House Committee on Education (04/09/2012)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:	04/09/2012	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:35 PM to 03:17 PM	Hamner	X
		Holbert	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Joshi	X
		Kerr A.	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Murray	X
	Representative Massey	Peniston	X
		Ramirez	X
This Report was prepared by		Schafer S.	*
	Kristen Johnson	Solano	X
		Summers	X
		Todd	*
		Beezley	X
		Massey	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB12-1345 Presentation by the Joint Budget Committee on the FY 2012-13 Long Bill		Amended, Referred to Appropriations -

01:36 PM -- House Bill 12-1345

Representative Massey, Chair, called the hearing to order and handed the meeting over to Representative Beezley, Vice-Chair, so that he could present House Bill 12-1345.

Representative Massey, sponsor of House Bill 12-1345, presented the bill. The committee was provided a handout from Legislative Council Staff that compares public school funding in fiscal year 2011-12 with public school funding in fiscal year 2012-13 as proposed by the bill (Attachment A). House Bill 12-1345 amends the "Public School Finance Act of 1994" to modify the funding for K-12 public schools in FY 2012-13. The bill increases the statewide base per pupil funding to $5,843.26 to reflect a 3.7 percent inflation rate. Under current law, the state's share of total program funding includes a negative factor that reduces total program funding to $5.230 billion. House Bill 12-1345 increases the total program funding amount in FY 2012-13 by $57.0 million to hold total per pupil funding constant and account for increases in student enrollment. As a result, the bill sets total program funding for FY 2012-13 at $5.287 billion. This represents a 16.11 percent reduction from what funding levels would have been without the negative factor.

In addition to changes to total program, the bill modifies the funding for other public school programs as follows:

• Under current law, $5 million is annually appropriated from the State Education Fund for charter school capital construction costs for eligible districts and institute charter schools. Beginning in FY 2012-13, this bill increases the appropriation to $6 million annually.

• Beginning August 1, 2012, the bill specifies that the Mountain Board of Cooperative Services (BOCES) shall contract once every three years with an entity that sells supplemental on-line education courses for school districts and charter schools. Under current law, the Mountain BOCES enters into this type of contract on an annual basis.

• Beginning in FY 2012-13, the bill provides $1.3 million in additional funding for BOCES to assist its school districts in meeting the educational priorities determined by the Commissioner of Education. To receive funding, BOCES are required to submit a plan to the State Board of Education for their districts. If a BOCES does not submit a plan, member districts may submit individual plans for meeting the state's educational priorities.

• The bill extends the statutory definition of "children with disabilities" to include persons three through eight years of age who have been determined to experience developmental delays as defined by federal regulations.

• The bill increases an appropriation in the 2012 Long Bill for the school counselor corps program by $480,000. This appropriation is from the State Education Fund.

The following persons testified:

01:43 PM -- Carolena Steen, representing the Consortium of Special Education Directors, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Steen stated that the bill aligns Colorado law with federal law in the area of special education. She discussed how the federal government came to adopt the term "developmental delay" and how the definition provides flexibility in categorizing students with developmental disabilities.

01:46 PM -- Dr. Dale McCall, representing Colorado BOCES Association, testified in support of the bill. He provided a handout to the committee members that shows the location of Colorado's Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and Regional Service Areas (Attachment B). He stated that currently, BOCES do not receive any funding. He stated that districts seek support through the BOCES and that many rural districts are in need of additional capacity, as a result of recent budget cuts. Dr. McCall responded to questions from the committee about how the funds identified in the bill will be distributed to the BOCES.

01:50 PM

Representative Massey commented that the state has never really funded BOCES to the level that it should. He stated that BOCES allow rural districts to take advantage of economies of scale and added that there is alot that BOCES can help with if they are given the correct resources.

01:56 PM -- Dr. Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), testified in support of the bill.

01:57 PM -- Vinny Badolato, representing the Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS), testified in support of the bill. He provided two handouts to the committee members (Attachments C and D). Mr. Badolato discussed the Joint Budget Committee's (JBC) recommendations for charter school funding contained in Attachment C. He discussed Attachment D, stating that the report includes findings about what charter schools look like in Colorado. He added that the CLCS sees the bill as a great step in the right direction. Mr. Badolato responded to several questions from the committee pertaining to bonding for charter schools, the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program, and federal grants for charter school capital construction. He added that there are about 180 individual charter schools in Colorado and that there is a waitlist for getting into a charter school of about 35,000 students.

02:24 PM -- Dr. Terry Bishop, Executive Director of Colorado Online Learning, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Bishop stated that his organization has served between 80-100 school districts per year over the last five years. He stated that he supports the bill's changing of the RFP process at the Mountain BOCES to a three-year award, which he stated, will allow the recipient of the funds greater planning time. He added that the change will also make the process more manageable for the Mountain BOCES. Dr. Bishop responded to committee questions.

02:29 PM -- Karen Wick, representing the Colorado Education Association (CEA), testified on the bill. Ms. Wick stated that the CEA has not yet taken a position on the bill. She stated that CEA appreciates the unchanged average per pupil funding and the additional funds for the Colorado Counselor Corps program. She added that education is the most important investment the state can make. Ms. Wick responded to questions from the committee.

02:34 PM -- Tracy Thompson, representing the Colorado Counselor Corps Advisory Board, testified in support of the bill. She discussed the Colorado Counselor Corps program and responded to questions from the committee members.

02:36 PM

Representative Massey distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment E) and explained its content.


BILL:	HB12-1345
TIME:	02:39:31 PM
MOVED:	Massey
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.001 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Beezley
		VOTE
	Hamner
	Holbert
	Joshi
	Kerr A.
	Murray
	Peniston
	Ramirez
	Schafer S.
	Solano
	Summers
	Todd
	Beezley
	Massey

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

02:40 PM

Representative Todd distributed Amendment L.006 (Attachment F) and explained that the amendment would allow public schools to receive moneys from the State Education Fund to help with air conditioning. Representative Murray commented that air conditioning is a prime example of what BEST funds should be used for.


BILL:	HB12-1345
TIME:	02:41:08 PM
MOVED:	Todd
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.006 (Attachment F). The motion failed on a roll call vote of 3-10.
SECONDED:	Solano
		VOTE
	Hamner	No
	Holbert	No
	Joshi	No
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Murray	No
	Peniston	No
	Ramirez	No
	Schafer S.	No
	Solano	Yes
	Summers	No
	Todd	Yes
	Beezley	No
	Massey	No

YES: 3 NO: 10 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

02:45 PM

Representative Solano distributed Amendment L.007 (Attachment G) and explained that it creates the full-day kindergarten facility capital construction fund and calls for a $6 million appropriation from the State Education Fund.


BILL:	HB12-1345
TIME:	02:47:33 PM
MOVED:	Solano
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.007 (Attachment G). The motion failed on a roll call vote of 3-10.
SECONDED:	Todd
		VOTE
	Hamner	No
	Holbert	No
	Joshi	No
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Murray	No
	Peniston	No
	Ramirez	No
	Schafer S.	No
	Solano	Yes
	Summers	No
	Todd	Yes
	Beezley	No
	Massey	No

YES: 3 NO: 10 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL

02:50 PM Representative Massey provided closing statements to the bill.
BILL:	HB12-1345
TIME:	02:52:31 PM
MOVED:	Massey
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 12-1345, as amended, to the House Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a roll call vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Summers
		VOTE
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Murray	Yes
	Peniston	Yes
	Ramirez	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Todd	Yes
	Beezley	Yes
	Massey	Yes

Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:53 PM

The committee took a brief recess.

02:56 PM -- Presentation by the Joint Budget Committee on the FY 2012-13 Long Bill

The committee came back to order. Representative Gerou and Representative Levy, members of the Joint Budget Committee (JBC), came to the table to brief the committee on the fiscal year 2012-13 Long Bill and its impact on the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Representative Gerou walked the committee through a Powerpoint presentation (Attachment H) on the state budget and referred committee members to their orange booklet containing the summary of the Long Bill.

Representative Gerou and Representative Levy responded to questions from the committee members.

03:14 PM

Representative Gerou thanked Representative Massey and the committee for their work.

03:17 PM

The committee adjourned.