House Education Committee advances bill to create framework for K–5 social-emotional program funding

The House Education Committee voted 7–5, with one member excused, to send Senate Bill 178 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation after a hearing that advanced a framework for folding state social-emotional learning grant programs into the school finance formula.

Senate Bill 178, sponsored in the hearing by Representative Gilchrist, “is about building a stronger, more effective framework for funding programs that support the social and emotional health of our youngest students,” Gilchrist told the panel. The bill would authorize the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to adopt rules for incorporating existing competitive K–5 social-emotional learning grants into the school finance formula if the General Assembly later elects to include those programs in annual school finance decisions.

Committee members and witnesses said the measure aims to consolidate a set of competitive grants that have developed piecemeal over decades. Jordan Posamenteir, vice president of policy and partnerships at the nonprofit Committee for Children, said the bill “takes a step in the right direction to continue a social emotional learning pilot program that’s already been underway in the state,” and tied the approach to chronic absenteeism: “Chronic absenteeism…means kids missing more than 10% of the days enrolled in school,” Posamenteir said, adding that social-emotional programs can help students feel safe and connected and reduce absenteeism.

Benjamin Teavon, also testifying for Committee for Children, said the bill is intended as a process-oriented, shelf-ready framework rather than a mandate. “Nothing in this bill makes you guys do something,” he told the committee. Teavon said CDE has indicated it can perform the rulemaking under existing resources and that the bill carried a zero fiscal note.

Questions from committee members focused on eligibility categories and metrics. Representative Phillips asked whether the bill’s language that references “refugee populations” should also include “asylum seekers.” Gilchrist and witnesses said they would follow up and consider the suggestion. Representative Garcia Sander asked whether metrics listed in the bill — chronic absenteeism, dropout rate and graduation rate — are appropriate for K–5 students; witnesses said the metrics were drawn from the pilot and that some indicators serve as signals even when graduation and dropout measures are more pertinent to secondary grades.

Other points raised in the hearing: the pilot began in 2019 and was extended one year because of COVID; five pilot sites participated (witnesses named Cherry Creek and Aurora among them and referenced other pilot districts); the underlying pilot’s report is expected this summer; and participants emphasized the bill is not an unfunded mandate. Representative Bradfield and other members pressed for detail about how much classroom time the pilot required and how districts implemented the work; witnesses said the amount of time varied by district and pledged to follow up with more precise information.

Representative Gilchrist moved the bill to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; the motion was seconded by Vice Chair Martinez. The committee recorded the following votes: Yes — Gilchrist, Hamrick, Phillips, Smith, Story, Martinez, and Madam Chair; No — Bradfield, Caldwell, Garcia Sander, Hartsock, and Johnson; Excused — Bacon. The motion carried, 7–5, with one excused.

The bill’s backers and several committee members said they expect additional stakeholder engagement and follow-up work on specific language and metrics before any decision to incorporate grant programs into the school finance formula becomes a substantive funding change. Representative Gilchrist closed by urging support, saying the proposal would help “give teachers the freedom to focus on their primary job, teaching,” while ensuring students have access to trained mental health professionals.

Votes at a glance: Senate Bill 178 — motion to send to Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; mover: Representative Gilchrist; second: Vice Chair Martinez; outcome: approved, 7–5 (1 excused).