The House Education Committee has heard a wide variety of bills this year, with many more on the horizon.
As the chair, I am avoiding unfunded mandates, excessive red tape or bills that are simply not in the best interest of our students. It isn’t easy.
Several of my bills have been heard and are winding their way through both chambers of the state legislature.
I am running the school leadership bill, HB19-1002, with Rep. Jim Wilson and Sen. Rachel Zenzinger; it is awaiting review in the House Appropriations Committee. The bill offers solid leadership in schools, which creates a positive environment and stronger academics. The Colorado Department of Education will match successful principals with cohorts of school principals who have asked for help.
This bill came from the teacher shortage legislation I ran in 2017; many teachers said they quit teaching because of the lack of leadership in their school. I am hopeful it will become law.
A second bill I am sponsoring, SB19-009, with Rep. Wilson and Sen. Nancy Todd, incentivizes teachers to work in rural districts. This adds to a bill passed in the legislature last year by offering more stipends for a higher dollar award. It asks for no money for now, making last year’s offer more competitive. It is headed to the Senate.
Along those same lines, I am sponsoring a bill with Rep. Wilson and Sens. Don Coram and Zenzinger, SB19-003, to expand a college loan forgiveness program for teachers working in high-poverty or rural areas, or in hard-to-fill positions such as linguistically diverse or special education. It is awaiting us in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
In Colorado, anyone who wants to work in a school is required to have fingerprints taken, which previously took place at a law enforcement agency or school. A bill passed the legislature a couple of years ago allowing private agencies to also take fingerprints, but the schools and agencies were told they couldn’t take them any more. As a result, District 59’s closest fingerprinting office is in Telluride. That just doesn’t make sense.
My bill with Rep. Tony Exum and Sens. Jeff Bridges and John Cooke, HB19-1186, allows the private companies to continue, but also permits the schools and law enforcement offices to do fingerprinting again. Every district must have access to fingerprinting services within a 20-mile radius; they all must meet FBI standards. Educators, volunteers, bus drivers and cafeteria workers should be able to have this mandated part of their employment happen much closer to home. The bill now heads to the Senate.
Another bill going through the legislative gauntlet includes SB19-010, which will modify the Behavioral Health Care Professional Matching Grant Program to be used for mental health services in addition to the existing substance abuse prevention education. Rep. Donald Valdez and Sen. Fields are sponsoring the bill with me; it is also in Senate Appropriations. We must address youth suicide in any way we can, an issue I have worked to address throughout my time at the capitol.
My bill addressing this from a different angle was signed into law last week. It permits nationally-certified school psychologists to join teachers and principals who hold National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certificates to apply for grants to work in low-performing, high-needs schools. It should encourage more psychologists to join educators in helping our students. I ran HB19-1036 with Rep. Jeni Arndt and Sen. Todd.
We are still working together on bills to increase school funding and whittle down the budget stabilization factor, invest in vocational education, lower higher education tuition costs, train for dyslexia identification and remediation, encourage teacher cadet programs and better teacher preparation programs and ensure a quality early childhood education.
Education is a vital contributor to Colorado’s success, and we take it very seriously. Students should feel safe and appreciated in school. College should be affordable. Funding should not be reliant on a student’s zip code. And every student should be able to think, observe and produce as they enter adulthood.
Barbara McLachlan represents State House District 59. Reach her at barbara.mclachlan.house@state.co.us.
