Student loan servicers - license requirement - regulation by assistant attorney general - appropriation. The act requires an entity that services a student education loan owned by a Colorado resident to be licensed by the administrator of the "Uniform Consumer Credit Code". "Servicing" means receiving a scheduled periodic payment from a student loan borrower, applying the payments of principal and interest with respect to the amounts received from a student loan borrower, and similar administrative services. The act specifies particular acts that are required of or prohibited by student loan servicers and the administrator's powers and duties. Violation of the licensing law is a deceptive trade practice. The act also creates a student loan ombudsperson to provide timely assistance to student loan borrowers. $115,273 is appropriated to the department of law from the general fund to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
The bill creates the college kickstarter account program (kickstarter program) to provide initial funding (kickstarter funding) for a collegeinvest (authority) college savings account (account) for each child born or adopted in Colorado on or after January 1, 2020, but before January 1, 2040, (eligible child), encourage the parent or parents of each eligible child to claim the kickstarter funding by establishing an account, and, if sufficient funding from gifts, grants, and donations is received, provide a free financial literacy education program for eligible children and their parent or parents and other family members. The authority is required to implement and administer the kickstarter program; except that the state treasurer is required to develop and administer the program component of free financial literacy education. The authority may adopt rules that it deems necessary for the implementation and administration of the kickstarter program. The authority is required to establish and fund a kickstarter program master account (master account) and to provide sufficient annual funding for the master account from money that is otherwise available for its scholarship and matching grant programs to be able to transfer a specified amount of kickstarter funding in the master account to the account of each eligible child. The authority must engage in a robust outreach and marketing program to encourage the parent or parents of each eligible child to claim the eligible child's kickstarter funding by opening an account for the eligible child within 5 years of the eligible child's birth or adoption and must transfer all kickstarter funding claimed from the master account to the eligible child's account. Kickstarter funding is not counted as income or resources of the eligible child or the parent or parents of the eligible child for purposes of determining eligibility or benefit amounts for any state-funded program. The authority must conduct an ongoing summative evaluation to collect summative data to evaluate the kickstarter program's effectiveness over time and must prepare, present to its legislative oversight committees, and conspicuously post on its website an annual written report on the results of the ongoing summative evaluation. The college kickstarter account program fund is created to hold any gifts, grants, and donations obtained, and the authority and the state treasurer may spend money from the fund for the purposes of the kickstarter program. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
Psychiatric technicians - regulation by state board of nursing - grounds for discipline - continuation under sunset law. The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies' sunset review and report on the licensure and regulation functions of the state board of nursing (board) regarding psychiatric technicians as follows: Continues the functions of the board in licensing and regulating psychiatric technicians for 15 years, until September 1, 2034 (sections 1 and 2 of the act); Changes references to "accredited" psychiatric technician education programs to "approved" to more accurately reflect that the programs are approved by the board rather than accredited (sections 3, 5, 6, and 8); Modifies the grounds for discipline related to alcohol or substance use or abuse to eliminate reference to having an alcohol or substance use disorder and instead clarifying that a person is subject to discipline for habitual or excessive use or abuse of alcohol or drugs (section 7); Eliminates as a grounds for discipline having a physical disability or intellectual or developmental disability that renders the person unable to safely practice and instead subjects a person to discipline for failure to notify the board of, or act within the limitations created by, a physical illness or condition or behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorder that affects the psychiatric technician's ability to safely practice. Additionally, the act authorizes the board to enter into a confidential agreement with the psychiatric technician to limit his or her practice and makes failure to comply with the agreement grounds for discipline (sections 7 and 9). Removes the terms "willfully" and "negligently" from several grounds for disciplining a psychiatric technician (section 7); and Eliminates the requirement that the board send letters of admonition by certified mail (section 10). Specified provisions of the act are contingent upon House Bill 19-1172 becoming law. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
The bill allows a state-funded, community-based preschool program, school district, or charter school (enrolling entity) to impose an out-of-school suspension or expel a student enrolled in preschool, kindergarten, or first or second grade only under specified circumstances. If the enrolling entity imposes an out-of-school suspension, the length of the suspension is limited to 3 school days unless the executive officer or chief administrative officer of the enrolling entity determines that a longer period is necessary to resolve the safety threat or recommends that the student be expelled. The state board of education (state board) cannot waive the provisions concerning suspension and expulsion of young students for school districts or charter schools. Each school district and charter school must ensure that its school discipline code reflects the requirements specified in the bill. The state board must annually review the data concerning suspensions and expulsions of students in preschool, kindergarten, and first and second grade. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More
Health care coverage - prior authorization for health care services - publication of requirements and restrictions - deadline for making determination - required criteria - exceptions for compliant providers - duration of prior authorization - rules. With regard to the prior authorization process used by carriers or private utilization review organizations (organizations) acting on behalf of carriers to review and determine whether a particular health care service prescribed by a health care provider is approved as a covered benefit under the patient's health benefit plan, the act requires carriers and organizations to: Publish and update their prior authorization requirements and restrictions; Comply with specified deadlines for making a determination on a prior authorization request; Use current, clinically based prior authorization criteria that are aligned with other quality initiatives of the carrier or organization and with other carriers' and organizations' prior authorization criteria for the same health care service; and Consider limiting the use of prior authorization to providers whose prescribing or ordering patterns differ significantly from the patterns of their peers after adjusting for patient mix and other relevant factors. The act authorizes a carrier or organization to offer providers with a history of adherence to the carrier's or organization's prior authorization requirements an alternative to prior authorization, including an exemption from prior authorization for providers with an 80% approval rate of prior authorization requests over the previous 12 months. Carriers and organizations are to annually reevaluate a provider's eligibility for exemption from or other alternative to prior authorization requirements. If a carrier or organization fails to make a determination within the time required, the request is deemed approved. An approved prior authorization request is valid for at least 180 days, with some exceptions, and continues for the duration of the authorized course of treatment. The commissioner of insurance is authorized to adopt rules as necessary to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Behavioral health care professional matching grant program - use of grant money - behavioral health care services - contracts with community providers - appropriation. The act allows money from the behavioral health care professional matching grant program to be used for behavioral health care services at recipient schools and specifies that grants may also fund behavioral health services contracts with community providers. Grant applicants must specify the extent to which the school has seen an increase in activities or experiences that affect students' mental well-being. The act requires the department of education to prioritize grant applications based on the school's need for additional health professionals and the extent to which the school will prioritize the use of grant money for staff training related to behavioral health supports. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $3,000,000 from the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of education for the behavioral health care professional matching grant program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
READ act - programming - teacher training - evaluation - distribution of money - appropriations. The act makes several changes concerning implementation of the "Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act" (READ act) by school districts, charter schools, and boards of cooperative services that operate schools (local education providers) as follows: Requiring that instructional programming and services for teaching reading be focused on the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency including oral skills, and reading comprehension; Directing each local education provider to include in its performance plan specified information concerning the reading assessments, curriculum, instructional programs, and intervention instruction and services used and, for certain local education providers, the plan for providing professional development for teachers; Specifying that students with significant reading deficiencies and students who read below grade level must receive educational services in a daily literacy block for the length of time indicated by research; Requiring each local education provider that receives money through the READ act to provide evidence-based training in teaching reading to kindergarten and first- through third-grade teachers; and Encouraging local education providers to partner with adjacent public libraries to enhance instruction in literacy. The act directs the department of education (department) to develop and implement a public information campaign to emphasize the importance of learning to read by third grade and to highlight the local education providers that achieve high percentages of third-grade students who are reading at grade level. The act directs the department to contract with an independent evaluator to evaluate the implementation of the READ act in the state and evaluate whether a local education provider's use of per-pupil intervention money or early literacy grant program money results in students making progress toward reading competency. The act changes the distribution of money appropriated from the early literacy fund for the 2019-20 budget year by reducing the amount distributed as per-pupil intervention money, increasing the amount distributed through the early literacy grant fund, and adding distributions to pay for the public information campaign, the independent evaluator, and teacher training. For the 2020-21 budget year and budget years thereafter, the act specifies the purposes for which the money in the early literacy fund may be appropriated in amounts specified in the annual general appropriations bill. The act changes the procedure for distributing the per-pupil intervention money by: Requiring a local education provider to provide information and meet certain requirements in order to receive the money; Authorizing the department to monitor and, if necessary, audit the use of the money throughout the budget year; Expanding the allowable uses of the per-pupil intervention money to include purchasing core reading instructional programs and purchasing technology, including software, to assist in assessing and monitoring student progress; and Capping the amount of per-pupil intervention money that a local education provider may retain from year to year. The act amends the early literacy grant program to allow a school district to apply for a district-level grant or a school-level grant and to prohibit the state board of education (state board) from restricting an applicant's use of any of the approved reading assessments. The act also provides that if the department, at the completion of a grant, determines that the program implemented with the grant money was successful in moving students toward reading competency, the state board must automatically renew the grant and increase the grant amount, if necessary, to enable the grant recipient to expand the program. The act requires a local education provider to report the scores attained by students on the interim reading assessments if the local education provider uses per-pupil intervention money to purchase instructional programming in reading. The act expands reporting requirements to include information regarding student academic growth to standard in reading. Each local education provider must submit, in accordance with privacy laws, information requested to complete the independent evaluation of the implementation of the READ act, and the department, the independent evaluator, and the local education provider must collaborate to minimize the impact on instructional time caused by increased reporting. For the 2019-20 fiscal year, the act appropriates money from the marijuana tax cash fund and the early literacy fund to the department as follows: $7,500,000 for the early literacy competitive grant program; $2,702,557 for teacher training; $1,664,570 for early literacy program administration, technical assistance, and monitoring; $750,000 for the independent evaluation; $500,000 for the public information campaign; and $26,261,551 for early literacy program per-pupil intervention money. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
High school innovative learning pilot program - appropriation. The act creates the high school innovative learning pilot program (pilot program) to support school districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools (local education providers) in providing innovative learning opportunities to students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 (high school students). Each local education provider that is selected to participate in the pilot program is allowed, for purposes of school finance, to count high school students who participate in innovative learning opportunities as full-time pupils regardless of whether they meet the required number of teacher-pupil instruction and contact hours for full-time enrollment. A local education provider may apply to participate in the pilot program by submitting an application that, among other things, describes the local education provider's innovative learning plan (plan). The act specifies other requirements for the application and requirements for the plan. The department of education (department) implements the pilot program by reviewing the applications and recommending to the state board of education (state board) the applicants that should participate in the pilot program, and the state board selects the participants. The recommendations and selections must be based on criteria specified in the act. The act limits the number of pilot program participants in the first year but states it is the intent of the general assembly to increase participation to 100% by the 2025-26 budget year. The act directs the department to contract with a statewide nonprofit entity to assist the department and local education providers in applying to participate, participating, and evaluating the pilot program and in preparing a report concerning implementation of the pilot program. The act specifies information that each participating local education provider must submit to the department concerning its participation in the pilot program and requires the department to prepare an annual report summarizing the information and evaluating the success of the pilot program in increasing high school student participation in innovative learning opportunities. The pilot program is repealed, effective July 1, 2025. For the 2019-20 fiscal year, the act appropriates $129,563 from the general fund to the department of education to implement the pilot program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Teacher preparation - best practices - teacher mentor grant program - license endorsement - teacher preparation program requirements - appropriation. The act directs the department of higher education and the department of education (departments) to work with the deans of the schools of education to review, research, and identify best practices in teacher preparation. By January 1, 2020, the departments must jointly adopt guidelines to assist educator preparation programs in adopting and implementing the best practices. The departments must also jointly prepare a report concerning the best practices, the guidelines, and regulatory and statutory recommendations to ensure that the policies and criteria for approving educator preparation programs align with the best practices. The departments must submit the report to the Colorado commission on higher education, the state board of education, and the education committees of the general assembly. By March 1, 2020, the educator preparation programs must each submit a report to the departments demonstrating how the program will implement the best practices over the following 3 years. The act creates the teacher mentor grant program in the department of higher education to provide money to school districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools that partner with educator preparation programs to provide training and stipends for teachers who serve as mentors for teacher candidates participating in clinical practice. The act specifies requirements that a partnership's teacher mentor program must meet to receive a grant, including paying the mentor teacher a stipend. The act directs the departments to work with interested parties to identify best practice standards and guidelines for teacher mentoring and requires the department of higher education to adopt the standards and guidelines by January 1, 2020. Beginning in the 2020-21 budget year, the department of higher education must annually prepare a report concerning implementation of the teacher mentor grant program and submit the report to the Colorado commission on higher education, the state board of education, the department of education, and the education committees of the general assembly. The act relocates with nonsubstantive changes the existing collaborative educator preparation grant program and the "Rural Colorado Grow Your Own Educator Act", which provides grants for teaching fellowship programs. The act directs the department of education to collaborate with the department of higher education to create a mentor teacher endorsement for teachers who hold master certificates and provide mentoring and oversight for teacher candidates. The act allows a teacher to use service as a mentor teacher as an approved professional development activity for license renewal. Before passage of the act, the statute specified the requirements that an educator preparation program must meet to be approved. The act adds 2 requirements: An educator preparation program must include instruction in the science of reading and must include at least one full, continuous school year of clinical practice. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $1,217,787 from the general fund to the department of higher education to implement the teacher mentor grant program. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Financing for K-12 public schools - transfer to the state education fund - rural school funding - tier B special education funding - ninth grade success grant program - health and wellness through comprehensive physical education grant program - appropriation. The act increases the statewide base per pupil funding for the 2019-20 budget year by $182.76 to account for inflation, for a new statewide base per pupil funding of $6,951.53. The act also sets the minimum district total program funding for the 2019-20 budget year. The district total program funding reflects a $100 million reduction in the dollar amount of the budget stabilization factor over the prior budget year. In addition, the act: Amends the professional development and student support program (program) for English language learners and educators who work with English language learners to distribute money appropriated for the program's services and educator professional development activities proportionately, based on the level of English language proficiency of the students served by the program; For the 2019-20 budget year, distributes $20 million on a per pupil basis to large rural school districts and small rural school districts, including district charter schools and each institute charter school whose accounting district is a large or small rural school district. Large rural school districts share 55% of the appropriation, and small rural school districts share 45% of the appropriation. The act bases the distribution on a school district's funded pupil count for the 2018-19 budget year. The act specifies the intended uses of the money and requires each rural district that receives money to report to the department of education concerning the use of the money. Increases the amount of tier B special education funding by $22 million and allows the amount to be appropriated from the state education fund or the general fund; Transfers $40,326,896 from the general fund to the state education fund; Creates the ninth grade success grant program in the department of education to provide funding to local education providers and charter schools to implement a ninth grade success grant program. Grant recipients must use the money to implement a ninth grade success program that includes elements set forth in the act, including creating a cross-disciplinary success team of teachers and support staff, which includes mental health professionals or social workers. Creates the health and wellness through comprehensive quality physical education instruction pilot program in the department of education that awards 3-year pilot program grants to schools or school districts to implement comprehensive quality physical education instruction. The act specifies the necessary components of a the comprehensive quality physical education instruction. The department of education shall contract with a qualified evaluator to conduct a program evaluation of the pilot program. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, the act appropriates: $22 million from the general fund to the department of education for tier B special education programs; In addition to funding appropriated through the annual general appropriation act, $7,633,721 and $2,509,623 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of education for the state share of district total program funding; $20 million from the general fund to the department of education for rural school funding; $800,000 from the general fund to the department of education for the ninth grade success grant program; $125,495 from the state education fund to the department of education to fund hold-harmless kindergarten; and $1,100,000 from the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of education for the health and wellness through comprehensive quality physical education instruction pilot program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
School lunch - free and reduced price school lunch - appropriation. The act clarifies that all students in sixth through eighth grade participating in the federal reduced price school lunch program are eligible for the existing child nutrition school lunch protection program (program), and extends the grades of eligibility for the program to students through the twelfth grade. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $463,729 is appropriated to the department of education from the general fund for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Colorado student leaders institute - extension - appropriation. The act extends the Colorado student leaders institute to June 30, 2024. For the 2019-20 state fiscal year, $218,825 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of higher education for the implementation of the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
