House Committee on Education (03/05/2012)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:	03/05/2012	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:34 PM to 02:55 PM	Hamner	X
		Holbert	X
Place:	HCR 0112	Joshi	X
		Kerr A.	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Murray	X
	Representative Massey	Peniston	X
		Ramirez	X
This Report was prepared by		Schafer S.	X
	Kristen Johnson	Solano	X
		Summers	X
		Todd	X
		Beezley	X
		Massey	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Update from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) concerning dropout prevention and student re-engagement - interventions - and career and technical education Briefing on the Report on the State Education Fund HB12-1306		- - Amended, Laid Over

01:34 PM -- Update from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) concerning dropout prevention and student re-engagement, interventions, and career and technical education

Representative Massey, Chair, called the meeting to order and made opening remarks. He invited the presenters from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to come to the table to provide the committee with an update on dropout prevention and student re-engagement, interventions, and career and technical education.

Jill Hawley, Chief of Staff and Strategy, and Dr. Judith Martinez, Office of Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement, CDE came to the table to provide information to the committee in response to several questions that were raised during CDE's last presentation in February. Dr. Martinez provided several handouts to the committee members (Attachments A through C).

Dr. Martinez described the creation and role of the Office of Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement at CDE. Dr. Martinez introduced her colleagues, Peter Fritz, Program Manager for Colorado Graduation Pathways, CDE, and Dr. Geri Anderson and Lauren Jones, of the Colorado Community College System.
Dr. Martinez walked the committee through her briefing document (Attachment A), noting that the Office of Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement supports student achievement in three ways:

• by tracking state progress on indicators of student achievement, such as dropout rate, graduation, and completion rates;
• by providing training and technical assistance to support credit recovery, reduce course failure, improve student outcomes, and increase college enrollment; and
• through the effective allocation of resources in the areas of student engagement, dropout prevention, and college and career readiness.

Dr. Martinez stated that, for the current fiscal year, $33 million in funding was allocated to the programs within the Office of Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement, and as a result, resources were distributed to 188 local education agencies and 191 schools, with some schools receiving funds for multiple programs.

01:41 PM

Dr. Martinez continued her presentation. She stated that she has seen dramatic improvements in the dropout rate. She stated that the current dropout rate is 3 percent, which is a reduction of one-third in the dropout rate since the 2005-06 school year. She stated that the improvement in the dropout rate translates to over 6,200 fewer dropouts compared to the rate six years ago. She added that the average age that students dropout is 17 and a half years of age. She discussed the reasons why students drop out of school and the early indication signs that show that a student may be at-risk of dropping out.

Dr. Martinez discussed the programs and initiatives within the Office of Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement. She stated that the offices' three initiatives include the three "I's" of: identification, institutional change, and interventions. She explained that identification involves identifying "priority" and "high-priority" districts in need of increasing their graduation rate and decreasing their dropout rate. She explained that the initiative includes conducting a practices assessment and developing a student graduation and completion plan as part of the district's Unified Improvement Plan (UIP). Next, Dr. Martinez described the institutional change initiative, which involves increasing communication to the field through on-line resources and professional development opportunities for CDE staff. Finally, Dr. Martinez discussed the interventions initiative, which involves providing assistance to students and their families in the following areas: exploration of postsecondary career and educational opportunities, alignment of course work and curriculum, application to institutes of higher education, and access to financial aid.

01:50 PM -- Briefing on the Report on State Education Fund

Todd Herreid, Fiscal Director, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to brief the committee on the 2012 Report on the State Education Fund. Mr. Herreid provided handouts to the committee (Attachments D and E). Mr. Herreid walked the committee through his presentation (Attachment E), providing background on the creation of the State Education Fund and how revenues are allocated to that fund. He stated that at the end of fiscal year 2011-12, the fund is projected to have a balance of $110 million.

01:57 PM

Mr. Herreid continued his presentation, referring the committee to the graphs on pages 4 and 5 of the presentation handout (Attachment E). He discussed the application of the negative factor and the impact that it has on the state's contribution toward school finance. He added that there is a projected student enrollment increase of about 9,000 to 10,000 students for the upcoming year.

02:04 PM

Mr. Herreid responded to questions from the committee.

02:06 PM -- House Bill 12-1306

Representative Holbert, sponsor of House Bill 12-1306, presented the bill and provided several handouts to the committee members (Attachments F through I). The bill creates a process for school districts to seek supplemental funding for enrollment gains after School Finance Act funding has been calculated. The bill permits a school district or an institute charter school to compare the total number of students enrolled in grades three to eleven on the October 1 pupil count day with the total number of students in these grades who participate in the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and the ACT.

Districts will count the number of students in grades three to ten who take the CSAP mathematics assessment, and the number of students in grade eleven who take the ACT, and compare this total to the number of students enrolled in all grades three to eleven as of October 1 in the same school year. If the number of tested students is greater than the number enrolled as of October 1, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is required to fund each additional student at the per-pupil on-line funding amount.

Representative Holbert responded to several questions from the committee concerning the bill.

02:26 PM

Josh Abram, Legislative Council Staff, came to the table to respond to questions on the fiscal note.

The following persons testified:

02:28 PM -- Karen Wick, Colorado Education Association (CEA), expressed opposition to the bill. Ms. Wick stated that CEA is concerned about the state using the CSAP and ACT as tools to determine student enrollment counts, as these assessments do not account for students in all grades. She stated that another problem is that not all students take these assessments. She added that CEA has been working with several stakeholders on how to overhaul Colorado's funding of public education and that the stakeholders would like to see this issue addressed in a more holistic way.

02:30 PM -- Vinny Badolato, Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS), expressed support for the bill. Mr. Badolato stated that the bill is not perfect, but that it is a step in the right direction. He responded to questions from the committee and discussed the way that charter school institute schools are funded.

02:35 PM -- David DiCarlo, representing himself, expressed support for the bill. Mr. DiCarlo stated that if we wait around for the perfect solution, it will never happen. He added that he would like to see the committee do something now to address these issues and make change.

02:37 PM

Representative Holbert distributed Amendment L.002 (Attachment J). Representative Holbert stated that the amendment identifies the funding source for this legislation as the State Education Fund. Representative Holbert responded to questions from the committee.


BILL:	HB12-1306
TIME:	02:40:16 PM
MOVED:	Holbert
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.002 (Attachment J). The motion passed on a roll call vote of 7-6.
SECONDED:	Beezley
		VOTE
	Hamner	No
	Holbert	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Kerr A.	No
	Murray	Yes
	Peniston	No
	Ramirez	Yes
	Schafer S.	No
	Solano	No
	Summers	Yes
	Todd	No
	Beezley	Yes
	Massey	Yes

YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:42 PM

Representative Holbert distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment K) and provided a handout (Attachment L). Representative Holbert explained the amendment.

Representative Massey stated that the bill would be laid over for action only, until Wednesday, March 7, 2012, to provide time for the committee to review Amendment L.001 (Attachment L). No vote was taken on the amendment, and the amendment phase of the hearing is still open.


BILL:	HB12-1306
TIME:	02:44:51 PM
MOVED:	Holbert
MOTION:	Adopt prepared Amendment L.001 (Attachment K). No vote was taken. The bill has been laid over for action only until March 7, 2012.
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:

02:52 PM

The committee adjourned.