Date: 04/28/2014

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB14-182

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment B). The motion p
Refer Senate Bill 14-182, as amended, to the Commi		PASS
PASS



03:09 PM -- SB14-182

Representative Peniston, sponsor, introduced Senate Bill 14-182, which regulates the way school boards conduct executive sessions. She explained its relationship to House Bill 14-1110, and how its provisions differ. She explained that the bill only requires school boards to add the length of time spent discussing each topic to their executive session minutes. She discussed the need for transparency. Representative Peniston responded to questions from the committee. Representative Peniston discussed Amendment L.002 (Attachment B), which increases to 24 months the amount of time that recordings must be kept.

14HseEd0428AttachB.pdf14HseEd0428AttachB.pdf

The following people testified:

03:16 PM -- Cristin Patterson, a parent in Douglas County, testified in favor of the bill. She discussed a trend for school boards to conduct growing portions of meetings in executive session. She discussed the need for transparency, the amount of money spent on attorneys, and how the Douglas County School Board spends 50 percent of its time in executive session. She explained that executive session is scheduled for the first two hours of every board meeting in Douglas County, and that during public meetings agenda items are often voted on 7-0 with no discussion. She argued that this must mean that discussion takes place in executive session. She discussed the partisan nature of the school board election in Douglas County and violations of campaign laws that may have taken place during the last school board election in Douglas County. She pointed out that parents need legislative help to protect their rights.

03:21 PM -- Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), testified in opposition to the bill. She posited that the bill is special legislation aimed at certain school boards. She discussed the bill's history, first being aimed at all local governments, then just at school boards. She said that the bill is not an appropriate response to alleged wrongdoing by one or two school boards, and argued that there is no evidence of widespread abuse of executive session. She stated that CASB would be willing to move to a monitor position on the bill if it included a 90 day requirement to retain recordings, like all other local governmental entities. She stated that there is no reason to single out school boards with a requirement to retain recordings for 24 months. She distributed a memorandum to committee members (Attachment C).

14HseEd0428AttachC.pdf14HseEd0428AttachC.pdf

03:25 PM -- Kathy Shannon, attorney with CASB, came to the table to respond to questions from the committee. She explained that currently, state and local public bodies have to keep recordings for 90 days and that there is no legal requirement currently for boards to keep track of the number of minutes spent on each topic in executive session.


03:27 PM

The preceding two witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

03:28 PM -- Jennifer Ross-Amato, a parent from Jefferson County, testified in support of the bill. She discussed her experiences in Jefferson County watching the school board's decisions and actions. She described her point of view as an attorney. She discussed the atmosphere of distrust and fear in Jefferson County and explained that many parents, teachers, and taxpayers do not understand why or how decisions are being made. She pointed out the need for transparency in decision making. She argued that voters need to understand how and why decisions are made. She discussed the requirement for boards to retain recordings for 24 months and suggested that there is no evidence of abuse because evidence is regularly being destroyed. Ms. Ross-Amato responded to questions from the committee.


03:34 PM

No further witnesses being present, Representative Hamner closed public testimony.
BILL:SB14-182
TIME: 03:34:40 PM
MOVED:Peniston
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment B). The motion passed on a vote of 7-5, with one member excused.
SECONDED:Court
VOTE
Buckner
Yes
Court
Yes
Everett
No
Fields
Yes
Holbert
No
McNulty
No
Murray
No
Pettersen
Yes
Priola
Excused
Wilson
No
Young
Yes
Peniston
Yes
Hamner
Yes
YES: 7 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


03:37 PM

Representative Peniston offered closing comments to the bill.
BILL:SB14-182
TIME: 03:39:33 PM
MOVED:Peniston
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 14-182, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 7-5, with one member excused.
SECONDED:Fields
VOTE
Buckner
Yes
Court
Yes
Everett
No
Fields
Yes
Holbert
No
McNulty
No
Murray
No
Pettersen
Yes
Priola
Excused
Wilson
No
Young
Yes
Peniston
Yes
Hamner
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



03:40 PM

The committee adjourned.