Date: 03/09/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1240

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment C). The motion p
Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment D). The motion p
Refer House Bill 15-1240, as amended, to the Commi		Pass Without Objection
PASS
PASS



02:29 PM -- HB15-1240

The committee recessed.


02:35 PM

The committee came back to order. Representative Fields, sponsor, presented House Bill 15-1240, which establishes a requirement that districts and police departments enter into Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) regarding how law enforcement should interact with students. She distributed a sample MOU to the committee (Attachment B). Representative Fields responded to questions from the committee.

15HouseEd0309AttachB.pdf15HouseEd0309AttachB.pdf

02:55 PM

The following people testified:

02:55 PM -- Jim Freeman, representing Padres y Jovenes Unidos, spoke in support of the bill. He described his work on school discipline practices in Colorado. He explained the effect of harsh discipline practices on graduation rates, and how the bill's provisions align with best practices in the field. Mr. Freeman responded to questions from the committee.

03:09 PM -- Michael Eaton, Chief of Safety and Security for Denver Public Schools, came to the table with Amber Elias, Deputy General Counsel for Denver Public Schools. Mr. Eaton spoke about the bill. He described his experiences working with the Denver Police Department to establish guidelines and specific agreements for the operation of police officers in schools. Mr. Eaton and Ms. Elias responded to questions from the committee. They spoke about the MOU that was distributed to the committee (Attachment B).

03:16 PM -- Michael Madrid, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. He described his experiences in public schools throughout the Denver metropolitan area. He described the impact of referrals to law enforcement on students. Mr. Madrid responded to questions from the committee.

03:29 PM -- Stephanie Sandhu, representing the Denver Freedom Riders, spoke in support of the bill. She described her experiences as a medical student working in a clinic. She described the psychological trauma experienced by students charged with crimes. She described racial disparities in tickets written in schools. Ms. Sandhu responded to questions from the committee.

03:33 PM -- Kim Dvorchak, Executive Director of Colorado Juvenile Defenders Center, spoke in support of the bill. She described the lifelong impact of juvenile criminal records. Ms. Dvorchak responded to questions from the committee.

03:44 PM -- Alan Gilbert, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. He described his book on black soldiers in the American Revolution. He described his research on racism and American democracy and his work on restorative justice at the University of Denver (DU). He described books on the topic of racism. He described the number of people in American prisons. He described the history of Jim Crow laws, the enslavement of prisoners, and books on the subject as well as a PBS show. He talked about Ferguson, Missouri and the use of military equipment by local police forces. He talked about breaking the school to prison pipeline. He discussed restorative justice and its use at DU. Mr. Gilbert responded to questions from the committee.


03:52 PM

Representative Fields explained the provisions of Amendment L.001 (Attachment C).

15HouseEd0309AttachC.pdf15HouseEd0309AttachC.pdf
BILL:HB15-1240
TIME: 03:53:16 PM
MOVED:Fields
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment C). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Lee
VOTE
Everett
Fields
Garnett
Lee
Lundeen
Moreno
Priola
Wilson
Windholz
Pettersen
Buckner
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


03:55 PM

Representative Fields explained the provisions of Amendment L.002 (Attachment D).

15HouseEd0309AttachD.pdf15HouseEd0309AttachD.pdf
BILL:HB15-1240
TIME: 03:55:53 PM
MOVED:Fields
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment D). The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:Moreno
VOTE
Everett
No
Fields
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Lee
Yes
Lundeen
No
Moreno
Yes
Priola
No
Wilson
No
Windholz
No
Pettersen
Yes
Buckner
Yes
YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


04:01 PM

Representative Fields offered closing comments to the bill. Committee discussion ensued.
BILL:HB15-1240
TIME: 04:02:31 PM
MOVED:Fields
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1240, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:Garnett
VOTE
Everett
No
Fields
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Lee
Yes
Lundeen
No
Moreno
Yes
Priola
No
Wilson
No
Windholz
No
Pettersen
Yes
Buckner
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



04:09 PM

The committee adjourned.