253B7D5D3B194143872586640075A31D Hearing Summary CLICS/CLICS2021A/commsumm.nsf PUBLICBILL SUMMARY For SMART ACT HEARING FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONJOINT COMMITTEE COMMITTEE ON JOINT EDUCATIONDate Jan 21, 2021 Location Old State Library SMART Act Hearing for the Department of Education - Committee Discussion Only 02:24:59 PM Representative McLachlan invited the presenters from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to begin their presentation. Dr. Katy Anthes, Commissioner of Education, spoke about the demographic make up of students in Colorado, the number of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, the number of students reading at grade level in third grade, and four year graduation rates for high school students. Dr. Anthes provided an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the State Board of Education and CDE. She spoke about CDE's COVID-19 response and the support CDE has provided to districts, schools, and educators during the past year. 02:47:33 PM Dr. Anthes reviewed districts' top ten priorities for students that were submitted by 108 out of 178 school districts in the state, as well as the distrcits' top ten priorities for teachers. She spoke about personnel gaps, especially due to quarantine rules for teachers and a lack of substitute teachers across all districts. She discussed the pillars on which the department's goals are built, which are: expanding access and opportunity for historically underserved students, strengthening equity, diversity, and inclusion within the department, strong foundations in supporting high-quality early learning and literacy for all students, and that all students can read at grade level by the end of third grade. 03:04:09 PM Dr. Anthes spoke about the pillar of quality schools: prioritize and maximize support and districts identified for academic improvements so that all students and families have access to quality schools that meet students' needs. She ended talking about the final pillar, the Educators Matter initiative to develop a strong pipeline of high-quality teachers and principals and provide deeper support for school and district leaders in order to have high-quality educators in every classroom and strong leaders in every school building. Dr. Anthes answered questions from the committee. 03:11:32 PM Dr. Colleen O'Neil, Associate Commissioner of Educator Talent, answered questions about how to attract more qualified people into the teaching profession. Dr. Anthes answered questions from the committee. 03:27:18 PM Dr. O'Neil answered questions about shortages of school mental health professionals and special service professionals such as speech language pathologists, school counselors, social workers, and occupational therapists. 03:32:37 PM Dr. Anthes answered questions about how to look differently at requirements for instructional time, especially in regards to statewide required assessments. Committee members made comments about mental health needs of students and teachers.