Senate Education

Wednesday, February 4, 2026·42m·▶ Watch / Listen

Key Actions

·Confirmation – Brett Hirsch to College Invest BoardPassed

+ 2 more actions

Controversies

AI versus foundational reading skills in education

Commissioner Aaron Harbour argued the state has an extraordinary opportunity with AI to increase educational success and reduce costs, proposing an AI tutor for each student. Commissioner Jim Wilson explicitly stated he takes a different perspective than Commissioner Harbour on AI, arguing that almost 60% of third graders cannot read at grade level and that AI is irrelevant if students cannot read what is on the screen.

+ 1 more controversy

Notable Quotes

“We represent over 475,000 families and are a fiscal steward of $14.2 billion of private dollars. These investments are not backed by the state, and it's the reason that it's so critical that our board is that of financial advisors and wealth managers to help manage that money for our families.”
Ms. Beyer — Ms. Beyer was explaining the scope of College Invest and why board members must have financial services expertise, while introducing Brett Hirsch for confirmation.

+ 4 more quotes

Votes

Move to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation the appointment of Brett Hirsch to the College Invest BoardPassed

Yes (6)Bright, Frizell, Kipp, Rich, Marchman, Kolker (Chair)

Move to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation the reappointments of Jim Wilson and Aaron Harbour to the Colorado Commission on Higher EducationPassed

Yes (6)Bright, Frizell, Kipp, Rich, Marchman, Kolker (Chair)

Move to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation the appointments of Kelly Nordini and Danielle Henry and the reappointment of Kara Buckley to the Western Colorado University Board of TrusteesPassed

Yes (6)Bright, Frizell, Kipp, Rich, Marchman, Kolker (Chair)

Unlock the full summary

Subscribe to see all key actions, controversies, quotes, and what's next.

TranscriptPreview

Yeah. So he was running. State Education or Senate Education Committee will come to order. Mr. Chris Ferry, take the roll, please. Senators Bright. Here. Frizzell. Excused. Kip. Here. Michaelson. Genae. Excused. Rich. Excused. Marchman. Here. Mr. Chair, I am here. Today we have a full schedule of confirmation hearings today. We'll start off with the Department of Higher Education. First, we're gonna start with College Invest. And I think we have Ms. Beyer here to introduce our confirm. Brett Hirsch. Our Senate Education Committee will come to order. Mr. Kirsten, will you take the roll, please? Senators Bright. Here. Frizzell. Hey. Excused. Is there an echo? Excused. Rich. Excused. Marchman. Here. Mr. Chair, I am here. Today we have a. I love my voice. I love hearing my voice. No, we're good, right? Still in order. Okay. So we'll. We'll again just reset. We have confirm me for College Invest. And Ms. Byer, if you'd like to start us off, introduce our confirm. And you may begin. Absolutely. Thank you. Senator Kolker, members of the committee, I'm happy to see you again over the last few weeks, and this time in person. I'll be brief on a background of…

Subscribe to unlock the full transcript, summary, and search across all Colorado committee hearings.