

Districts will count the number of students in grades three to ten who take the CSAP mathematics assessment, and the number of students in grade eleven who take the ACT, and compare this total to the number of students enrolled in all grades three to eleven as of October 1 in the same school year. If the number of tested students is greater than the number enrolled as of October 1, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is required to fund each additional student at the per-pupil on-line funding amount.

Representative Holbert responded to several questions from the committee concerning the bill.

02:26 PM

Josh Abram, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to respond to questions on the fiscal note.

The following persons testified:

02:28 PM -- Karen Wick, Colorado Education Association (CEA), expressed opposition to the bill. Ms. Wick stated that CEA is concerned about the state using the CSAP and ACT as tools to determine student enrollment counts, as these assessments do not account for students in all grades. She stated that another problem is that not all students take these assessments. She added that CEA has been working with several stakeholders on how to overhaul Colorado's funding of public education and that the stakeholders would like to see this issue addressed in a more holistic way.

02:30 PM -- Vinny Badolato, Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS), expressed support for the bill. Mr. Badolato stated that the bill is not perfect, but that it is a step in the right direction. He responded to questions from the committee and discussed the way that charter school institute schools are funded.

02:35 PM -- David DiCarlo, representing himself, expressed support for the bill. Mr. DiCarlo stated that if we wait around for the perfect solution, it will never happen. He added that he would like to see the committee do something now to address these issues and make change.

02:37 PM

Representative Holbert distributed Amendment L.002 (Attachment J). Representative Holbert stated that the amendment identifies the funding source for this legislation as the State Education Fund. Representative Holbert responded to questions from the committee.


BILL:	HB12-1306
TIME:	02:40:16 PM
MOVED:	Holbert
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.002 (Attachment J). The motion passed on a roll call vote of 7-6.
SECONDED:	Beezley
		VOTE
	Hamner	No
	Holbert	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Kerr A.	No
	Murray	Yes
	Peniston	No
	Ramirez	Yes
	Schafer S.	No
	Solano	No
	Summers	Yes
	Todd	No
	Beezley	Yes
	Massey	Yes

YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:42 PM

Representative Holbert distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment K) and provided a handout (Attachment L). Representative Holbert explained the amendment.

Representative Massey stated that the bill would be laid over for action only, until Wednesday, March 7, 2012, to provide time for the committee to review Amendment L.001 (Attachment L). No vote was taken on the amendment, and the amendment phase of the hearing is still open.


BILL:	HB12-1306
TIME:	02:44:51 PM
MOVED:	Holbert
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.001 (Attachment K). No vote was taken. The bill has been laid over for action only until March 7, 2012.
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:

02:52 PM

The committee adjourned.