House Committee on Education (02/15/2005)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:	02/15/2005	ATTENDANCE

Time:	11:29 AM to 01:07 PM	Balmer	*
		Benefield	X
Place:	HCR 0107	King	X
		Larson	X
This Meeting was called to order by		McKinley	X
	Representative Merrifield	Penry	X
		Pommer	*
This Report was prepared by		Rose	X
	Cathy Eslinger	Solano	X
		Todd	*
		White	X
		Paccione	X
		Merrifield	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB05-1255 HB05-1217		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Laid Over

11:29 AM -- Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by the chairman, Representative Merrifield.

11:30 AM -- House Bill 05-1255

Representative Benefield reviewed the provisions of House Bill 05-1255, concerning tuition for the excess costs incurred in educating a child with disabilities.

11:31 AM

The following persons testified:

11:31 AM -- Mary Sires, representing a state consortium of special education educators as a representative from St. Vrain School District, testified in favor of the bill. She discussed the need to contract for services and the issue of excess costs. She reviewed the impact of school choice on excess cost issues. Ms. Sires discussed specific examples of students in her district and the financial impact of the excess costs for students placed out of district.

11:40 AM

Ms. Sires discussed the promulgation of a State Board of Education rule last year and stated that the bill would codify what the State Board of Education had done. She distributed a hand-out (Attachment A).

11:42 AM -- Mary McGlone, representing the Littleton School Board, testified in favor of the bill. She discussed issues of equity among school districts, traditional schools of choice, and for cyberschools and on-line programs. She responded to questions from committee members.

11:46 AM -- Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), testified in favor of the bill. She said that CASB believes that Colorado's system of special education funding needs reform.

11:48 AM -- Evie Hudak, representing the State Board of Education, testified on the bill and discussed the board's promulgation of its rule. She said that the board's legal counsel had advised it that it had authority to promulgate the rule, but that the board preferred that the issue be codified.

11:50 AM

Representative King discussed the issue of district choice and excess costs. He discussed the distinctions he sees for charter schools and on-line schools. Representative King discussed the rule review process and said that he felt the promulgation of the State Board of Education rule exceeded the board's authority. Ms. Hudak responded to Representative King's comments.

11:55 AM

Representative Pommer asked Ms. Hudak further questions about the discussions held by the State Board of Education. Representative King made further comments about specific cases impacting charter schools and on-line schools. He said that he favored determinations that would support parental choice. Ms. Hudak discussed how the bill could encourage and support out-of-district placement. Representative Benefield and Representative King discussed per pupil funding for special education and how the money follows the student.

12:04 PM -- Kin Griffith, representing the Colorado Virtual Academy, testified in opposition to the bill. He voiced concern about unintended consequences of the bill. He said that he opposed the 60 percent threshold. Mr. Griffith said he preferred the State Board of Education rule be left in place and that the bill not be passed.

12:12 PM

Mr. Griffith responded to questions from Representative Paccione. Representative Benefield discussed the goals for equity in her bill. Representative Pommer discussed examples and the financial impact of excess costs in the Greeley School District. He asked Mr. Griffith questions about the acceptance of special needs students in his school and the potential impact of the bill on Colorado Virtual Academy.

12:19 PM -- Charm Paulmeno, representing the Colorado Department of Education, said that the bill would treat all choice options the same. She said that there was an equity issue for traditional schools of choice being treated in the same manner as on-line and charter schools. Ms. Paulmeno responded to questions about the development of an individual education program (IEP) and said that the 60 percent threshold was a fairly accurate estimate of the percentage of needs assessment for severely disabled students.

12:24 PM -- Steve Smetak, representing himself as a parent of a special needs student attending the Colorado Virtual Academy, testified in opposition to the bill. He discussed his child's IEP and said that his wife serves as the child's primary teacher through the Colorado Virtual Academy.

12:28 PM -- Linda Murray, representing the Woodland Park School District, said she wanted to reiterate that the funding does follow the child. Representative King asked Ms. Murray if the bill could impact how IEPs would be written and if it would provide an incentive to include a 60 percent assessment for special educational services. Ms. Murray discussed the issues around IEP assessments.


BILL:	HB05-1255
TIME:	12:33:59 PM
MOVED:	Benefield
MOTION:	Moved to pass House Bill 05-1255 to the Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a 10-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Paccione
		VOTE
	Balmer	No
	Benefield	Yes
	King	No
	Larson	Yes
	McKinley	Yes
	Penry	Yes
	Pommer	Yes
	Rose	No
	Solano	Yes
	Todd	Yes
	White	Yes
	Paccione	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

12:36 PM -- House Bill 05-1217

Representative King reviewed the provisions of House Bill 05-1217, concerning calculation of academic growth. He said that the bill allows intermediate levels at which to project a student's rate of academic growth, with a proficiency goal for students by the tenth grade. He also noted that the bill would transfer money that had been allocated for an audit of the school accountability reports and redirects it to fund implementation of the bill.

12:39 PM

The following persons testified:

12:39 PM -- Dianne Lefhy, representing the Technical Advisory Committee for Longitudinal Growth and as a staff member from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), discussed the work of the committee and provided a PowerPoint presentation. She spoke about the specifications for the models that had been developed for measuring longitudinal growth.

12:46 PM

Ms. Lefhy discussed the proficiency targets for 5th grade using 3rd and 4th grade scores and responded to questions about percentages of students who are unsatisfactory at the 3rd grade level who go on to reach a level of proficiency. She said that when the committee had looked at the data they subsequently created reports that could be useful to school district personnel. She distributed a hand-out of her presentation (Attachment B).

12:50 PM

Ms. Lefhy showed the committee examples of longitudinal growth school reports that were being developed and considered. She said that the 2005 Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) results will provide a third year of data with state student ID numbers.

12:54 PM -- Ken Turner, representing Academy School District 20, discussed his district's use of longitudinal growth data to improve achievement. He distributed a hand-out (Attachment C).

12:59 PM -- Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), testified in support of the bill.


BILL:	HB05-1217
TIME:	01:00:32 PM
MOVED:	Pommer
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The bill was laid over without action on the motion.
SECONDED:	Merrifield
		VOTE
	Balmer
	Benefield
	King
	Larson
	McKinley
	Penry
	Pommer
	Rose
	Solano
	Todd
	White
	Paccione
	Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE

01:02 PM

Representative King discussed the reasons for his opposition to amendment L.001. and the reasons for the manner in which the bill was drafted. There was discussion about the appropriations process. The bill was laid over until the committee's next meeting on Thursday, February 17th.

01:07 PM

The committee adjourned.