Update on Colorado HR 1150

Last week the Colorado House Committee on Education voted down HR 1150, a bill to establish statewide standards for when public schools in Colorado could start and end the school year. The bill would have required all of Colorado’s public schools to start school the Tuesday after Labor Day and end no sooner than the Friday before Memorial Day. To gain some insight into the bill, it's instructive to look at who testified in the hearing on both sides of the debate. See the previous post "Today's Nominees for Worst People in the World" for more information on the bill.

The first person to testify was one of the bill's sponsors, Representative Lynn Hefley (R). Among her comments were that having different dates set by local school districts hurts businesses and families. She also noted the impact of the current school district schedules on attendance at the Colorado State Fair—keep that point in mind.

Also testifying in support of the bill were Jerry McLain, representing the American Camp Association; Bill Darrough, representing Camp Timberline, Inc.; Kitty Clemens, representing herself; Craig Reed, representing the Broadmoor Hotel; Ilene Kamsler, representing Colorado Hotel and Lodging; and Christie O'Donnell, representing the Colorado Restaurant Association. Providing the best insight into the catalyst for the bill may have been Jim Snook, representing the Colorado State Fair as a State Fair Commissioner. Mr. Snook testified on the impact of school calendar on participation and attendance at the Colorado State Fair. Now we're getting to the real issue.

Testifying against the bill were Paula Stephenson, representing the Rural Schools Caucus; Phil Fox, representing the Colorado Association of School Executives; Jane Paxtun, representing herself as a member of board of education of Boulder Valley Schools; and Jane Urschel, representing the Colorado Association of School Boards.

To review, those in favor of the bill represented interests in the tourist industry and those who testified against it represented education organizations. Now lets not forget that tourism is very important to Colorado and to the state's children, youth and families. Until I took my first teaching job I lived in tourist areas my entire life and appreciate the importance of the industry to rural communities. But local communities are in a better position to make a determination about when their schools start and end.

A special thanks to Paula Stevens, Executive Director of the Rural Caucus, for keeping an eye on things at the state legislature and for helping defeat this terrible bill.