Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:04/13/2006
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:36 PM to 04:14 PM
Benefield
*
King
X
Place:HCR 0107
Larson
X
Massey
X
This Meeting was called to order by
McKinley
X
Representative Merrifield
Penry
*
Pommer
*
This Report was prepared by
Rose
X
Cathy Eslinger
Solano
X
Todd
X
White
X
Paccione
X
Merrifield
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
SB06-073
SB06-209		Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole


01:36 PM -- Call to Order

The committee was called to order by the vice-chair, Representative Paccione.

01:37 PM -- Senate Bill 06-073


Representative Merrifield reviewed the provisions of Senate Bill 06-073, concerning the age specifications relating to compulsory school attendance. He spoke to the cost of educational neglect and a lack of educational attainment. He discussed the problems with sending a message about the ability of students to drop out. He further reviewed the provisions in other states and discussed potential amendments to the bill.

01:40 PM

Representative Merrifield responded to questions from committee members. The committee discussed requirements for six year olds under the provisions of the bill. Representative McKinley asked about the curriculum options for students from age 16 to 18. Representative Merrifield clarified definitions in the bill for the committee.

01:50 PM

Richard Sweetman, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to respond to questions about language in the bill and about conforming amendments in the bill. Hand-outs were distributed, one from Representative Merrifield (Attachment A) and one from Representative Rose (Attachment B).


01:55 PM

The committee recessed.

02:07 PM

The committee came back to order.

02:07 PM -- Treon Goossen, representing herself as the home education liaison for the state, testified in opposition to the bill. She spoke of the potential impact on home school educators. The committee discussed the language in the bill, and Representative King raised concerns about ambiguity in the bill. Ms. Goossen distributed a hand-out (Attachment C).

02:13 PM -- Steven Vaughan, representing himself, testified in favor of the bill.

02:14 PM -- Dennis Maes, a district judge representing the 10th judicial district, whose dockets include truancy dockets, testified in support of the bill. He spoke to the impact of educational neglect. Judge Maes testified that he wishes to continue to work with students who are close to graduation and testified that dropping out of school was one of the most life-altering decisions a child could make.

02:23 PM

Judge Maes responded to questions from committee members. He described the students he sees in truancy court. He stated that there was no single "representative"group within the truant students he sees.

02:33 PM

Judge Maes continued to testify on the value of the extra year of school required under the bill and described his perspectives as a judge. He answered questions about the impact of an extra year and said he has not found the truants to be an incorrigible group of children. He testified that sometimes middle school girls are the most challenging cases.

02:43 PM -- Ken Seeley, representing the National Center for School Engagement, testified in favor of the bill and distributed a policy brief (Attachment D). He spoke to behavioral issues involved with at-risk students and advocated reaching out with alternative strategies for these students.

02:51 PM -- Alex Medlar, representing Colorado Children's Campaign, testified in favor of the bill. He summarized his comments by saying that the bill allows "starting early" and not "giving up" on kids. He spoke to the leverage that the bill allows parents and guardians. Mr. Medlar responded to questions from committee members and predicted that the bill would drive discussions about addressing students at the front and back end of the attendance requirement.

02:59 PM -- Kevin Swanson, representing himself, testified in opposition to the bill. He described his experiences home schooling his son. Mr. Swanson responded to questions about the impact of the bill on home schooling as he sees it.



03:05 PM -- Terri Martinez-McGraw, representing Pueblo School District 60, testified in support of the bill. She described programs that her district has to reduce truancy, which have received national attention for their success.

03:16 PM

In response to questions, Representative Merrifield responded to questions about empowerment of parents in regard to their child's education.

03:16 PM -- Vicki Newell, representing the Colorado Parent-Teacher Association, testified in support of the bill.

03:19 PM -- Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), testified in favor of the bill, and told the committee about the resolution passed by the CASB Assembly in favor of raising the compulsory age of attendance.

03:22 PM -- Bruce Atchison, representing the Colorado Children's Campaign, came to the table to respond to concerns raised by several committee members, specifically about the developmental and cognitive readiness of some six year olds.

03:29 PM

Committee members commented on the testimony they had heard today. Mr. Atchison commented further on research in early childhood education.


03:31 PM -- John Satter, representing himself, testified to his experiences as a high school teacher in Jefferson County Schools. He said that cutting alternative programs, such as vocational education classes, hurts the students at risk of dropping out.
BILL:SB06-073
TIME: 03:35:42 PM
MOVED:Merrifield
MOTION:Moved amendment .015 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Paccione
VOTE
Benefield
King
Larson
Massey
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Excused
Rose
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB06-073
TIME: 03:36:58 PM
MOVED:Merrifield
MOTION:Moved amendment .012 (Attachment F), as amended. Representative King made a substitute motion (see vote sheet below). The substitute motion failed. The original motion passed on a 10-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Larson
VOTE
Benefield
Yes
King
No
Larson
Yes
Massey
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
No
Pommer
Yes
Rose
No
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Not Final YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:SB06-073
TIME: 03:38:01 PM
MOVED:Larson
MOTION:Moved to amend .012, page 1, strike lines 9 and 11. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Merrifield
VOTE
Benefield
King
Larson
Massey
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Excused
Rose
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB06-073
TIME: 03:39:52 PM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved a substitute motion to Representative Merrifield's motion as amendment .011 (Attachment G), as amended on page 2, strike lines 1 and 4. The motion failed on a 5-8 roll call vote.
SECONDED:White
VOTE
Benefield
No
King
Yes
Larson
No
Massey
Yes
McKinley
No
Penry
Yes
Pommer
No
Rose
Yes
Solano
No
Todd
No
White
Yes
Paccione
No
Merrifield
No
Not Final YES: 5 NO: 8 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:SB06-073
TIME: 03:42:05 PM
MOVED:Larson
MOTION:Moved to amend L.011, page 2 of the amendment, strike lines 1 and 4. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:King
VOTE
Benefield
King
Larson
Massey
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Excused
Rose
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB06-073
TIME: 03:53:31 PM
MOVED:Paccione
MOTION:Page 5, line 19, strike "SEVENTEEN" and substitute "SIXTEEN". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Merrifield
VOTE
Benefield
King
Larson
Massey
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

BILL:SB06-073
TIME: 03:56:47 PM
MOVED:Merrifield
MOTION:Moved Senate Bill 06-073, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 9-4 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Todd
VOTE
Benefield
Yes
King
No
Larson
Yes
Massey
Yes
McKinley
No
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Rose
No
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
No
Paccione
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:02 PM -- Senate Bill 06-209

Representative Paccione continued the presentation on Senate Bill 06-209, concerning creation of a task force to study Colorado's system of higher education financing. The committee had begun public testimony on the bill at its meeting on Tuesday, April 11.


04:03 PM

The following persons testified:

04:03 PM -- Vicki Newell, representing the Colorado Parent -Teacher Association, testified in support of Senate Bill 06-209.
BILL:SB06-209
TIME: 04:07:04 PM
MOVED:Paccione
MOTION:Moved amendment .009 (Attachment H). The motion passed on a 10-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Merrifield
VOTE
Benefield
Yes
King
No
Larson
No
Massey
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Rose
No
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Not Final YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS
BILL:SB06-209
TIME: 04:09:50 PM
MOVED:Paccione
MOTION:Moved amendment .012 (Attachment I). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Merrifield
VOTE
Benefield
King
Larson
Massey
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
BILL:SB06-209
TIME: 04:11:21 PM
MOVED:Paccione
MOTION:Moved Senate Bill 06-209, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 13-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Benefield
VOTE
Benefield
Yes
King
Yes
Larson
Yes
Massey
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Rose
Yes
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:13 PM

The committee adjourned.