H_ED_2019A 03/05/2019 01:31:32 PM Committee Summary

Representatives Gonzales-Gutierrez and Buentello, co-prime sponsors, presented House Bill 19-1192, concerning inclusion of American Minorities in teaching civil government. Under current law, Colorado's public schools are required to teach the history and civil government of the United States and Colorado, including the history, culture, and contributions of American Indians, Hispanic Americans, and African Americans.  The bill requires that schools also teach the history, culture, and contributions of Asian Americans and the interconnected nature of these communities.  The bill creates a 15-member History, Culture, Social Contributions, and Civil Government Education Commission and sets the conditions for the commission's selection and composition.  The commission must make recommendations to the State Board of Education (board) and the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) related to the teaching of history, culture, and civil government.  Representative Gonzales-Gutierrez distributed information about the bill to the committee (Attachment A).

Representative Buentello and Representative Gonzales-Gutierrez responded to committee questions regarding the bill.

The following people provided testimony:

Angelita Trujillo, representing Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), testified in support of the bill.

Velia Rincon, representing herself as an educator, testified in support of the bill.

Kent Willman, Colorado Education Association, testified in support of the bill.

Stephanie Rossi, Colorado Education Association, testified in support of the bill.

The above four-person panel answered questions from the committee about the commission established in the bill.

Mariana Galvez Soninario, COLOR, testified in support of the bill and distributed various handouts to the committee (Attachment B).

Esperanza Garcia, representing herself as a student, testified in support of the bill.

Mason Estes, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.

Dr. Ramon Del Castillo, representing himself as an educator, testified in support of the bill.

The above four-person panel answered committee questions about the bill.

Committee discussion ensued.

Rudy Gonzales, representing himself, testified in support of the bill.

Sean Davis, representing himself as an educator, testified in support of the bill with amendments that would include the LGBTQ community on the commission.

Ruis Torres, representing himself as an educator, testified in support of the bill.

The above three-person panel responded to questions from the committee.

Matthew Crag, representing himself as an educator, testified in support of the bill with amendments including the LGBTQ community on the commission created in the bill.

Bernie Janelle, representing herself as an educator, testified in support of the bill with amendments including the LGBTQ community on the commission created in the bill.

Chris Arteaga, representing himself, testified in support of the bill with amendments including the LGBTQ community on the commission created in the bill.

Jill Fleishman, Native American Justice Council, testified in support of the bill.

Joel Zigman, representing himself, testified in support of the bill with amendments including the LGBTQ community on the commission created in the bill. Mr. Zigman distributed a copy of his testimony to the committee (Attachment C).

Representtive Buentello moved and explained Amendment L.001 (Attachment D), which includes a member from the LGBTQ community on the commission created in the bill.  The sponsors responded to questions about the amendment.

The committee recessed.

The committee came back to order.

Representative Mullica, sponsor, presented House Bill 19-1203, concerning a school nurse grant program. The bill creates the School Nurse Grant Program in the Primary Care Office of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to award grants on a five-year cycle to local education providers (LEPs) to increase the number of school nurses in schools. The sponsor distributed Amendment L.001 (Attachment E) and answered questions from the committee.  Brita Darling, Office of Legislative Legal Services, came to the table to answer questions about the definitions of rural and small, rural school districts.

The following people testified on the bill:

Kelly Grenham, representing herself as a school nurse as well as the Colorado Association of School Nurses and Children's Hospital, spoke in support of the bill.  She distribtued written testimony in support of the bill (Attachment F).

Jessica Francois, representing herself as a school nurse, spoke in support of the bill.

Julie Wilken, representing herself as a school nurse, testified in support of the bill.

The above three-person panel responded to committee questions.

Nate Golich, Colorado Education Association, testified in support of the bill and answered questions from the committee.

Representative Mullica distributed Amendment L.002 (Attachment G), which corrects an error found in Amendment L.001.

Representative Mullica made concluding comments on the bill, and committee discussion ensued.

The committee recessed.

The committee came back to order.

Representative Kipp, sponsor, presented House Bill 19-1190, concerning the repeal of the Mill Levy Equalization Fund (fund). House Bill 17-1375 created the fund to provide a vehicle for providing supplemental funding to charter schools authorized by the Charter School Institute (CSI) in the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). Any funds appropriated or transferred to the fund must be distributed annually to institute charter schools on an equal, per-pupil basis. The bill repeals the fund, therefore removing the vehicle by which the state pays for mill levy equalization of CSI schools.

The following people provided testimony:

Evie Hudak, Colorado Parent Teacher Association, testified in support of the bill.

Terry Croy Lewis, Charter School Institute, testified in opposition to the bill.

Dan Schaller, Colorado League of Charter Schools, testified in opposition to the bill.

Jen Walmer, Education Reform Now and Democrats for Education Reform, testified in opposition to the bill.

The above three-person panel responded to committee questions.

Josh See, Colorado Early Colleges, testified in opposition to the bill.

La'mon Bliss, Colorado Early Colleges, testified in opposition to the bill and discussed his experience at Colorado Early Colleges.

Mary Faith Hall, Thomas MacLaren, testified in opposition to the bill.

Emily Grace Kirkwood, representing herself as a student at Thomas MacLaren, testified in opposition to the bill and described her experience at Thomas MacLaren.

Anna Parsons, representing herself as a parent of a student at Thomas MacLaren, testified in opposition to the bill.

Steven Bartholomew, New Legacy Charter School, testified in opposition to the bill.

Sabrina Suarez, representing herself as a student at New Legacy Charter School, testified in opposition to the bill.

The above two-person panel answered questions from the committee.

Teresa Woods, Mount Song Community School, testified in opposition to the bill.

Sean Cayden, Mountain Song Community School, testified in opposition to the bill.

Sara Gagliardi, representing herself, testified in support of the bill.

Clare Leonard, representing herself, testified in support of the bill on behalf of Larua Mutton and Lindsay Markee, both parents.

Kathy Plomer, representing herself as a parent, testified in support of the bill.

The above three-person panel responded to questions from the committee.

Tim Krug, representing himself as a parent, testified in support of the bill and distributed data to the committee (Attachment K).

Cindra Barnard, Taxpayers for Public Education, testified in support of the bill.

Matt Cook, Colorado Association of School Boards, testified in support of the bill.

The above three-person panel responded to questions from the committee.

Representative Kipp made concluding comments on the bill, and committee discussion ensued.