Senate Committee on Education (04/30/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:	04/30/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	07:20 PM to 09:25 PM	Holbert	X
		Johnston	X
Place:	SCR 356	Kerr	X
		Merrifield	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Neville T.	*
	Senator Hill	Todd	X
		Woods	X
This Report was prepared by		Marble	*
	Rachel Kurtz-Phelan	Hill	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB15-280 HB15-1001 HB15-1201		Referred to Appropriations Postponed Indefinitely Amended, Referred to Appropriations

07:21 PM -- SB15-280

Senator Hill called the meeting to order. Senator Marble took over as committee chair. Senators Scheffel and Carroll, co-sponsors, presented Senate Bill 15-280 which concerns ensuring that a school district does not lose total program funding as the result of the inclusion of multi-district online pupils in the calculation of the school district's size factor. Senator Carroll stated that the bill makes sure that certain schools will not lose money by choosing to provide additional online education services. The co-sponsors answered questions from the committee and Senator Carroll distributed a handout (Attachment A). Senator Scheffel stated that online charter schools are a valuable option for school choice and discussed the benefits the bill will have for rural districts.

15SenateEd0430AttachA.pdf

The following people testified on the bill:

07:29 PM -- Tom Turrell, Superintendent of Byers School District, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke about the challenges faced by small, rural school districts. He said the bill represents an opportunity for these districts to provide online learning. He stated that current law harms some districts if they start online programs, and that the bill seeks to remedy unintended consequences.

07:32 PM -- Judith Stokes, Assistant Superintendent of Branson School District, spoke in support of the bill. She talked about the online programs provided by her district and commended the sponsors for the bill's bi-partisan support.

07:34 PM

The preceding two witnesses answered questions from the committee.

07:47 PM

There were no more witnesses and Senator Marble closed public testimony. The co-sponsors gave closing comments to the bill.


BILL:	SB15-280
TIME:	07:51:00 PM
MOVED:	Todd
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 15-280 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 6-1, with two members excused.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Holbert	Yes
	Johnston	Excused
	Kerr	Yes
	Merrifield	No
	Neville T.	Yes
	Todd	Yes
	Woods	Yes
	Marble	Yes
	Hill	Excused

YES: 6 NO: 1 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

07:51 PM -- HB15-1001

Senator Todd, sponsor, presented House Bill 15-1001 which concerns a scholarship program to help early childhood education professionals obtain postsecondary credentials in early childhood education. She explained that the bill was recommended by the 2014 Early Childhood and School Readiness Commission. She talked about the low wages received by early childhood workers which makes it difficult for them to continue their education. She explained revisions to the bill's fiscal note.

The following people testified:

07:56 PM -- Jeanine Coleman, representing the University of Denver, spoke in support of the bill. She applauded the inclusion of early childhood special education, and discussed the importance of early intervention.

07:57 PM -- Benjamin Waters, representing Mile High United Way and Qualistar Colorado, spoke in support of the bill.

07:57 PM -- Kathryn Harris, CEO of Qualistar Colorado, spoke in support of the bill. She said the bill will help advance quality early childhood education which provides long-term social, educational, and emotional benefits. She spoke about the importance of quality teachers and caregivers who interact with children every day. She said a substantial number of early childhood teachers have less than a bachelor's degree and have only taken two college-level courses. She told the committee that the average hourly wage for these workers is around eleven dollars.

08:02 PM

There were no more witnesses and Senator Marble closed public testimony. Senator Todd gave closing comments to the bill.


BILL:	HB15-1001
TIME:	08:06:29 PM
MOVED:	Todd
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1001 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion failed on a vote of 4-5.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Holbert	No
	Johnston	Yes
	Kerr	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
	Neville T.	No
	Todd	Yes
	Woods	No
	Marble	No
	Hill	No

YES: 4 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	HB15-1001
TIME:	08:08:38 PM
MOVED:	Marble
MOTION:	Postpone House Bill 15-1001 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 5-4.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Holbert	Yes
	Johnston	No
	Kerr	No
	Merrifield	No
	Neville T.	Yes
	Todd	No
	Woods	Yes
	Marble	Yes
	Hill	Yes

Final YES: 5 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

08:09 PM -- HB15-1201

Senator Todd, sponsor, presented House Bill 15-1201 which concerns providing centralized operating services through Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). She talked about the importance and success of BOCES and about revisions to the bill's fiscal impact due to changes made by the House of Representatives.

The following people testified on the bill:

08:13 PM -- Don Anderson, Executive Director of East Central BOCES, spoke in support of the bill. He said the bill will benefit all rural districts. He provided background information about East Central BOCES, and discussed how the bill will benefit rural BOCES. He discussed the need for member districts to work together to ensure that every student is college or workforce ready upon graduation. He talked about the special education services provided by BOCES, and explained new video conferencing technology. He talked about the centralized services that will be possible with the passage of the bill, such as food service distribution, nursing services, and transportation coordination.

08:19 PM -- Dale McCall, representing the Colorado BOCES Association, spoke in support of the bill. He talked about the many rural districts that do not have the capacity to provide non-instructional services due to their small size and how the ability to centralize certain services will benefit them. He explained that these districts are unable to leverage economies of scale due to their size.

08:21 PM -- Elliot Asp, representing the Colorado Department of Education and the State Board of Education, spoke in support of the bill. He stated that the grants are based on district and local need, and not mandated by the state. He said the program will provide an incentive for districts and BOCES to work together in a more efficient way.

08:23 PM

The preceding three witnesses answered questions from the committee.

08:41 PM

The witnesses continued answering questions from the committee. Senator Todd answered questions from the committee. The committee discussed the bill's fiscal impact. Senator Kerr proposed a conceptual amendment to lower the number of grants from 17 to 12, and cut the grant amount from $500,000 to $250,000, thereby reducing the fiscal impact of the bill.

08:57 PM -- Amy Atwood, representing the Colorado Digital BOCES, spoke in support of the bill. She provided background information about the Digital BOCES and talked about how BOCES will use this type of grant.

09:00 PM

There were no more witnesses and Senator Marble closed public testimony. Senator Todd gave closing comments to the bill. Committee discussion ensued. The committee discussed the conceptual amendment to lower the fiscal impact of the bill.


BILL:	HB15-1201
TIME:	09:22:45 PM
MOVED:	Kerr
MOTION:	Moved to conceptually amend the bill to reduce the fiscal impact from $5 million to $2 million and change the grant amount from $500,000 to $250,000. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Holbert
	Johnston
	Kerr
	Merrifield
	Neville T.
	Todd
	Woods
	Marble
	Hill

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


BILL:	HB15-1201
TIME:	09:23:54 PM
MOVED:	Todd
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1201, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 6-3.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Holbert	No
	Johnston	Yes
	Kerr	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
	Neville T.	No
	Todd	Yes
	Woods	Yes
	Marble	No
	Hill	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

09:25 PM

The committee adjourned.