As we head into the last full month of the legislative session, our parent members and leaders have been working tirelessly to advocate for fully-funded full-day kindergarten. You can watch the Facebook Live video of Ruby and Governor Polis here and read about a round table discussion on full-day kindergarten we recently hosted with the Governor here. If you would like to share why you support full-day kindergarten click here. 

Read on for the bills we watched this past week and the bills we’re keeping an eye on in the future.

Monday:

• HB-1194, School Discipline For Preschool Through Second Grade (Rep. Lontine, D-Denver; Rep. Larson, R-Littleton; Sen. Priola, R-Henderson; Sen. Fields, D-Aurora) was introduced in the Senate and assigned to Education.
• SB-003, Educator Loan Forgiveness Program (Sen. Zenzinger, D-Arvada; Sen. Coram, R-Montrose; Rep. McLachlan, D-Durango; Rep. Wilson, R-Salida) was introduced in the House and assigned to Education and Appropriations.
• SB-009, Financial Incentives for Rural Educators (Sen. Todd, D-Aurora; Rep. McLachlan, D-Durango; Rep. Wilson, R-Salida) was signed by the Governor.
•  SB-010, Professional Behavioral Health Services for Schools (Sen. Fields, D-Aurora; Rep. McLachlan, D-Durango; Sen. Valdez, D-La Jara) was introduced in the House and assigned to Education and Appropriations.
• SB-216, High School Innovative Learning Pilot (Sen. Bridges, D-Greenwood Village; Rep. Bird, D-Westminster) was introduced in the Senate and assigned to Education. The proposed bill would create a pilot program that supports districts in creating innovative learning opportunities through a grant.

Tuesday:

• HB-1196, Financial Aid for Students With In-state Tuition (Sen. Gonzales-Gutierrez, D-Denver; Sen. Moreno, D-Commerce City) was introduced in the Senate and assigned to Education. The bill would expand financial aid opportunities in higher ed for students classified as in-state.
• HB-1276, Ninth Grade Success Grant Program (Rep. Buentello, D-Swink; Rep. Exum, D-Colorado Springs; Sen. Todd, D-Aurora, R-Montrose) was introduced in the House and assigned to Education and Appropriations. The bill would create a grant program that helps schools and districts implement programs to ensure ninth-graders stay on track for graduation.

Wednesday:

• HB-1277, Computer Science Grant Program (Sen. Esgar, D-Pueblo; Rep. Cutter, D-Evergreen; Sen. Todd, D-Aurora; Sen. Winter, D-Thornton) was introduced in the House and assigned to Education and Appropriations.

Thursday:

• SB-207, FY 2019-20 Long Bill (Sen. Moreno, D-Commerce City; Rep. Esgar, D-Pueblo) Passed the House on third reading. You can read more about the proposed bill here.
• HB-1249, Safety and Accountability in School Contracts, (Rep. Galindo, D-Greeley; Rep. Sirota, D-Denver; Sen. Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge) was layed over.

Friday:

• SB19-195, Child and Youth Behavioral Health System Enhancements (Sens. Fields and Gardner, Reps. Kraft Tharp and Landgraf) was referred to Senate Health & Human Services

Next week we’re watching the following.

• Three bills will be heard in the House Education Committee on Tuesday: HB-1252,College Credit for Work Experience (Rep. Geitner, R-Monument; Rep. McLachlan, D-Durango); SB-003, Educator Loan Forgiveness Program (Sen. Zenzinger, D-Arvada; Sen. Coram, R-Montrose; Rep. McLachlan, D-Durango; Rep. Wilson, R-Salida); and SB-183, Alternate Procedure to Reorganize School Districts (Sen. Priola, R-Henderson; Sen. Todd, D-Aurora; Rep. Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City; Rep. Wilson, R-Salida).
• The Senate Education Committee is reviewing HB-1206, Higher Education Supplemental Academic Instruction (Rep. Coleman, D-Denver; Rep. Larson, R-Littleton; Sen. Bridges, D-Greenwood Village; Sen. Lundeen, R-Colorado Springs) and SB-176, Expanding Concurrent Enrollment Opportunities (Sen. Lundeen, R-Colorado Springs; Sen. Bridges, D-Greenwood Village; Rep. McCluskie, D-Dillon; Rep. Geitner, R-Monument) on Wednesday.
• On Thursday, SB-190, Teacher Preparation Program Support (Sen. Todd, D-Aurora; Sen. Rankin, R-Carbondale; Rep. McLachlan, D-Durango; Rep. Wilson, R-Salida) and SB-199, READ Act Implementation Measures (Sen. Todd, D-Aurora; Sen. Rankin, R-Carbondale; Rep. McCluskie, D-Dillon; Rep. Wilson, R-Salida) will be heard in the Senate Education Committee.