Bill Summary for Bill Number SB12-057

Date: 03/21/2012

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB12-057

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Motion to reconsider Senate Bill 12-057. The motio Refer Senate Bill 12-057 to the House Committee of Refer Senate Bill 12-057 to the House Committee of	PASS FAIL PASS

11:20 AM -- Senate Bill 12-057

Representative Massey, Chair, called the meeting to order and made opening remarks. He invited Representative Brown to the table to present Senate Bill 12-057.

Representative Brown, sponsor of Senate Bill 12-057, presented the bill. The reengrossed bill allows the Department of Education (CDE) to authorize instructors to teach Native American language and culture courses in schools. The instructor must be an adjunct professor in an area of Native American languages or, if no other alternative can be identified, an expert authorized by the CDE. A CDE authorized instructor can only teach the Native American language in which he or she is assigned, and will only instruct in partnership with a licensed teacher. The State Board of Education must adopt additional criteria for this authorization. The bill also allows schools to grant general education or world language credit for those students who successfully complete a Native American language course.

Representative A. Kerr asked why the bill's title was changed. Representative Brown responded that it was changed to be specific to Native American languages.

The following persons testified:

11:23 AM -- Ernest House, Jr., Executive Secretary, Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, testified in support of the bill. Mr. House responded to Representative A. Kerr's question concerning the bill's title change. He stated that the U.S. government recognizes 556 different tribes. He gave background of his community, the Ute Mountain tribe, and his experience growing up having spoken only a small amount of his native language. He stated that the bill allows native languages to be taken as a "world language" class for credit. He stated that there are approximately 56,000 Native Americans living in Colorado and that about 30,000 live in the Denver Metro area.

Mr. House responded to questions from the committee members.

11:33 AM -- Dr. Jane Urschel, Colorado Association of School Boards, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Urschel stated that the bill fits a unique niche in Colorado.

11:35 AM -- Simon Moya-Smith, student at the University of Denver, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Moya-Smith discussed Indian relocation, stating that it is why Native American tribes are here today. He stated that he is currently learning his native language and wishes that a bill like this would have been passed when he was in high school. He stated that it is difficult to speak with tribal elders on the reservation without knowing the native language. He stated that if the language dies, it goes completely extinct. He stated that there are 194 Native American languages left, out of thousands that once existed. He added that the bill is imperative to the continuity of the indigenous languages.

Rose McGuire, representing Denver Public Schools, joined Mr. Moya-Smith at the table and testified in support of the bill. Ms. McGuire stated that Denver Public Schools has taught the Lakota language for the last seven years and that it has not cost the district very much to do this. She stated that hundreds of students have taken the course and that the school district board of education has been very accommodating. She stated that in reviewing the data, she found that students who take the Lakota language course appear to do better academically and have better school attendance records than those students who do not take the language course.

Representative Peniston asked if the course is part of the regular curriculum, or if it is offered as a club or other after-school activity. Ms. McGuire responded that it is a regular class that students enroll in and receive credit for. Representative Todd asked about the location where the course is taught. Ms. McGuire responded that it is taught at East High School and at the Denver Center for International Studies.

11:41 AM -- Gwen Holmes, representing Denver Public Schools, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Holmes stated that it is fair to Native American students that indigenous languages be among the other languages that are being taught. She said that the native language is vital to the Native American culture that it represents. She discussed her upbringing, which was in a home that was fluent in her native language. She stated that she wants to see more kids given the opportunity to learn their native language in school, stating that it will help kids maintain their identity. She added that she wants Native American students to be proud of who they are and where they come from.

Eileen "Little Thunder" Masquat, representing Denver Public Schools, joined Ms. Holmes at the table and testified in support of the bill. Ms. Masquat described her upbringing, stating that she was born into a fluent Lakota-speaking family. She stated that she came to Colorado as part of the Indian relocation that took place when she was a child. She stated that when she came to Colorado, she had no one to talk to or express her feelings to, as she did not learn English until later on in her schooling. She stated that, as the Lakota language teacher at East High School, she has seen the participation in the course double since last year.

Representative Hamner asked about teacher qualifications and the curriculum for teaching the native languages. Ms. Masquat responded that both she and Ms. Holmes have master's degrees in language and have teaching credentials and that they follow the World Languages curriculum to teach the course. Ms. Masquat responded to additional questions from the committee members.

11:50 AM -- Justice Hollingsworth, representing Denver Public Schools, testified in support of the bill. He stated that the bill will allow Native American children to learn more about their identity and culture and will increase the number of native speakers in Colorado.

Deuschesne Ventris, representing Denver Public Schools and the Denver Center for International Studies, joined Mr. Hollingsworth at the table and testified in support of the bill. Mr. Ventris stated that he is in the seventh grade and is currently learning the Lakota language. He stated that if the bill is passed, he will be very grateful.

11:54 AM -- Tessa McLean, representing Denver Public Schools and herself as a student at the University of Colorado Denver, testified in support of the bill. Ms. McLean stated that she took three language courses in high school, but never learned to speak her native language. She described her experience attending a conference of Native Americans and being unable to converse with them in the native language. She stated that the indigenous languages are very complex to learn, stating that the Cherokee language has 96 characters in their alphabet and that by adding a symbol to a character, gives the character additional meaning. She told the story of a friend of hers, who is now 92 years old and lives in South Dakota and is a fluent native speaker, who tried to teach the Lakota language in schools, but was told she could not without a degree.

Representative Brown made closing statements to the bill.


BILL:	SB12-057
TIME:	12:00:04 PM
MOVED:	Peniston
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 12-057 to the House Committee of the Whole. The motion failed on a roll call vote of 0-13.
SECONDED:	Beezley
		VOTE
	Hamner	No
	Holbert	No
	Joshi	No
	Kerr A.	No
	Murray	No
	Peniston	No
	Ramirez	No
	Schafer S.	No
	Solano	No
	Summers	No
	Todd	No
	Beezley	No
	Massey	No

YES: 0 NO: 13 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	SB12-057
TIME:	12:03:26 PM
MOVED:	Peniston
MOTION:	Motion to reconsider Senate Bill 12-057. The motion passed on a roll call vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Todd
		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

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


BILL:	SB12-057
TIME:	12:04:34 PM
MOVED:	Todd
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 12-057 to the House Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a roll call vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Hamner
		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