Final
BILL SUMMARY for
SB05-088
HOUSE
COMMITTEE ON
EDUCATION
Votes:
Action Taken:
Move to refer Senate Bill 05-088 to the Committee
PASS
12:10 PM
The meeting was called to order by the chairman, Representative Merrifield.
12:11 PM -- Senate Bill 05-088
Representative Solano reviewed the provisions of Senate Bill 05-088, concerning kindergarten. Representative Solano discussed her reasons for bringing the bill and indicated that it requires each school district to provide kindergarten for all children who are five years of age.
12:13 PM
The following persons testified:
12:13 PM --
Mike Paskiewicz, representing Adams School District #12, testified in support of the bill. He discussed the importance of kindergarten programs and said that while the bill does not require full-day kindergarten, he supports full-day kindergarten. He discussed kindergarten in the context of requirements under the "No Child Left Behind Act." He stated that he feels that failure to offer kindergarten is unethical and immoral, as well as being more costly than later-life interventions.
12:20 PM
Mr. Paskiewicz responded to questions from committee members regarding statutory requirements in other states.
12:21 PM --
Lynn Zimmerman, representing kindergarten teachers in Colorado and the Colorado Education Association, testified in support of the bill. She discussed her experiences in the kindergarten classroom and research in early childhood education. She distributed a hand-out (Attachment A). She testified that mandatory kindergarten would alleviate future needs for remediation.
12:29 PM --
Tony Salazar, representing the Colorado Education Association (CEA), testified in support of the bill. He said that kindergarten is a very high priority for the CEA, and noted that the bill does not have a fiscal impact because all school districts are offering kindergarten currently.
BILL:
SB05-088
TIME:
12:30:58 PM
MOVED:
Solano
MOTION:
Move to refer Senate Bill 05-088 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on an 11-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
Larson
VOTE
Balmer
Yes
Benefield
Yes
King
Yes
Larson
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Rose
Yes
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Excused
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Yes
Final
YES:
11
NO:
0
EXC:
2
ABS:
0
FINAL ACTION:
PASS