The House Education Committee killed HB 26-1094 (CDE guidance communication) on an 11-2 vote, then heard extensive but unresolved testimony on HB 26-1141, a bill strengthening Colorado's anti-discrimination law in schools amid federal OCR rollbacks. The session opened with a lengthy CDE assessment briefing that surfaced deep skepticism about CMAS timing, validity, and parent confidence.
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Joe Salazar (Adams 14) testified a guidance document change in 2022 stopped their high school from getting off the clock by 1.4 after celebrating the achievement, and that CDE does not archive guidance documents. Dr. Wendy Berhanzel stated 15 Pikes Peak region superintendents were unaware of a new CDE rule that would affect their funding. Commissioner Cordova countered that stakeholder engagement is already embedded in CDE practices and listed numerous existing advisory committees, while Rep. Garcia Sander stated her own district superintendents reported having plenty of communications.
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“In 2022, we worked really hard to get that school off the clock. And we did under one particular guidance document. And it had to do with participation rates. And we were celebrating, we were so excited because our school was finally going to get off the clock after many, many years. And then a few days later, without knowing, without being consulted anything, the guidance document changed and the participation rate changed and it stopped our high school from getting off the clock by 1.4.”
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Sign in to subscribeRepresentatives Bacon. Excused. Bradfield. Here. Flannel. Here. Garcia. Sander. Present. Gilchrist. Here. Hamrick. Here. Phillips. Present. Stuart K. Here. Story. Excused. Weinberg. Good afternoon. Winter T. Present. Martinez. Presente. Madam Chair. Okay. Welcome to the Education Committee. We are starting today's committee with a presentation on assessments from our friends from the Colorado Department of Education. I would like to start by apologizing for our tardiness. It was not our fault. Unfortunately, we're not able to start afternoon committees until our morning committees wrap up. And obviously, we had a lot of work that we had to do in our morning committees. So I understand that you have a PowerPoint presentation. Do you want to get that pulled up before we start? That would be great. Okay. Okay. We'll go ahead and wait. Okay. Welcome to the Education Committee. Oh, we, of course, know who you are. But for folks listening online, if you don't mind, starting by stating your name and your title for the record. And Commissioner Cordova. Thank you, Madam Chair, Mr. Vice Chair, members of the committee, I'm Susanna Cordova, and I'm honored to serve as the Commissioner of Education at the Department of Ed. And…
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