Afterschool Activity

A Pair Of Bills

HB13-1047 by Rep. Sue Schafer, "Extracurricular Participation Across School Districts"

and 

HB13-1095 by Rep. Amy Stephens, "Homeschool Students' Participation in Activities"

 

Briefly

These two bills were heard in Monday's Education committee (2/4/13). The committee is composed of 13 members: 7 Democrats, 6 Republicans. The chair is Democrat Rep. Millie Hamner. 

I like both of these bills because they demonstrate how expertly legislation can be made and passed. The sponsors did everything right: when drafting the bills they consulted with primary stakeholders, before bringing it before the committee it was evident that each committee member had been brought into the fold to see if they had problems with the bills and how those could be resolved, it was bipartisan featuring a strong Republican and Democrat harmonizing, and finally the presentation of the bills was professional and to the point. 

Clarifying Law

During testimony by the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA), the primary force behind the bill, we discovered that due to ambiguities in decade old law, high schools across the state were operating student draw to their after-school activities on somewhat shaky ground. 

For homeschool students, parents could simply choose a public school for their child to participate in after-school activities without talking with the administration of that school. For public school students whose school didn't offer the activity they desired, the student could go to another school within the district that did offer it, but again without consulting that school. Most importantly though, there was a loophole which made possible "coach chasing" where athletic students of a particular high school could opt in to another high school's activities because they wanted to play under a different, more successful coach.  Combined with an ambiguous clause that might require homeschool students to enroll in courses to participate in after-school activities, there is a growing public perception of unfairness according to Rep. Stephens. That's what the two bills meant to fix by clearly stating that parents must consult with schools when their students mean to opt in to after-school activities. The decision cannot be solely made by the parents.

In Support

1047 and 1095 brought the same groups of stakeholders to the table. In fact, the bills were meant to be joined into one but due to the constitutional provision that each bill must be single-subject, they could not. CHSAA strongly supported both, as did representatives of Academy School District 20 and Cherry Creek School District. All parties explained the frustrating nature of current law and that the bills were need to solidify what they had been practicing for the previous 10 years.

In discussion with the committee members it was clarified that homeschool students that opt in to after-school activities do not bump other students off the list to participate, and, that the bills would clarify they do not need to take courses at the high school of their choice in order to participate in the activities. 

The Vote

Both bills passed the committee with near unanimous votes. Rep. Chris Holbert did not get onboard for 1047 because he had received some emails disparaging the idea of schools being involved in the discussions with parents. 

They're headed for the Committee of the Whole with minor amendments attached. I predict they will fare just fine there and be in the Senate by next week.