56B1D8C22255F679872583D1005CEA06 Hearing Summary

Senator Bridges and Senator Lundeen, co-sponsors, presented Senate Bill 19-176, concerning measures to expand opportunities for students to earn postsecondary course credit while enrolled in high school.  The co-sponsors made opening remarks.

The following people testified on the bill:

Dr. Angie Paccione, Executive Director of the Department of Higher Education (DHE), spoke in support of the bill.  She distributed a handout to the committee (Attachment E) and stated that it is a priority for the DHE to erase the equity gap in attaining higher education credentials.

Carl Einhaus, representing DHE, spoke in support of the bill.

Jennifer Mello, Legislative Liaison, Colorado Department of Education, stated that the State Board of Education supports the bill as amended.

Oliver Martinez-Reyes, representing himself as a student, spoke in support of the bill.

The panel of witnesses answered questions from the committee.

Sarah Heath, representing the Colorado Community College System and the Concurrent Enrollment Advisory Board, spoke in support of the bill.

Matt Cook, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), stated that CASB is in a neutral/amend position on the bill.

Grant Schmidt, Superintendent of the Hanover School District and also representing the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance and the Colorado Association of School Executives, expressed support of the bill if amended.

Michelle Murphy, Executive Director of the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance, spoke about the bill in an amend position.

The panel of witnesses answered questions from the committee.

The panel continued to answer questions from the committee.

Kelly Caufield, representing Colorado Succeeds, spoke in support of the bill.

Denise Pearson, representing State Higher Education Executive Officers, spoke in support of the bill.

The co-sponsors distributed and explained amendment L.002 (Attachment F) and amendment L.003 (Attachment G) and provided closing comments on the bill.

The co-sponsors answered questions from the committee.

Kim Poast, Chief Academic Officer for DHE, came to the table to answer questions about accreditation.