Date: 01/26/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1053

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Postpone House Bill 15-1053 indefinitely. The moti
Refer House Bill 15-1053 to the Committee of the W		PASS
FAIL



06:34 PM -- House Bill 15-1053

Representative Ransom, sponsor, presented House Bill 15-1053, which reduces the compulsory age of education in Colorado to ages 7-16 instead of 6-17. She explained that the bill will allow families to consider their childrens' individual needs when making decisions about how and when to send them to school. She explained that Colorado's compulsory school law used to be ages 7-16, and that this bill goes back to earlier law. She explained that the bill entrusts parents to assess the individual needs of their children and make decisions accordingly, and that it guarantees stability for children. She pointed out that Coloradans want control over their own choices for their own children.

06:38 PM -- Treon Goossen, representing parentalrights.org, spoke in support of the bill. She spoke about parents' right to direct their own children's education. She spoke about other states that allow children to wait until ages 7 or 8 to begin school. She pointed out that states with compulsory ages ending at 16 have higher high school completion rates. She urged legislators to trust parents to make decisions about their own children.

06:42 PM -- Lucy Tschopple, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. She spoke about her own experiences with her children. She discussed delays in hearing, speaking, and reading.

06:48 PM -- Donna Jack, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. She spoke about the needs of parents and children and how families can make the most of public education. She spoke about the need for mothers to stay home with their children and not expose children to the stress of school situations.

06:52 PM -- Amie Baca-Oehlert, representing the Colorado Education Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. She discussed the needs of children as they enter school, and the situation of children who begin school unprepared. She discussed the needs of children with learning disabilities. Ms. Baca-Oehlert responded to questions from the committee.

07:05 PM -- Ms. Goossen returned to the table to respond to questions from the committee regarding the homeschooling statute and how parents can use the current homeschool statute to keep children out of school until age 7 or withdraw them at age 16. She stated that graduating at age 16 is common among homeschool families and that if a parent wants to use the homeschool law to circumvent compulsory attendance law, they can. Ms. Goossen responded to questions from the committee.


07:10 PM

Representative Ransom offered closing comments to the bill. She discussed differences in learning styles, and how some children would benefit from starting late, while others would benefit from finishing early. She discussed her own teaching experience.


07:12 PM

Committee members offered their own closing comments on the bill.
BILL:HB15-1053
TIME: 07:13:17 PM
MOVED:Landgraf
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1053 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a vote of 5-6.
SECONDED:Everett
VOTE
Everett
Yes
Fields
No
Garnett
No
Landgraf
Yes
Lee
No
Lundeen
Yes
Moreno
No
Wilson
Yes
Windholz
Yes
Pettersen
No
Buckner
No
YES: 5 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


07:14 PM
BILL:HB15-1053
TIME: 07:14:15 PM
MOVED:Moreno
MOTION:Postpone House Bill 15-1053 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:Lee
VOTE
Everett
No
Fields
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Landgraf
No
Lee
Yes
Lundeen
No
Moreno
Yes
Wilson
No
Windholz
No
Pettersen
Yes
Buckner
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


07:15 PM

The committee adjourned.