House Committee on Education (04/28/2005)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:	04/28/2005	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:40 PM to 04:32 PM	Balmer	E*
		Benefield	X
Place:	HCR 0107	King	X
		Larson	E*
This Meeting was called to order by		McKinley	X
	Representative Merrifield	Penry	X
		Pommer	E*
This Report was prepared by		Rose	X
	Cathy Eslinger	Solano	E
		Todd	X
		White	X
		Paccione	X
		Merrifield	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB05-197 SB05-032 SB05-191 HJR05-1056		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to Committee on Appropriations Witness Testimony Only

01:41 PM -- Senate Bill 05-197

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

01:41 PM

Representative Cloer reviewed the provisions of Senate Bill 05-197, concerning the provision of healthy nutrition alternatives in public schools. Representative Penry and Representative White asked Representative Cloer about the changes that the bill would make to current law and what would be required of school districts.

01:46 PM

The following persons testified:

01:46 PM -- Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards, testified in opposition to the bill. She raised concerns about the mandates that the bill would place on school districts, which could be more stringent on school districts than soon-to-be-implemented federal requirements.

01:51 PM

Ms. Urschel responded to questions from committee members regarding the federal requirements.

01:52 PM -- Cindy French, representing the Colorado Dairy Farmers, testified in support of the bill. She distributed a hand-out (Attachment A).

01:55 PM -- Dick Brown, representing the Colorado Beverage Association, provided additional information on the bill. He said that the Colorado Beverage Association had taken no position on the bill. He distributed a hand-out entitled "Beverages in School Programs." (Attachment B).

02:01 PM

Mr. Brown responded to questions about research that may have been done on this issue.

02:02 PM -- Terry Curra, representing Committee on Progress on School Nutrition, testified in support of the bill. She indicated that the committee represents a wide coalition of interests, including health providers. She provided a hand-out (Attachment C).

02:09 PM -- Becky Creighton, representing herself as a parent, testified in support of the bill. She stated that she thought that the mandate in the bill was appropriate.

02:13 PM -- Nancy Fairclough, representing herself as a parent and a nutritionist, testified in support of the bill. She said that she is comfortable that the bill does not go too far in mandating what students may eat.

02:17 PM -- Erin Bertoli, representing the American Heart Association, testified in support of the bill.

02:19 PM -- Cindy Aaron, representing herself, testified in support of the bill (Attachment D). She discussed the involvement of food marketers in what is offered in school vending machines.

2:25 PM

Representative Cloer made final comments on the bill. He responded to additional questions about the monitoring of school vending machines in schools.


BILL:	SB05-197
TIME:	02:35:30 PM
MOVED:	Paccione
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 05-197 to the Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a 8-4-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Todd
		VOTE
	Balmer	No
	Benefield	Yes
	King	No
	Larson	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Penry	No
	Pommer	Yes
	Rose	Yes
	Solano	Excused
	Todd	Yes
	White	No
	Paccione	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:36 PM -- Senate Bill 05-032

Representative Hefley reviewed the provisions of Senate Bill 05-032, concerning the date for determining the enrollment of preschool-age children in public education programs. She discussed the fact that any future appropriations needed to implement the bill's provisions are undetermined.

02:43 PM

The following persons testified:

02:43 PM -- Cathy Wanstrath, representing the Colorado Children's Legislative Cooperative, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Wanstrath said that issues around counting at-risk preschool students have been discussed in prior sessions, but that this bill addressed the concerns that have been raised about the timing of evaluations of at-risk preschool students.

02:47 PM -- Gail Boekoff, representing the Early Childhood Summit, testified in support of the bill.

02:51 PM -- Judy Van Valin, representing Academy School District 20, testified in support of the bill. She described the issues that arise at the school district level. She said that the Academy School District Board of Education has voted to support the bill.

02:54 PM

Ms. Van Valin responded to questions about evaluations that may be done on students in the Colorado Preschool Program and result in placement in a special education program.

02:57 PM -- Lori Goodwin Bowers, representing the Colorado Department of Education, provided information on the Department's evaluation of the bill's fiscal impact. She said that no child with an individualized education program (IEP) is eligible for the Colorado Preschool Program.

03:00 PM -- Ryan Wulff, representing the Colorado Education Association, testified in support of the bill.

03:03 PM

Mr. Wulff responded to additional questions.


BILL:	SB05-032
TIME:	03:03:49 PM
MOVED:	Paccione
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 05-032 to the Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a 12-0-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Todd
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	King	Yes
	Larson	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Penry	Yes
	Pommer	Yes
	Rose	Yes
	Solano	Excused
	Todd	Yes
	White	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:05 PM -- Senate Bill 05-191

Representative Merrifield reviewed the provisions of Senate Bill 05-191, concerning the teacher loan forgiveness pilot program, and, in connection therewith, promoting recruitment of teachers to teach in high-poverty public schools in rural school districts. He described the provisions in the reengrossed bill, which would allow special authorization for loan forgiveness for qualified teachers in high poverty schools in rural school districts.

03:09 PM

The following persons testified:

03:09 PM -- Debbie DeMuth, representing CollegeInvest, testified in support of the bill.

03:13 PM -- Ryan Wulff, representing the Colorado Education Association, testified in support of the bill.

03:14 PM -- Paula Stephenson, representing the Colorado Rural School Caucus, testified in support of the bill.


BILL:	SB05-191
TIME:	03:16:02 PM
MOVED:	Merrifield
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 05-191 to the Committee on Appropriations with favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a 12-0-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Todd
		VOTE
	Balmer	Yes
	Benefield	Yes
	King	Yes
	Larson	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Penry	Yes
	Pommer	Yes
	Rose	Yes
	Solano	Excused
	Todd	Yes
	White	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:18 PM

Representative Merrifield reviewed the provisions of House Joint Resolution 05-1056, concerning a request that the President of the United States and members of Congress rescind or fully fund and clarify the federal "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001." He discussed the language in the resolution and reviewed the fact that the National Conference of State Legislatures has recently issued a position paper on the Act.

03:24 PM

Representative Merrifield spoke about actions in opposition to the Act recently taken by other states, including Utah and Connecticut. He said that he felt that the federal dollars were not adequate to meet the mandates specified in the Act.

03:27 PM

Representative King discussed specific language in the resolution regarding funding for assessments. Representative Paccione responded to questions about the cost of developing new assessments. Representative King reviewed the federal moneys that Colorado was receiving, while Representative Paccione discussed current investments that would be made in new science tests.

03:35 PM

The committee continued to discuss Colorado's existing accountability system and the provisions in Colorado statutes for accountability based on longitudinal growth.

03:40 PM

The following persons testified:

03:41 PM -- Pat Chlouber, Regional Representative for the United States Secretary of Education, discussed Colorado's history of meeting accountability requirements under the "No Child Left Behind Act." She provided data on federal funding received by Colorado. She provided a booklet on "No Child Left Behind" funding (Attachment E). Ms. Chlouber discussed several recent media articles and editorials about the "No Child Left Behind Act."

03:48 PM -- Wendy Evans, also representing the United States Department of Education, provided additional information and referred to figures in the booklet that had been distributed.

03:51 PM

Ms. Chlouber provided additional testimony on policies regarding the assessment of students with special needs.

03:55 PM

Representative Merrifield commented on Ms. Chlouber's testimony and responded to issues that had been raised. He said that he is trying to address the problems with the Act.

03:57 PM

Representative Paccione discussed the opportunities for additional flexibility under Ms. Spellings, the new Secretary of Education. Ms. Chlouber made additional comments on flexibility for funds states receive under Title II of the federal act.

04:03 PM

Representative King asked Ms. Chlouber further questions about the figures on federal funding for special education.

04:05 PM -- Ryan Wulff, representing the Colorado Education Association, testified in support of the resolution. He discussed the lawsuit recently filed by the National Education Association (NEA) in regard to funding of the Act. Representative King asked Mr. Wulff to comment on a Denver Post article regarding funding received by Denver Public Schools (DPS). Mr. Wulff said he was unable to comments on those issues. Representative Penry asked questions regarding the shortfall to which some opponents refer.

04:11 PM

Mr. Wulff responded to questions about the lawsuit filed by the NEA.

04:14 PM -- Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), testified about current perceptions and attitudes about the Act. She said that the "No Child Left Behind Act" has forced school districts to confront several new issues, including low graduation rates. She also discussed areas in the Act she feels need to be addressed. Ms. Urschel discussed a "white paper" that CASB, the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE), and the Colorado Education Association (CEA) have recently presented to the State Board of Education and the Colorado Department of Education.

04:21 PM

Ms. Urschel responded to additional questions about the "white paper" that had been published.

04:23 PM -- Paula Stephenson, representing the Colorado Rural School Caucus, testified in support of the resolution. She said that she did not feel that real change would not take place until states continued to speak out on the issues that have been raised by the "No Child Left Behind Act."

04:28 PM

Representative King discussed the importance of closing the achievement gap and the goals of the Act.

04:31 PM -- Phil Fox, representing the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE), testified in support of the resolution. He said that Colorado should support the effort that is taking place across the country.

04:32 PM

Representative Paccione, as vice-chair, announced that the resolution would be laid over for action.

The committee adjourned.