Bill Tracker

3/15/20 sent to appropriations. 6/13/20 Postponed Indefinetly

1/28/20 sent to appropriations. 6/16/20 Amendments failed.

2/4/20 sent to appropriations. Amendments failed. 

2/4/20 sent to appropriations. 6/11/20 Senate thrid reading passed No amendments 

2/3/20 sent to appropriations. 6/1/620 Amedments failed. 

Covered by Holly. Governor signed. 

6/10/20 third reading passed.  House considered senate amendments rusult was to concur repass

Bill was PI'd on May 26, 2020

2/20/20 referred to approriations. 6/16/20 Amendments failed. 

Covered by Holly.6/11/20 senate third reading passed no amendments 

3/12/20 sent to appropriations. referred to COW on 6/3/20.  Passed 2rd reading as amended 6/4/20 hearing for final passage set for 6/5/20. 6/10/20 senate third reading passed no amendments 

Bill was PI'd on May 26, 2020

House considered senate amendments result was to concur -repass 6/12/20

Covered by Holly.

 2/19, HM: This bill proposes expanding the existing Adult Education & Literacy grant program by allowing adult education providers that partner with elementary & secondary education providers or higher ed providers to apply for grants for the purpose of assisting adults in basic literacy & numeracy education.  Currently the pool of organizations that may apply for the grants is limited to those that focus on workforce development. 

In 2015 the adult education and literacy grant program was created with a focus on workforce development partnerships in order to provide adult education that leads to increased levels of employment. SB009 recognizes that, in addition to increasing employment, adult education is necessary to ensure an adult population that is better prepared to support the educational attainment of the next generation and to actively participate as citizens in a democratic society.

The bill was heard in the Senate Education Committee on 1/29 and referred to Appropriations 5-0. Amendment L001 asks for an additional $500,000 in funding from the General Fund.  The amendment was adopted on a vote of 3-2.

6/1 HM - The Amendment has been dropped, no additional funding is requested.

Stats/Info:

• Colorado has 300,000 adults lacking a high school diploma; 41% of them have less than a 9th grade education.
• Colorado is 49th in the nation in adult education funding.
• From testimony provided by the Center for Work, Education & Employment: Of their native English speaking participants, 40% have literacy skills at 6th grade or less and 65% have numeracy skills at 6th grade or less.
• According to Senator Rankin, studies have shown that improving basic literacy & numeracy skills not only improves the state’s economy but also reduces reliance on government support and improves the outcomes of the children of these adult learners.
• Senator Zenzinger had a map of senate districts showing the percentage of the district population age 25 years & older without a high school diploma.  For the senators in attendance the percentages ranged from 2.4% for District 9 to 24.2% for District 21.

The current program has $1 million in funding from the state & $7 million in funding from the fed, totaling $8 million.           

League Position:
Under Social Policy, LWVCO supports equal opportunity for all, promoting social & economic justice.    From the LWVUS Program Guide: In more specific terms, the kinds of programs the League supports include:

• Programs in basic education, occupational education, and retraining when needed at any point of an individual’s working career.

• Federal financial aid to help needy students remain in high school and to take advantage of post-high school training and education. 

Covered by Holly.

Passed Senante on 3rd reading 35-0.

This bill born out of the results of the School Safety Audit Report published in Sept. 2019.  Bill sponsors said the report highlighted practices & school design that has had positive results, but it also highlighted gaps and uncoordinated efforts resulting in wasted resources.

KEY RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS 

• §  The existing patchwork of school safety programs creates a risk of uncoordinated efforts, gaps in services, and challenges in determining reach and impact. For the years and programs we reviewed, we observed: 
• ?  Eight of the12programswereviewed,across all four departments, touch on aspects of student mental and behavioral health, but are not coordinated. 
• ?  Both Safe2Tell and the School Safety Resource Center offered trainings on similar topics, including bullying, mental health, school violence, and suicide, but have not coordinated their messaging or coverage of school districts. 
• ?  There is no mechanism to determine the reach and impact of the programs in combination. 
• §  Some programs work cooperatively. For example, in Fiscal Year 2019 the Departments of Education and Public Safety communicated about some of their grant programs to prevent duplication in funding of approved projects. Similarly, the Departments of Law and Public Health and Environment work together to provide funding for suicide prevention programs. 

The working group may contract with a consultant to optimize the alignment and effectiveness of the school safety efforts in Colorado and identify evidence-based best practices. The general assembly may appropriate money to the working group for a consultant, and the working group can accept gifts, grants, and donations.

LWVCO: The education of a young child is a shared responsibility.  The school must provide a safe environment where learning can and does happen.

LWVUS has supported a variety of specific programs for income assistance and has supported adequate funding of income assistance.  LWVCO supported the Colorado Works Program Omnibus bill.  It would seem to follow that LWVCO would support funding that adjusts for inflation. bill laid over to 12/31/20 with no amendments on 5/26/20. sent to education committee 6/3/20. 6/10/20 senate considered house amendments result was to concur-repass

5/28/20 laid over to 12/31/20. no amendments

Passed second reading with amendments 6/3/20. On 6/9/20 house third reading passed-no amendments 

Covered by Holly. 6/13/20 Senate considered house amendments- result was to concur-repass

This bill promotes the LWVUS goal of promoting self-suficiency for individuals and famiilies. the bill was referred to approrations unamended on  5/26/20. Referred to to COW 6/4/20. On 6/13/20 senate considered house amendments result was to concur repass