Date: 05/04/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB15-214

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.011 (Attachment B). The motion p
Adopt amendment L.016 (Attachment C). The motion p
Refer Senate Bill 15-214, as amended, to the Commi
substitute Adopt amendment L.012 (Attachment D). T		PASS
PASS
PASS
TIE



01:33 PM -- SB15-214

Representative Pettersen, chair, welcomed the committee. Representative Duran, co-sponsor, presented Senate Bill 15-214, which establishes a legislative committee on school safety. Speaker Hullinghorst, co-sponsor, spoke about the make-up of the committee.


01:36 PM

The following people testified:

01:36 PM -- Moe Keller, Vice President of Public Policy for Mental Health America, spoke in support of the bill. She spoke about the make-up of the task force and encouraged the committee to add youth representatives, parent representatives, and a mental health professional working in a mental health center. She thanked the sponsors for bringing the bill. She encouraged the committee to consider suicide as a safety threat in schools. Ms. Keller responded to questions from the committee.

01:42 PM -- Shannon Kartheiser, representing the Colorado Society of School Psychologists, read a statement from Julie Bolding, president of the organization. She spoke about changes the Senate made to the bill and about the involvement of school psychologists. She proposed adding a licensed school psychologist to the task force.

01:45 PM -- John Simmons, representing Safe School Partners, spoke about the bill. He urged the committee to merge the provisions of the bill and Senate Bill 15-213. He spoke about liability. He distributed a handout to the committee (Attachment A). Mr. Simmons responded to questions from the committee.

15HouseEd0504AttachA.pdf15HouseEd0504AttachA.pdf

01:49 PM -- Daniel Intolubbe-Chmil, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. He discussed amendments to the bill and responded to questions from the committee.

01:51 PM -- Sarah Garrido, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill and certain amendments. She spoke about the need to add members with school safety expertise to the committee. She spoke about standards of care and about threat assessments. She spoke about violent attacks in schools and how best to prevent them. She spoke about school security. Ms. Garrido responded to questions from the committee.

02:00 PM -- Carol Meredith, representing the Arc of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties, spoke in favor of amending the bill to ensure that disabled students' rights are respected.

02:01 PM -- Marijo Rymer, representing the Arc of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill as it was amended in the Senate. She spoke about students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She spoke about threat assessment and possible isolation and segregation of disabled students.

02:03 PM -- David Olson, representing the Colorado school district self insurance pool, spoke in support of the bill and the proposed amendments. He spoke about his organization and its member districts. He discussed the provisions of amendment L.011 (Attachment B). Mr. Olson responded to questions from the committee.

15HouseEd0504AttachB.pdf15HouseEd0504AttachB.pdf

02:06 PM -- Dawn Loge-Greer, representing the Consortium of Directors of Special Education, spoke in support of the bill. She described the consortium and the reasons why it supports the bill. She expressed hope that a special educator would be added to the task force and urged formal opportunities for continuing stakeholder engagement. She spoke about how students with disabilities are often the subject of threat assessment and how these students would face increased discrimination due to schools' liability concerns.

02:08 PM -- Susan Payne, director of Safe2Tell, spoke in support of the bill. She described her organization's ability to intervene in school safety situations. Ms. Payne responded to questions from the committee.

02:14 PM -- John McDonald, Executive Director of Security for Jefferson County Schools, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke about the need for experts in law enforcement and school crisis management to be included in the task force. Mr. McDonald responded to questions from the committee.

02:21 PM -- David Banke, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. He described his personal experiences as a teacher and a shooting at Deer Creek Middle School in 2010. He spoke about the need for subject matter experts to have a place on the task force.

02:24 PM -- Frank DeAngelis, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke about his experiences at Columbine High School. He spoke about his support for amending the bill and about his experiences consulting in the aftermath of school shootings across the country.

02:27 PM -- Michael Eaton, Chief of Safety and Security for Denver Public Schools, spoke about the bill. He described his work and his experiences as a parent of two children at Arapahoe High School. He spoke about his work with other safety and security directors to develop best practices relating to school safety. He spoke about the work occurring nationally and his concerns that nobody in school security is included on the task force.

02:29 PM -- Brian Krause, Director of Mental Health for Jefferson County Public Schools and former principal of Platte Canyon High School during a school shooting, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke about his work on crisis response and mental health in Jefferson County. He spoke about threat assessments and suicide risk assessments. He spoke about the need for ongoing mental health support and support for those affected by the tragedies. He spoke in support of amending the bill.

02:31 PM -- Pat Hamilton, Executive Director of Operations for Adams 12 Five Star Schools, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke about his support for the goals of the bill and urged the committee to amend the bill to include a subject matter expert on the task force.

02:32 PM -- Cynthia Coffman, Attorney General of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill. She spoke about the idea of legislating school safety. She described the complexities of the issue of school safety. She spoke about the membership of the committee and about why amendments should be required to add members to the committee. Attorney General Coffman responded to questions from the committee.

02:42 PM -- Michael Davis, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. He described his personal experiences when his daughter, Clare, was killed at Arapahoe High School. He described the shooter's plans, his arms, and ammunition. He said that the school had conducted a threat assessment on the shooter after he threatened a teacher. He spoke about the lack of follow-up on the threat assessment and the lack of clarity surrounding what counseling had been offered to the student. He spoke about the need to support kids in crisis, the need for better tools, and better monitoring. He spoke about the need for the legislative committee and how it could help make Colorado schools among the safest in the country. He posited that subcommittees will give the committee the authority to pull in experts as needed.

02:46 PM -- Sophia San Miguel, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. She described her personal experiences.


02:48 PM

Majority Leader Duran described amendments L.011 and L.016 (Attachments B and C).
BILL:SB15-214
TIME: 02:50:49 PM
MOVED:Garnett
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.016 (Attachment C). The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
15HouseEd0504AttachC.pdf15HouseEd0504AttachC.pdf
SECONDED:Hamner
VOTE
Everett
No
Fields
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Lee
Yes
Lundeen
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Priola
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Windholz
Yes
Hamner
Yes
Pettersen
Yes
YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:SB15-214
TIME: 02:51:14 PM
MOVED:Priola
MOTION:substitute Adopt amendment L.012 (Attachment D). The motion failed on a 5-5 vote.
15HouseEd0504AttachD.pdf15HouseEd0504AttachD.pdf
SECONDED:Lundeen
VOTE
Everett
Yes
Fields
Excused
Garnett
No
Lee
No
Lundeen
Yes
Moreno
No
Priola
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Windholz
Yes
Hamner
No
Pettersen
No
YES: 5 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE
BILL:SB15-214
TIME: 03:04:29 PM
MOVED:Garnett
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.011 (Attachment B). The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:Hamner
VOTE
Everett
No
Fields
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Lee
Yes
Lundeen
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Priola
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Windholz
Yes
Hamner
Yes
Pettersen
Yes
YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


03:06 PM

Majority Leader Duran and Speaker Hullinghorst offered closing comments to the bill.
BILL:SB15-214
TIME: 03:06:40 PM
MOVED:Hamner
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 15-214, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:Lee
VOTE
Everett
No
Fields
Yes
Garnett
Yes
Lee
Yes
Lundeen
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Priola
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Windholz
Yes
Hamner
Yes
Pettersen
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS