8A05C885B58705C487258773005BFA1E Hearing Summary

The committee took a brief recess.

The committee reconvened.

Teri Crump, Kindergarten teacher, representing District 12, provided a first-hand overview on teaching special education in Colorado and suggestions that she thinks may improve the state of Special Education in Colorado.



Floyd Cobb, Melissa Colsman, and Charlotte Cianco, representing the Colorado Department of Education, then provided an overview of Colorado Preschool Programs (CPP) and the CPP eligibility risk factors. Superintendant Cianco then continued the presentation by sharing information on the impact of COVID-19 on preschool and kindergarten. Enrollment in preschool decreased from 2019-20 to 2020-21 by 4,838 children (20.6%), Enrollment in kindergarten decreased by 5,800 students (9.1%) in 2020, from 64,000 in 2019 to 58,209 students in 2020. The department is also seeing an increase in the number of students who have a significant reading deficiency.



The panelists responded to questions from the committee regarding significant reading deficiencies, the Colorado READ Act, and qualifiers for at-risk students.



The materials for this presentation have been shared with committee members and can be found, here: http://leg.colorado.gov/content/isfinance2021acommdocs  



 

Charlotte Cianco, Superintendent, Mapleton School District, provided an overview on what she saw in regards to lower enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, she is seeing a high demand for preschool and early childhood programming, whereas last year, the demand was low. She also shared that overall, children are entering school with more non-academic related delays which has proved to be a challenged for teachers. She stated that each child has had an incredible different experience; however, numerous students have missed out on key milestones developmentally.



Superintendent Cianco shared that free and reduced lunch (FRL) is not the only factor that counts for a community at risk. A majority of families did not submit FRL forms last year because of the pandemic, which tells schools that they cannot rely on FRL numbers to calculate at-risk. She also shared that districts need additional slots for preschools, full daycare, and mutligenerational homes where students didn't want to be exposed to COVID and then go home and put their families at risk.



Superintendent Cianco responded to questions from the committee.

Ms. Crump shared that the teacher shortage has been challenging because students aren't able to connect with one individual, which causes learning loss for students.

The committee recessed.