House Committee on Education (03/25/2013)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:	03/25/2013	ATTENDANCE

Time:	03:16 PM to 04:58 PM	Buckner	X
		Court	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Everett	X
		Fields	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Holbert	X
	Representative Hamner	Landgraf	X
		Murray	X
This Report was prepared by		Pettersen	X
	Kristen Johnson	Priola	X
		Wilson	X
		Young	X
		Peniston	X
		Hamner	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB13-139 HB13-1244		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only

03:17 PM -- Senate Bill 13-139

Representative Hamner, Chair, called the meeting to order and welcomed the committee members and audience to the meeting. She invited Representative Coram, prime sponsor, to the table to present Senate Bill 13-139 which concerns supplemental online education services. The reengrossed bill designates the authority to contract for supplemental online education programs to a Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) must select a BOCES following consultation with a statewide association of BOCES. Under current law, the authority to contract for supplemental online education programs resides with the Mountain BOCES. Once designated, the bill requires that the BOCES consult with CDE to develop a triennial request for proposal process (RFP) beginning February 15, 2015. The RFP will solicit one or more nonprofit providers of supplemental online course offerings, professional development for educators, and consulting assistance for schools wanting to use online and blended learning with their students. The designated BOCES must collect data related to completion and passage rates of students participating in online and blended learning programs, and report this data to CDE.

The following persons testified:

03:19 PM -- Reilly Pharo, representing the Colorado Children's Campaign, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Pharo provided background information on her organization. She stated that supplemental online and blended learning courses ensure that all children have access to quality education, and that the bill supports professional development for online educators.

03:23 PM -- Moira Cullen, representing Democrats for Education Reform in Colorado, joined Ms. Pharo at the table and testified in support of the bill. She stated that the bill is important because it provides access to high quality education for all children.

Committee discussion ensued about the need for the bill's provisions to be part of statute, rather than part of rules issued by CDE. Ms. Pharo responded to a question about the contract entered into by the designated BOCES. She said that the bill will allow the BOCES to contract for one or more providers and that the BOCES will make the final decision as to what organization will receive the contract. Committee discussion ensued about limiting the contract to nonprofit providers.

03:35 PM -- Dr. Dale McCall, representing the Colorado BOCES Association, testified in support of the bill. He discussed the provisions of the bill and why they are beneficial to Colorado. He responded to questions from the committee about the bill's requirement that the online education providers be nonprofit organizations. He discussed the professional development piece of the bill, and how the quality of the online courses will be measured.
Jane Ritter, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to respond to committee questions about the nonprofit provider requirement in the bill.


BILL:	SB13-139
TIME:	03:51:49 PM
MOVED:	Court
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-139 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Young
		VOTE
	Buckner	Yes
	Court	Yes
	Everett	Yes
	Fields	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Landgraf	Yes
	Murray	Yes
	Pettersen	Yes
	Priola	Yes
	Wilson	Yes
	Young	Yes
	Peniston	Yes
	Hamner	Yes

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

03:56 PM -- House Bill 13-1244

Representative Fields and Representative Young, co-prime sponsors, came to the table to present House Bill 13-1244 which concerns the continuation of the Educational Success Task Force (ESTF). The bill creates the Educational Success Legislative Committee (committee) to oversee the work of the ESTF, created pursuant to Senate Bill 11-111, and extends the work of both the ESTF and the legislative committee until July 1, 2018. The committee will consist of six legislators, three from each chamber, and the committee must meet at least four times with the ESTF, and may meet other times as necessary. Committee members may attend ESTF meetings and participate in subcommittees. The committee may recommend legislative changes based on the findings and recommendations of the task force. Under current law, the ESTF is established within the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and is comprised of both legislative and non-legislative members. This bill removes the task force from the CDE, and legislative membership is empaneled as a separate legislative committee. The State Board of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education jointly appoint members of the ESTF, and the CDE and the Department of Higher Education (DHE) may provide staff support to the ESTF as necessary and practicable within existing appropriations. The ESTF is required to submit an annual report to the legislative committee.

Representative Fields discussed the work of the ESTF and the legislation that came out of the task force. Representative Young stated that he has been asked to serve as a member of the ESTF. The bill sponsors responded to questions from the committee about the necessity of having two groups.

Julie Pelegrin, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to respond to committee questions about the set-up of the committee and ESTF. She explained that the make-up of the committee and ESTF is not changing, but the changes in the bill impact the ways in which the executive and legislative branches of government interact in regards to the committee and task force. Committee discussion ensued about the departments' ability to staff the ESTF within existing appropriations.

The following persons testified:

04:13 PM -- Dr. Geri Anderson, member of the ESTF, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Anderson stated that the value of the ESTF has to do with the fact that the group is made up of many stakeholders including parents, educators, administrators, and legislators. She stated that the ESTF provides a forum to share information and evaluate research, and to look at best practices from other states and share those findings in a meaningful way. She stated that the legislators serving on the ESTF are very open to information from those who work on the front lines and who are impacted by policy. She discussed the work of the ESTF in greater detail. Representative Holbert commented on the success of the ESTF.

04:20 PM -- Dr. Susan Scheibel, member of the ESTF, testified in support of the bill. She discussed the importance of the ESTF and the work that the group accomplished.

04:22 PM -- Frank Waterous, Senior Policy Analyst, The Bell Policy Center, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Waterous provided his testimony in writing (Attachment A). He stated that the legislation brought forward through the ESTF has included significant innovations on behalf of Colorado students and that the ESTF focuses on students and student success. He stated that the members of the task force take their roles seriously and actively address student success as several levels.

13HseEd0325AttachA.pdf

04:28 PM

Representative Hamner invited Jennifer Mello, contract lobbyist for CDE, and Chad Marturano, Legislative Liaison for DHE, to the table to provide information from the departments. Ms. Mello stated that CDE does not have an official position on the bill, but that the department has some concerns about funding the bill's provisions. Mr. Marturano stated that DHE does not have an official position on the bill, and expressed concern about the staff time required by DHE to staff the committee. Committee discussion ensued.

Josh Abram, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to respond to committee questions about the bill's fiscal note. Representative Fields asked that the bill be laid over for final action. Representative Hamner laid the bill over for action only, until Wednesday, March 27 at upon adjournment.

04:58 PM

The committee adjourned.