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Senate Education Committee advances House Bill 12-10 to reduce K–12 data reporting burdens
Summary
House Bill 12-10, which would give school districts greater flexibility in how they submit Unified Improvement Plans and aims to reduce duplicative reporting, was moved to the Committee of the Whole after witnesses from Colorado education groups expressed support.
The Colorado Senate Education Committee voted unanimously to advance House Bill 12-10, legislation intended to reduce administrative burden on K–12 school districts by permitting more flexible formats for submitting Unified Improvement Plans (UIP).
Senator Pelton, a sponsor of the bill, said the measure grows out of recommendations from the 2017–2018 Education Data Advisory Committee and a data burden survey that had a 51.1 percent response rate. "When I was first approached about this bill, I was told that it is a way to reduce burdens on our schools," Pelton said, describing constituent accounts that hired retired educators solely to complete paperwork.
The version before the committee narrowed the original proposal after discussions with the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). An earlier provision for a comprehensive data audit — originally estimated in bill drafting at about $400,000 — was removed in the House due to fiscal constraints, witnesses and sponsors said. The bill that remained gives districts the option to submit their UIPs in whatever format works for them, rather than a single static format currently required by CDE.
Pratik Dutta, vice president of policy for the Colorado League of Charter Schools, testified in support and argued the bill would let educators focus more time on students. "Every hour spent complying with redundant reporting mandates is an hour not spending improvement instruction, engaging families, or providing direct support to students," Dutta told the committee.
Rachel Lee, testifying for the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance, described how several reports have grown to include multiple data elements — for example, the school "report card March report" now includes coursework, bullying data, climate surveys and more. She said those expansions made the original aim of eliminating several reports more complicated. "It was enlightening for me to kind of hear what these reports and these data collections have evolved into," Lee said, and urged continued work with CDE to find relief administratively where possible.
Senator Marchman, speaking from an educator's perspective, emphasized that data are important for classroom instruction but said excessive reporting pulls staff time away from teaching. He moved House Bill 12-10 to the Committee of the Whole; the committee recorded unanimous support on the roll call.
The committee record shows the bill as a narrower step than sponsors initially sought, with supporters saying it provides immediate, targeted relief while leaving open broader review of state data collections for a later date or when fiscal resources allow. The committee's referral sends the bill to the next stage of Senate consideration.
