Draft
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Date:02/17/2005
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:34 PM to 04:28 PM
Balmer
X
Benefield
X
Place:HCR 0107
King
X
Larson
X
This Meeting was called to order by
McKinley
X
Representative Merrifield
Penry
E*
Pommer
E*
This Report was prepared by
Rose
E
Cathy Eslinger
Solano
X
Todd
X
White
X
Paccione
E*
Merrifield
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB05-1249
HB05-1088
HB05-1216
HB05-1191
HJR 05-1016
HB05-1217		Tabled - Deemed Postponed Indefinitely
Amended, Referred to Committee on Appropriations
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Amended, Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Referred to the Committee of the Whole


01:35 PM -- House Bill 05-1249

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


01:36 PM

Representative Gallegos reviewed the provisions of House Bill 05-1249, concerning a daily moment of quiet reflection in public schools. He said that upon further review and discussions with interested parties, he would request that the bill be laid over until a date beyond adjournment sine die.

BILL:HB05-1249
TIME: 01:36:52 PM
MOVED:Merrifield
MOTION:Moved to lay over House Bill 05-1249 until May 12. The motion passed on a 8-3-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Solano
VOTE
Balmer
No
Benefield
Yes
King
No
Larson
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
No
Pommer
Yes
Rose
Excused
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Yes
Final YES: 8 NO: 3 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




01:38 PM -- House Bill 05-1088

Representative McFadyen reviewed the provisions of House Bill 05-1088, concerning the education of children whose parents are incarcerated. She discussed her reasons for bringing the bill and discussed Colorado data. She said that the bill would establish a commission to work with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and to make recommendations on the issue of educating students whose parent is incarcerated. She said that there would be an amendment offered on the bill. Representative McFadyen provided committee members with a folder that is on file with the Legislative Council Staff.


01:45 PM

The following persons testified:


01:45 PM -- Patti Micciche, representing the Colorado Department of Corrections, testified on the bill and said that the department was remaining neutral on the bill. Ms. Micciche discussed state statistics on the issue.

01:47 PM

Ms. Micciche responded to questions from committee members regarding literacy statistics and the corrections population.


01:48 PM -- Nicole Willis, representing the University of Houston Department of Social Work, testified in favor of the bill as an academic professional in the field. Ms. Willis discussed the impact on families and children when a parent is incarcerated. She said that she has been researching the issue for two years. Ms. Willis provided information on assumptions and myths about children of incarcerated parents. Ms. Willis continued her discussion about the likeliness of children of incarcerated parents becoming offenders if appropriate interventions and programs are not in place. She recommended that Colorado begin with an assessment of the issue.


01:58 PM

Ms. Willis continued her discussion by urging support for the bill. She responded to questions from committee members. Representative King asked questions about the recommendation for a study. Representative McFadyen responded to comments by the committee and said that she feels that the state must assess the need before going forward with other options.

02:03 PM -- Montie Malley, representing herself as a Pueblo West High School student and the child of an incarcerated parent, testified in support of the bill. She said that she is planning to attend Colorado State University in the fall and provided information on her personal experiences during her adolescent years.

02:08 PM -- Marilyn Gambrill, representing Texas-based No More Victims as its founder, testified in favor of the bill. She said that her nonprofit organization has served 500 children and that it operates out of a school. She described the statistics concerning children of incarcerated parents and discussed examples of self-destructive behavior of children whose needs are not addressed. She said that the first step in addressing the problem is discussing and acknowledging the issue.

02:15 PM

Ms. Gambrill responded to questions from members of the committee. She said that her organization still struggles for recognition in Texas and discussed trying to work with school districts. She commended Colorado legislators for discussing the issue. Ms. Gambrill said that her organization is privately funded and has not accepted any government funding.

02:20 PM -- Veronica Rogers, representing herself as a high school graduate who participated in No More Victims, testified in favor of the bill. She discussed her background as the child of two parents who were incarcerated. She encouraged the committee to support the children of incarcerated parents in Colorado by passing the bill.

02:25 PM -- Bruce Atchison, representing the Colorado Children's Campaign, testified in favor of the bill. He said that his organization produces an annual Kids Count report that presents an index of family risk factors.


BILL:HB05-1088
TIME: 02:27:47 PM
MOVED:Solano
MOTION:Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Pommer
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB05-1088
TIME: 02:28:38 PM
MOVED:Solano
MOTION:Moved to refer House Bill 05-1088 to the Committee on Appropriations, as amended. The motion passed on an 11-1-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Pommer
VOTE
Balmer
Yes
Benefield
Yes
King
No
Larson
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Rose
Excused
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




02:32 PM -- House Bill 05-1216

Representative Marshall reviewed the provisions of House Bill 05-1216, concerning the school improvement action cycle for low-performing public schools. She discussed how the bill repeals and reenacts the corrective action cycle for schools that consistently receive "unsatisfactory" ratings or are the lowest-scoring "low" rated schools. Ms. Marshall provided a hand-out showing how schools would be subject to corrective action under House Bill 05-1216 (Attachment B ).

02:40 PM

Representative Marshall responded to questions from committee members about whether she has had meetings with representatives of the Governor's office. She said that the Governor had expressed interest in the bill. Representative Pommer asked about schools' receptiveness to accepting students under a restructuring cycle.

02:42 PM

The following persons testified:


02:42 PM -- Dr. Jerry Wartgow, Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, testified in support of the bill. He discussed the process that the district has undergone preparing for the upcoming conversion of Cole Middle School. He also discussed progress made by other schools previously rated "unsatisfactory". He said that House Bill 05-1216 extends accountability to more Denver Public Schools and that he is supportive of that change.

02:45 PM -- Dr. Wayne Eckerling, also representing Denver Public Schools, testified in support of the bill and distributed two hand-outs (Attachments C and D). He responded to questions about the impact on Denver Public Schools. Dr. Wartgow made further comments about accountability and restructuring in his district. He said that the statutory time frame followed for the conversion of Cole Middle School had been challenging.

02:50 PM -- Phil Fox, representing the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE), testified in favor of the bill. He said that his organization is in strong support of the bill and of accountability reform.


02:51 PM -- Byron Pendley, representing the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), testified on the bill and said that the State Board of Education has a goal of addressing accountability and flexibility. He indicated that the State Board of Education has not taken an official position on the bill.

BILL:HB05-1216
TIME: 02:54:06 PM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment E). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:White
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
Excused
White
Paccione
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB05-1216
TIME: 02:37:00 PM
MOVED:Balmer
MOTION:Move to refer House Bill 05-1216 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion passed on a 12-0-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:King
VOTE
Balmer
Yes
Benefield
Yes
King
Yes
Larson
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Rose
Excused
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




03:03 PM -- House Bill 05-1191

Representative Benefield reviewed the provisions of House Bill 05-1191, concerning expansion of the authority of a school district to impose a transportation fee. She distributed two hand-outs in support of the bill (Attachments F and G). She described the reasons she was bringing the bill forward.


03:08 PM

The following persons testified:

03:08 PM -- Phil Fox, representing the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE), testified in favor of the bill. He provided background on the number of fees collected by local governments in Colorado. He asked the committee to support the prerogative of local school boards of education in regard to transportation fees. He spoke about how much school districts have been spending on fuel and how district costs have increased.

03:14 PM -- Vody Hermann, representing the School Finance Unit, Colorado Department of Education (CDE), testified on the bill. She provided a hand-out (Attachment H) and discussed how much categorical funding school districts received for transportation in FY 2003-04 and how much districts have paid in transportation costs.


03:19 PM

Ms. Hermann responded to questions from committee members regarding categorical funding. Representative Benefield made further comments based on comments by committee members.


03:22 PM -- Ken Hoover, representing the Jefferson County Schools, testified in favor of the bill and said that the board of education had voted to support the bill. He distributed a hand-out (Attachment I). He said that election costs can be very significant for school districts who wish to put an issue before the voters.


03:26 PM

Mr. Hoover responded to questions regarding the district's costs for transporting students to option schools. Mr. Hoover discussed how the district would need to address fiscal and transportation issues if the bill were not passed.


03:29 PM -- Rick Ring, representing St. Vrain School District, testified in support of the bill. He is director of transportation for the district and said that categorical funding has not been able to keep up with district costs.

03:32 PM -- Lauren Kingsbery, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), testified in support of the bill and said that CASB's delegate assembly has supported the idea of district flexibility. She said that CASB would be supportive of potential amendments.

03:34 PM -- Linda Fedak, representing herself as a parent in Jefferson County Schools, testified in favor of the bill. She asked the committee to support the bill and the flexibility it would provide the school district.

03:36 PM -- Chase Connolly, representing himself as a St. Vrain student, testified in support of the bill.

03:37 PM -- Sheridan Stevens, a student in St. Vrain School District, testified in support of the bill.

03:40 PM -- Merrill Behaning, representing St. Vrain School District, testified in support of the bill. She discussed the issues parents face in ensuring the
the safety of the children going to and coming home from school.
BILL:HB05-1191
TIME: 03:43:38 PM
MOVED:Benefield
MOTION:Moved amendment L.002 (Attachment J). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:King
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB05-1191
TIME: 03:44:23 PM
MOVED:Benefield
MOTION:Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment K). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Pommer
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB05-1191
TIME: 03:46:39 PM
MOVED:Benefield
MOTION:Moved amendment L.004 (Attachment L). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Larson
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE


BILL:HB05-1191
TIME: 03:48:03 PM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved amendment L.008 (Attachment M). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Benefield
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB05-1191
TIME: 03:49:42 PM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved amendment L.010 (Attachment N). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Benefield
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB05-1191
TIME: 03:52:21 PM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved amendment L.011 (Attachment O). There was discussion on the amendment. Representative Pommer moved an amendment to L.011 (see vote sheet below). The motion to pass amendment .011, as amended, passed without objection.
SECONDED:Benefield
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection
3:56 PM

The committee discussed the language in amendment L.011. Representative King responded to questions about the discretion authorized for school districts in the bill. Julie Pelegrin, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to respond to questions.



BILL:HB05-1191
TIME: 04:00:05 PM
MOVED:Pommer
MOTION:Moved an amendment to amendment L.011 , line 9, strike "FEASIBLE," and substitute "FEASIBLE AS DETERMINED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT,". The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Solano
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE


BILL:HB05-1191
TIME: 03:58:18 PM
MOVED:Pommer
MOTION:Moved an amendment to amendment L.011. Line 10, strike "SHALL" and substitute "MAY". The amendment was withdrawn.
SECONDED:Solano
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE


04:01 PM

Ms. Pelegrin responded to questions about the language in the bill. The committee continued its discussion on the bill. Representative Benefield reiterated her support for local control of transportation fees.





BILL:HB05-1191
TIME: 04:03:53 PM
MOVED:Benefield
MOTION:Move to refer House Bill 05-1191 to the Committee of the Whole, as amended. The motion passed on a 9-2-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Todd
VOTE
Balmer
No
Benefield
Yes
King
Yes
Larson
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
No
Pommer
Yes
Rose
Excused
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 2 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



04:05 PM

Representative Plant reviewed the provisions of House Joint Resolution 05-1016, concerning the certification by the General Assembly of the amount of State Education Fund revenues that should be considered available for appropriation for the 2005-06 state fiscal year. The resolution states that a total of $3,009.6 million in state moneys is required to meet public education funding requirements for FY 2005-06 and that the projection for revenues in the State Education Fund for FY 2005-06 is $328.1 million.


04:10 PM

Representative Plant responded to questions regarding the resolution and the fact that a 6.1 percent maintenance of effort is identified in the resolution. Representative King discussed proposing a 5.0 percent maintenance of effort and said that he had an amendment prepared that would do so.


BILL:HJR 05-1016
TIME: 04:13:53 PM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved amendment J.001 (Attachment P). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Pommer
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
Excused
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HJR 05-1016
TIME: 04:14:45 PM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved amendment L.001 (Attachment Q). The motion was withdrawn.
SECONDED:Balmer
VOTE
Balmer
Benefield
King
Larson
McKinley
Penry
Pommer
Rose
Excused
Solano
Todd
White
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: TIE



04:19 PM

Representative Plant responded to additional questions from committee members.

BILL:HJR 05-1016
TIME: 04:19:59 PM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Move to refer House Joint Resolution 05-1016 out for final action, as amended. The motion passed on a 10-0-3 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Balmer
VOTE
Balmer
Yes
Benefield
Yes
King
Yes
Larson
Yes
McKinley
Yes
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Rose
Excused
Solano
Yes
Todd
Excused
White
Yes
Paccione
Excused
Merrifield
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 3 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS




04:21 PM -- House Bill 05-1217

The committee acknowledged that House Bill 05-1217, concerning the calculation of academic growth, was heard previously by the committee at its February 15 meeting. Representative Pommer withdrew the motion he had made at the February 15 meeting to move amendment L.001 (Attachment R). That motion had not been acted upon by the committee.


04:21 PM

Representative King briefly reviewed the provisions of House Bill 05-1217 and urged support for the bill.
BILL:HB05-1217
TIME: 04:21:37 PM
MOVED:King
MOTION:Moved to refer House Bill 05-1217 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on an 11-1-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:Penry
VOTE
Balmer
Yes
Benefield
Yes
King
Yes
Larson
Yes
McKinley
No
Penry
Yes
Pommer
Yes
Rose
Excused
Solano
Yes
Todd
Yes
White
Yes
Paccione
Yes
Merrifield
Yes
Final YES: 11 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



04:28 PM

The committee adjourned.