Two additional pieces of legislation concerning education were discussed Monday in committees.

House Bill 1042 would increase the funding for full-day kindergarten students from 58 percent to 66 percent of the per-pupil payment.

Rep. James Wilson, R-Salida, said the failure to fully fund full-day kindergarten occurs despite the fact that most schools districts offer full-day programs.

Some schools, such as Durango School District 9-R, pull money from its budget to cover their kindergarten programs at the expense of other educational programs, Wilson said.

“They’ve done it for over 20 years,” he said. “Annually they invest $1.4 million out of their budget to fully fund their kindergarten program. What could they do with $1.4 million if that were freed up?”

H.B. 1042 passed 9--4 and forwarded to the House Appropriations Committee, where it will be considered along with other bills that change how funds are spent as part of the state budgeting process.

House Bill 1038, which prohibits the use of corporal punishment by employees and volunteers for public schools, licensed child care centers and family child care homes, also passed the education committee, 11-2, and heads to the full House for a second reading.

“This is a policy that is arcane and obsolete in modern-day society,” Rep. Susan Lontine, D-Denver, said in a release from House Democrats. “Why should it be OK for a grown person to hit a little kid? The answer is, it’s not.”

Wilson said his only concern with H.B. 1038 is that most school districts have a policy banning the use of corporal punishment, and passing the bill would represent a duplication of effort, which is problematic for smaller school districts.

“Going in and changing the statutes, going through all that, that involves people hours, and we don’t have the people larger districts have,” Wilson said. “No argument with the piece, no one wants to hurt a child.