Second Regular Session
Sixty-first General Assembly
LLS NO. R980806.01 MD
STATE OF COLORADO
BY SENATOR Hernandez;
also REPRESENTATIVES Mace and Gotlieb.
EDUCATION
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 98-033
CONCERNING THE CREATION OF AN INTERIM COMMITTEE TO
STUDY THE DROPOUT RATE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE STATE OF COLORADO.
WHEREAS, During the last decade, over one hundred
thousand students in Colorado left school without successfully
completing a high school program; and
WHEREAS, In 1996, 3.6 million young adults in the
country were neither enrolled in school nor had they completed
a high school program; and
WHEREAS, In the 199596 academic year, approximately
thirteen thousand students withdrew from Colorado schools, nearly
five thousand nine hundred of whom were minority students, prior
to receiving a diploma, resulting in a four percent dropout rate;
and
WHEREAS, The dropout rate of minority students in
Colorado is significantly higher than that of nonminority
students; and
WHEREAS, Numerous factors, such as socioeconomic
background, lack of adult support, and the inability to communicate
well in English influence a student's decision to drop out of
school; and
WHEREAS, Research has shown that, compared with high
school graduates, relatively more dropouts are unemployed, and
those dropouts who do succeed in finding work tend to earn less
money than high school graduates; and
WHEREAS, High school dropouts are also more likely
to apply for and receive public assistance than high school graduates;
and
WHEREAS, The dropout rate of Colorado students is
of great concern to the future of the state of Colorado; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly hereby determines that
it is in the state's best interest to emphasize the value of obtaining
an education and to encourage Colorado's youth to complete a high
school education program; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixtyfirst
General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives
concurring herein:
(1) That there is hereby created an interim
committee to work through the 1998 interim to study the dropout
rate in secondary schools in the state of Colorado. The interim
committee shall consider, but need not be limited to, the following
issues:
(a) Methods to reduce the dropout rate
in Colorado schools and to increase the percentage of young adults
who complete a high school education;
(b) Alternative methods of completing
a high school education program;
(c) Means by which to stress the importance
of education to the state's youth and to urge them to obtain a
high school education; and
(d) Methods of assisting students to overcome
the educational barriers that face them due to their socioeconomic
status or inability to communicate in English, or due to their
background, which may lack adequate support and resources necessary
for their educational wellbeing.
(2) That the interim committee shall consist
of nine members. The President of the Senate, the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, and the Governor shall appoint the
members of the committee no later than thirty days after passage
of this Resolution, as follows:
(a) The President of the Senate shall
appoint three senators to serve on the interim committee, one
of whom shall be named chair of the interim committee and no more
than two of whom shall be members of the same political party;
(b) The Speaker of the House of Representatives
shall appoint three representatives to serve on the interim committee,
one of whom shall be named vicechair of the committee and
no more than two of whom shall be members of the same political
party;
(c) The Governor shall appoint three individuals
to serve on the interim committee, with at least one member representing
each of the following groups:
(I) A minority community;
(II) The state department of education;
and
(III) A school district.
(3) That the interim committee shall make
findings and recommendations regarding the issues reviewed in
this study, including but not limited to any necessary legislation,
and shall submit a written report on the interim committee's findings
and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than October
15, 1998. Legislation recommended by the interim committee shall
be treated as legislation recommended by any other interim committee
for purposes of any introduction deadlines or bill limitations
imposed by the joint rules of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
(4) That the interim committee shall meet
at least three times to fulfill its responsibilities in this study.
(5) That the members of the interim committee
who are members of the General Assembly shall be compensated as
provided in section 22307, Colorado Revised Statutes,
and members of the interim committee who are not members of the
General Assembly shall be reimbursed for their necessary expenses
for attendance at meetings of the interim committee.
(6) That the Legislative Council staff
and the Office of Legislative Legal Services shall be made available
to assist the interim committee in carrying out its duties. All
personnel of the Department of Education shall cooperate with
the interim committee and with any persons assisting the interim
committee in carrying out its duties.
(7) That all expenditures incurred while
conducting this study shall be approved by the chair of the Legislative
Council and paid by vouchers and warrants drawn as provided by
law from moneys allocated to the Legislative Council for legislative
studies from appropriations made by the General Assembly.