Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:02/17/2014
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:33 PM to 04:35 PM
Buckner
*
Court
X
Place:SupCt
Everett
*
Fields
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Holbert
X
Representative Hamner
McNulty
A
Murray
*
This Report was prepared by
Pettersen
X
Lisa Gezelter
Priola
X
Wilson
X
Young
X
Peniston
X
Hamner
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB14-1208
HB14-1202		Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only


01:34 PM -- HB14-1208

Representative Wright, co-sponsor, introduced House Bill 14-1208, which defines a multi-district administrative unit as a group of school districts that did not form a Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), but were parties to an agreement as of January 1, 2011 to provide special education services jointly. He discussed the definition of multi-district administrative units and listed the supporters of the bill, which include the Colorado Association of School Boards, the Department of Education, and the Colorado BOCES Association. Representative Hamner, co-sponsor, added that the bill affects seven school districts and all of their special education students. She introduced a fact sheet, which staff distributed to the committee (Attachment A). The co-sponsors responded to questions from the committee.

14HseEd0217AttachA.pdf14HseEd0217AttachA.pdf

The following people testified:

01:42 PM -- David Price, representing Mesa County Valley School District 51, Plateau Valley School District, and DeBeque School District, testified in support of the bill.

01:47 PM -- Greg Rabenhorst, Superintendent of Weld County Re-3J School District, testified in support of the bill.








01:49 PM -- Brigitte Gustafson, representing the Weld County Re-3J District, testified in support of the bill.

01:51 PM -- Dale McCall, representing the Colorado BOCES Association, testified in support of the bill. Mr. McCall responded to questions from the committee.


01:53 PM

Representative Wright provided closing comments to the bill.
BILL:HB14-1208
TIME: 01:54:38 PM
MOVED:Hamner
MOTION:Refer House Bill 14-1208 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0, with one member excused and one member absent.
SECONDED:Court
VOTE
Buckner
Yes
Court
Yes
Everett
Excused
Fields
Yes
Holbert
Yes
McNulty
Absent
Murray
Yes
Pettersen
Yes
Priola
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Young
Yes
Peniston
Yes
Hamner
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 1 FINAL ACTION: PASS




















01:56 PM -- HB14-1202

Representative Hamner welcomed Representative Scott to the committee. Representative Scott introduced House Bill 14-1202, which directs the State Board of Education to waive most of the statewide testing requirements for a school district that submits an assessment plan that meets specific requirements. Representative Scott described how his constituents persuaded him to introduce the bill and the amount of testing currently taking place in Colorado schools. He advocated for fewer, but more rigorous, tests. Representative Hamner discussed the proposed strike-below amendment and asked that it be distributed to the committee (Attachment B).

14HseEd0217AttachB.pdf14HseEd0217AttachB.pdf

The following people testified:

01:59 PM -- Dr. Elizabeth Fagen, superintendent of Douglas County School District, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Fagen responded to questions from the committee.

02:07 PM -- Syna Morgan, representing Douglas County School District, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Morgan responded to questions from the committee.

02:13 PM -- Douglas Bissonette, Superintendent of Elizabeth School District, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Bissonette responded to questions from the committee.

02:24 PM -- Jean Kirshner, a teacher in Douglas County School District, testified in support of the bill.

02:27 PM -- Mary Lisa Harper, a teacher in Douglas County, testified in support of the bill.


02:30 PM

The preceding two witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

02:36 PM -- Kevin Larsen, President of the Douglas County School Board, testified in support of the bill.

02:39 PM -- Lisa Escarcega, representing the Colorado Association of School Executives, testified in support of the strike-below amendment. Dr. Escarcega responded to questions from the committee.

02:49 PM -- Ilana Spiegel, representing Supportive Parents, Educators, and Kids (SPEAK) for Cherry Creek, testified in support of the bill Ms. Spiegel distributed a handout from her organization (Attachment C).

14HseEd0217AttachC.pdf14HseEd0217AttachC.pdf









02:53 PM -- Melissa Scully, representing SPEAK for Cherry Creek, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Scully responded to questions from the committee.

02:58 PM -- Rachel Stickland, representing SPEAK for Cherry Creek, testified in support of the bill.

03:02 PM -- Peggy Robertson, representing SPEAK for Cherry Creek and United Opt-Out National, testified in support of the bill.

03:06 PM -- Josephine Moore, representing SPEAK for Cherry Creek, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Moore responded to questions from the committee.

03:13 PM -- Paul Trollinger, representing SPEAK for Cherry Creek, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Trollinger responded to questions from the committee.

03:22 PM -- Charlene Shelton, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

03:26 PM -- Don Batt representing SPEAK for Cherry Creek, testified in support of the bill.

03:30 PM -- Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards, testified in support of the strike-below amendment to the bill.

03:34 PM -- Karen Wick, representing the Colorado Education Association, testified in support of the strike-below amendment to the bill.


03:37 PM

Dr. Urschel and Ms. Wick responded to questions from the committee.

03:41 PM -- Dr. Paula Noonan, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Noonan distributed her testimony (Attachment D). Dr. Noonan responded to questions from the committee.

14HseEd0217AttachD.pdf14HseEd0217AttachD.pdf

03:49 PM -- Luke Ragland, representing Colorado Succeeds, testified in opposition to the bill. Mr. Ragland responded to questions from the committee.

03:57 PM -- Anita Stapleton, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

04:01 PM -- Natalie Adams, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

04:04 PM -- Jennifer Butts, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

04:07 PM -- Amy Attwood, representing Mesa Valley District 51, testified in support of the bill and the strike-below amendment.







04:08 PM

Jennifer Mello, representing the Department of Education (CDE), came to the table to discuss testing in Colorado, surveys and studies by WestEd, and to respond to questions from the committee. She clarified that the department and the State Board of Education do not have a position on the bill or on the strike-below amendment. Ms. Mello distributed a background sheet on CDE's Assessment Implementation Study (Attachment E). Ms. Mello responded to questions from the committee.

14HseEd0217AttachE.pdf14HseEd0217AttachE.pdf

04:24 PM

Representative Hamner called a 10-minute recess.


04:33 PM

Representative Hamner called the meeting back to order. Representative Scott thanked the witnesses. Representative Hamner laid the bill over until Wednesday, February 19, for action only.


04:35 PM

The committee adjourned.