The act authorizes a board of education of a school district and the governing body of a district charter school or of an institute charter school to meet in executive session to discuss negotiations for an employment contract with one or more finalists for the position of chief executive officer, as long as the following conditions have been satisfied: The board or governing body has named more than one candidate as a finalist for the position of chief executive officer; and The board or governing body holds a public forum to conduct interviews with each of the finalists. The act defines "chief executive officer" as a superintendent of a school district or a chief executive officer of a charter school. The act clarifies that the board or governing body may, in addition to interviewing finalists in a public forum, interview finalists in executive session and instruct personnel and representatives to begin contract negotiations with one or more candidates in executive session, including the necessary process to prioritize, for the purposes of negotiation, one or more finalists after public forums have been completed. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act aligns the medicaid and children's basic health plan income eligibility requirements for pregnant women and children with federal law. Current law requires money in the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund (fund) to be used to expand eligibility for medicaid by increasing the income eligibility level for children and pregnant women under the children's basic health plan to up to 250% of the federal poverty line. The act increases the eligibility level to up to 260%. Under current law, if the money in the fund is insufficient to fully fund all the purposes of the fund, the medical services board (state board) may reduce the percentage of the federal poverty level. The act authorizes the state board to reduce the percentage of the federal poverty level to below 260%, but not below 250%. The act increases the medicaid income eligibility level for pregnant women from 185% of the federal poverty level to 195% of the federal poverty level, adjusted for family size. The act increases the income eligibility level under the children's basic health plan for children and pregnant women from 250% of the federal poverty level to 260% of the federal poverty level.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act updates the "Older Coloradans' Act" (act). The purpose of the act is to support older Coloradans through community planning, social services, health and well-being services, and strategies to prepare the state's infrastructure for an increasing older population of Coloradans. The act updates include: Reorganizing the commission on aging (commission) and increasing membership from 17 to 19 in order to coordinate and implement the strategic action plan on aging (plan) and to make recommendations; Appointing a state department of human services (state department) liaison to act as the primary contact for the commission in order to coordinate commission-related duties with the state department and other state agencies; Convening a technical advisory committee (committee) comprised of key state agency representatives to direct the implementation of the plan and the commission's recommendations; and Creating the lifelong Colorado initiative within the state department's state office on aging to coordinate strategies and implementation of the plan and the commission's recommendations with the commission, committee, and key state agencies.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law limits the number of days that a retired teacher who is a public employees' service association (PERA) retiree can work as a substitute teacher for a PERA employer without reduction in PERA retirement benefits. The act temporarily waives these limits for qualified service retirees in any school district or charter school while there are critical substitute teacher shortages. This temporary waiver does not count against the additional 10 service retirees that a state college or university or an employer in the school division or the Denver public schools division of PERA may hire. For purposes of the act, "substitute teacher" is defined to have no restriction in the length of a continuous assignment. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law prohibits a court from releasing a person on an unsecured personal recognizance bond without consent of the district attorney or unless the court imposes certain additional individualized conditions of release if the person is presently free on another bond of any kind in another criminal action involving a felony or a class 1 misdemeanor, has a record of conviction of a class 1 misdemeanor within 2 years or a felony within 5 years, has willfully failed to appear on bond in any case involving a felony or a class 1 misdemeanor charge in the preceding 5 years (collectively, persons accused of repeat or violent offenses). The bill removes the provisions regarding district attorney consent and additional conditions of release and prohibits a court from releasing a person accused of repeat or violent offenses on any unsecured personal recognizance bond. The bill adds to persons accused of repeat or violent offenses a person who is accused of committing a crime of violence and the court finds probable cause to believe that the person has committed the offense. Existing law requires any monetary condition of pre-trial release to be reasonable. The bill clarifies that for a person accused of repeat or violent offenses, a reasonable monetary condition is at least $7,500. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill grants a supervising health-care provider or health-care facility the authority to identify and select a temporary proxy decision-maker (temporary proxy) to make emergency medical treatment decisions for an adult patient who has been determined, by the patient's attending physician, to lack decisional capacity to make informed consent to or refusal of medical treatments. The temporary proxy is to be utilized only in emergency circumstances when an otherwise legally authorized proxy decision-maker cannot be located. The bill outlines guidelines for selecting the temporary proxy and when the authority of the temporary proxy terminates.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under federal law, money deposited in a qualified tuition program under section 529 of the internal revenue code (529 plan) grows tax deferred and is withdrawn tax free when used for eligible expenses. In addition to the federal tax benefit, the state provides an incentive for the deposit of money into a 529 plan by offering a state income tax deduction for contributions to a plan. In 2019, the federal government included paying principal or interest on any qualified education loan, up to a $10,000 lifetime limit per plan beneficiary or sibling of a plan beneficiary, as an eligible expense. Current law requires the state income tax deduction to be recaptured from the taxpayer if a distribution is not used for listed purposes. The bill specifies that using a 529 plan for paying principal or interest on any qualified education loan, not to exceed $10,000, is also an eligible distribution for purposes of the state income tax deduction for contributions to such 529 plans. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under current law, the department of education (department) administers the teaching and learning conditions survey (survey) every 2 years to assess teaching and learning conditions as predictors of student achievement, retention of teachers, and the relationship between teaching and learning conditions and school administration. The department administers the survey to all preschool, elementary, and secondary teachers in Colorado public schools. Under current law, an education support professional (ESP) is not permitted to take the survey. The act authorizes an ESP who provides direct instruction, supports licensed staff in an educational capacity, or supports instruction and the learning environment to take the survey.For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $53,500 is appropriated to the department from the general fund to implement this act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the area agency on aging grant program (grant program) in the department of human service's state office on aging (state office). The purpose of the grant program is to assist and support the health, well-being, and security of older Coloradans. The act also creates the area on aging cash fund (cash fund), which is used to fund the grant program.The act requires the state office and the area agency on aging to collaborate and establish criteria for the following:Adopting the policies and procedures for the administration of the grant program; Establishing and publishing criteria for the grant program; and Creating application procedures by which eligible organizations may apply for and receive money from the grant program. For the 2021-22 state fiscal year, $15,000,000 is appropriated to the department of human services from reappropriated funds in the cash fund for use by adult assistance programs to implement the act. The department of human services is responsible for the accounting related to the appropriation.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Under current law, a secondary school teacher who has sexual contact with a student who is 18 years of age or older may not have committed a crime. The act provides that an educator who subjects a secondary school student who is 18 years of age or older to sexual intrusion or sexual penetration commits the crime of abuse of public trust by an educator if the educator is at least 4 years older than the student. Abuse of public trust by an educator is a class 1 misdemeanor. Consent by the student is not a defense to the crime.The act requires a public school prior to employing a person to inquire with the department of education (department) regarding whether the person was dismissed or resigned based on an allegation of a sexual act with a student 18 years or older.The act requires that if an employee of a public school is dismissed or resigns as a result of an allegation of a sexual act involving a student who is 18 years of age or older, regardless of whether the student consented to the sexual act, that is supported by a preponderance of the evidence, the governing board of the charter school or school board shall notify the department and provide any information requested by the department concerning the circumstances of the dismissal or resignation. The public school shall also notify the employee that information concerning the employee's dismissal or resignation is being forwarded to the department. The act prohibits a public school from entering into a settlement agreement that would restrict the public school from sharing any relevant information related to an allegation of a sexual act involving a student who is 18 years of age or older, regardless of whether the student consented to the sexual act, that is supported by a preponderance of the evidence pertaining to the employee with the department, another school district, or charter school pertaining to the incident upon which the dismissal or resignation is based.Under current law, the department of education can impose licensing sanctions on unethical behavior and professional incompetence. The act requires the state board of education to promulgate appropriate rules defining the standards of unethical behavior and professional incompetency. Unethical behavior must include conduct involving a sexual act between an applicant or holder and a student, including a student who is 18 years of age or older, regardless of whether the student consented to the sexual act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)