Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB05-1246

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes:
Action Taken:
Moved a conceptual amendment, Page 6, after line
Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment C). The motio
Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment A). The motion
Moved amendment .003 (Attachment B). The motion
Moved to amend page 7, strike lines 13-20. The mo
Moved to refer House Bill 05-1246, as amended, to 		FAIL
FAIL
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
FAIL
PASS



10:41 AM -- Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by the chairman, Representative Merrifield.

10:41 AM -- House Bill 05-1246

Representative Solano reviewed the provisions of House Bill 05-1246, concerning assessments for students with individual educational programs. The bill addresses students with an individual educational program (IEP) whose scores are not used to calculate academic performance ratings and provides that no more than one percent of the students in a school district may take the CSAP-A and that no more than one percent of students in a district take an alternative assessment approved by the State Board of Education.


10:46 AM

Jerry Barry, Office of Legislative Legal Services, was asked to come to the table to respond to questions about state and federal requirements. Mr. Barry responded to questions posed by Representative King about federal requirements for students who have IEPs and must be assessed. Representative Paccione discussed provisions and regulations being promulgated under the "No Child Left Behind Act."


10:51 AM

The following persons testified:

10:51 AM -- Lorrie Harkness, Director of Exceptional Student Services, Colorado Department of Education (CDE) stated that at least 95 percent of students must be assessed under the "No Child Left Behind Act." Up to one percent of students taking an alternative assessment may be reported as "proficient" for purposes of state reporting under the "No Child Left Behind Act." She said that approximately one percent of students in the state take the CSAP-A, but that the state did not exceed that percentage. Committee discussion continued on the federal requirements.

10:55 AM

Representative Solano responded to the committee discussion and discussed students who are not taking the CSAP-A but for whom the regular assessments are not appropriate. She asked that witness testimony proceed to clarify the issues around assessment of exceptional students.

10:57 AM -- Ed Steinberg, representing the Cherry Creek School District and the metro area and the statewide consortium of special education services, testified in favor of the bill. He spoke about the goals and intent of "No Child Left Behind Act." He discussed the "gap students" whose cognitive abilities are beyond the CSAP-A assessments. Mr. Steinberg responded to questions from committee members and said that some states have looked at tracking progress over time for "gap students."

11:03 AM

Mr. Steinberg continued responding to questions about special education students taking assessments in Cherry Creek School District. He said that the district is not close to the one percent cap on students taking an alternative assessment.

11:08 AM -- Michele Hibel, representing herself as a special education teacher in the St. Vrain School District, discussed students who take the regular assessments with accommodations. She testified in favor of the bill and said that about one percent of students in the district take the CSAP-A. She discussed the challenges of getting reliable and useful data on the achievement of exceptional students. She responded to questions regarding how House Bill 05-1246 might impact her district. She said that taking the CSAP-A and taking a standard assessment are very different and not comparable.


11:16 AM -- Ms. Hibel responded to questions about what students are required to do on the CSAP-A and indicated that it is a one-on-one assessment. She described specific examples concerning her students with cognitive disabilities. She also responded to questions about students who take the standard assessments with accommodations.


11:21 AM -- Bruce Dixon, representing himself as a retired special education teacher from the St. Vrain School District, testified in favor of the bill. He discussed children he had worked with who struggled when faced with an assessment that is inappropriate. He responded to questions about how the bill may assist teachers and school districts.


11:27 AM -- Ed Casteel, representing himself as a parent of an exceptional student, testified in favor of the bill. He said that neither the CSAP-A nor the standard CSAP assessments is appropriate for his son. He said that there was not an assessment for his child that provided him with the information he would like. He responded to questions from committee members.


11:30 AM -- Laurie Seville, representing herself as a special education teacher, testified on the issues in the bill. She spoke about the impact of the assessments on a school and ultimately on a school district. She discussed the emotional component of the assessments for special education students.

11:34 AM

Ms. Harkness returned to the table to respond to additional questions. She responded to questions about whether a student with an IEP could take a CSAP assessment at a different grade level. She indicated that it would not be an approved accommodations under the "No Child Left Behind Act." There was additional committee discussion about federal requirements for the assessment of special education students. Ms. Harkness spoke about the fact that the CSAP assessments are meant to measure how students are meeting Colorado content standards.


BILL:HB05-1246
TIME: 11:42:41 AM
MOVED:Solano
MOTION:Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Paccione
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB05-1246
TIME: 11:43:47 AM
MOVED:Merrifield
MOTION:Moved amendment .003 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Paccione
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB05-1246
TIME: 11:45:29 AM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment C). The motion failed on a 2-8-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Larson
VOTE
Balmer
Excused
Benefield
No
King
Yes
Larson
No
McKinley
No
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Excused
Rose
Excused
Solano
No
Todd
No
White
No
Paccione
No
Merrifield
No
Not Final YES: 2 NO: 8 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL



11:49 AM

Committee discussion on the bill continued. Representative King discussed the potential impact on the State Education Fund. Representative Solano responded to questions regarding the fiscal note and the potential need for new assessments.

BILL:HB05-1246
TIME: 11:53:19 AM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved to amend page 7, strike lines 13-20. The motion failed on a 3-8-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Penry
VOTE
Balmer
Excused
Benefield
No
King
Yes
Larson
No
McKinley
No
Penry
Yes
Pommer
No
Rose
Excused
Solano
No
Todd
No
White
Yes
Paccione
No
Merrifield
No
Not Final YES: 3 NO: 8 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:HB05-1246
TIME: 11:56:16 AM
MOVED:Penry
MOTION:Moved a conceptual amendment, Page 6, after line 7, insert "(III) TWO MEMBERS APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE SAME POLITICAL PARTY.". The motion failed on a 4-7-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:King
VOTE
Balmer
Excused
Benefield
No
King
Yes
Larson
Yes
McKinley
No
Penry
Yes
Pommer
No
Rose
Excused
Solano
No
Todd
No
White
Yes
Paccione
No
Merrifield
No
Not Final YES: 4 NO: 7 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:HB05-1246
TIME: 11:58:48 AM
MOVED:Solano
MOTION:Moved to refer House Bill 05-1246, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 10-1-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Paccione
VOTE
Balmer
Excused
Benefield
Yes
King
No
Larson
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Rose
Excused
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS