LEGISLATIVE NEWS

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead 

"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to sleep with a mosquito.”
Anita Roddick

2008 Legislative Summary

Below is a brief summary of a few of the many educational bills that passed during the 2008 legislative session. A complete listing of Senate and House Bills is available at the state legislature’s website. http://www.leg.state.co.us/ Summaries are available at  http://www.littletonpublicschools.net/DISTRICTINFORMATION/LegislativeInfo/2008Legislation/tabid/5058/Default.aspx  and http://ednewscolorado.org/education-bill-tracker.html

Sales Tax Exemption for Parent Teacher Organizations – House Bill 1013 and 1058 provide a sales tax exemption for sales that benefit a school parent teacher organization.

Merger of DPS Pension Plan into PERA-House Bill 1403 allows DPS’s pension fund to merge with PERA, the state employee pension fund.

Innovation Schools Act of 2008 – Senate Bill 130 gives schools control over their budgets, hiring decisions and length of the school day and calendar.  Denver Public Schools already offers a similar option, which Bruce Randolph, Manual and Montclair elementary have pursued.  This act streamlines the process by relieving schools from following certain state statutes and union agreements. 

Wellness in Public Schools - House Bill 1224 allows creation of a school district student wellness program.

Nutrition in Schools – Senate Bill 129 prohibits the sale of certain beverages unless they conform to strict standards on size, calories, and amount of sugar.

Early Intervening Services for Students – Senate Bill 089 allows for provision of early intervention services to a child in K-12 grade who is not identified as disabled but needs additional support services.

Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids - Senate Bill 212 updates the state's curriculum standards from preschool through high school.

 BEST School Construction and Renovation Program - House Bill 1335 uses funds from school trust lands to provide money for public schools.

School Finance Act -House Bill 1388 provides $113 million in additional funding for schools than what is constitutionally required. The school budget pays for more children to go to preschool, renovating or renting facilities for kindergarten classrooms, and hiring more teachers. 

To stay on top of state and federal legislation affecting children and K-12 education, several resources are available.  On the federal level, the National PTA website provides legislative alerts and updates.  (http://capwiz.com/npta2/home/) On the state level, the Colorado PTA website only offers a limited amount of legislative information. (http://www.copta.org/leginfo.htm) However, there are at least two comprehensive resources for state legislative information regarding K-12 education: the Littleton Public Schools Website and the Education News Colorado Website. Littleton’s Website offers a summary of 2008 legislation (http://www.littletonpublicschools.net/DISTRICTINFORMATION/LegislativeInfo/2008Legislation/tabid/5058/Default.aspx)  The Education News Colorado Website provides an education bill tracker.  (http://ednewscolorado.org/education-bill-tracker.html)

An excellent resource for both state and federal legislation affecting children’s health is The Children’s Hospital Grassroots Advocacy Network.  If you join the network, you receive e-mailed action alerts regarding pending state and federal legislation affecting children’s health issues. For more information visit http://capwiz.com/tchden/home

Fired up about an issue? E-mail, write or phone your elected officials. Below is contact information for some of the many decision makers regarding public education in Denver and Colorado.

Colorado Department of Education  http://www.cde.state.co.us/

Denver Public Schools Board of Education   http://board.dpsk12.org/

Federal Legislators

Senate
The Hon. Wayne Allard (R)
United States Senate
521 Senate Dirksen Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
phone: 202.224.5941
fax: 202.224.6471
web: http://allard.senate.gov/

The Hon. Ken Salazar (D)
United States Senate
702 Senate Hart Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
phone: 202.224.5852
fax: 202.228.5036
web: http://salazar.senate.gov/

House of Representatives

The Hon. Diana D. DeGette (D-1st)
U.S. House of Representatives
2421 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
phone: 202.225.4431
fax: 202.225.5657
web: http://www.house.gov/degette/

State Legislators
Peter Groff
Senate President
Colorado State Senator, District 33 
Office Location: 200 E. Colfax 
Denver, CO 80203 
Capitol Phone: 303-866-4864 
E-Mail: peter.groff.senate@state.co.us

Terrance Carroll
Assistant Majority Leader 
Colorado State Representative, District 7 
Office Location: 200 E. Colfax 
Denver, CO 80203 
Capitol Phone: 303-866-2909
E-mail: terrance.carroll.house@state.co.us

Governor
The Honorable Bill Ritter (D)
Governor, State of Colorado
136 State Capitol
Denver, CO 80203-1972
phone: 303.866.2471
fax: 303.866.2003
web: www.colorado.gov/governor