The act removes the requirement that a state assessment in social studies be administered to high school students. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires the department of higher education to conduct a study concerning awarding academic credit for prior learning within all state institutions of higher education (institutions). An existing council charged with examining general education courses shall implement a plan for determining and awarding academic credit for postsecondary education based on work-related experience. The plan must not be created, adopted, or implemented unless sufficient money is available from gifts, grants, or donations to cover the costs of creating, adopting, and implementing a plan. Beginning in the 2022-23 academic year, unless a plan is implemented prior to then, institutions shall accept and transfer academic credit awarded for work-related experience as courses with guaranteed-transfer designation or part of a statewide degree transfer agreement. Beginning March 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the council shall report to the education committees of the senate and house of representatives, or any successor committees, regarding the implementation of the credit for work-related experience plan. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Before passage of the act, the adult education and literacy grant program (grant program) was focused on workforce development partnerships to provide adult education that leads to increased levels of employment. The act recognizes that, in addition to increasing employment, adult education is necessary to ensure an adult population that is better prepared to support the educational attainment of the next generation and actively participate as citizens in a democratic society. The act expands the grant program to provide grants to adult education providers that enter into an education attainment partnership with elementary and secondary education providers or higher education providers to assist adults in attaining basic literacy and numeracy skills that lead to additional skill acquisition and may lead to postsecondary credentials and employment and that assist adults in providing academic support to their own children or to children for whom they provide care. The act allows the state board of education, in awarding grants, to give preference to adult education programs that serve populations that are underserved by federal funding. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act prohibits a student's assessment score from being indicated on the student's high school transcript. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act makes changes to the assistance programs that are designed to increase the number of educators within the state, especially in rural school districts, by: Expanding the educator loan forgiveness program by making it available to individuals who graduate from any preparation program that leads to educator licensure and removing the limitation of no more than 100 new participants per year; Clarifying that a stipend provided to teacher candidates in rural areas does not constitute student financial assistance; Clarifying that a teaching fellow may choose to have a teaching fellowship program stipend awarded as student financial assistance or wages for employment; Authorizing stipends for teachers employed by a rural school, rural school district, or rural board of cooperative services who seek additional license endorsements or a master's degree to meet a faculty need; and Specifying percentages for allocating funding among various programs that provide stipends for teacher candidates, teachers completing alternative licensing programs, and teachers in rural school districts. The act amends the program requirements that the department of higher education and the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) must review when approving educator preparation programs (programs). With the passage of the act, after reviewing a program, the commission, in addition to approving the program, placing the program on probation status, or terminating the program, may grant the program conditional approval. The commission must adopt policies regarding how long a program may remain on conditional approval or probation and how a program is moved from one approval level to another. A program that receives conditional approval may continue accepting new students, but a program on probationary status cannot accept new students. After reviewing the content of a program to ensure the content prepares teachers to meet the teacher quality standards and qualify for licensure, the state board of education (state board) may now recommend that the program be placed on conditional approval or probation. The commission must work with the state board in determining the status of educator preparation programs. The act requires the department of higher education, by October 1, 2020, to post information on the department's website describing the various programs and pathways in Colorado that lead to teacher licensure. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act aligns Colorado statutes on hemp with federal law, including adopting federal definitions; requiring authorized samplers to collect samples from each lot; changing the appointing authority for the industrial hemp advisory committee to the state agricultural commission; requiring that all key participants provide a criminal history record check from the federal bureau of investigation; eliminating authority to grow hemp for research and development purposes but authorizing a separate registration and waiver requirement; creating new reporting requirements; specifying unlawful acts and creating civil penalties for violations; and giving the commissioner of agriculture investigatory and subpoena authority. The act appropriates $55,620 to the department of public safety from the Colorado bureau of investigation identification unit fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the rural economic development initiative (REDI) grant program in the department of local affairs (department) to provide grants for projects that create new jobs through a new employer or the expansion of an existing employer and for projects that create diversity and resiliency in the local economies of rural communities. The department is required to administer the REDI grant program in consultation with the Colorado office of economic development. Entities eligible to receive REDI grant program money include local governments and organizations or individuals working in partnership with a local government, where the local government serves as the grant administrator, including intergovernmental agencies, councils of government, housing authorities, beginning farmers, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, nonprofit economic development organizations, and private employers. The act specifies criteria that the department is required to consider when evaluating grant applications and requires the department to prioritize applications that would create new jobs. The act specifies the types of projects for which REDI grants may be awarded to eligible recipients and requires grant recipients to provide matching funds. If the department determines that a rural community needs resources or assistance because it has been impacted by a significant economic event or an anticipated event that has been announced, the department may use all or a portion of the money appropriated for the purposes of the REDI grant program for the purposes of the "Rural Economic Advancement of Colorado Towns (REACT) Act". The executive director of the department is required to adopt policies and procedures for the administration of the REDI grant program and is also required to produce a report summarizing the use of all money that was awarded as grants from the REDI grant program in the preceding fiscal year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates the emergency completion and retention grant program (grant program) in the department of higher education (department). The department implements the grant program by annually distributing an amount to each state institution of higher education (institution) to use in awarding emergency assistance grants to eligible students who are experiencing qualifying financial emergencies. The bill describes minimum procedures an institution shall adopt for the financial aid director at the institution to award the emergency assistance grants. The department is required to include in the annual financial aid report submitted to the joint budget committee a summary of the implementation of the grant program and an evaluation of its effect in increasing the retention and completion rates at institutions.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill requires the center of excellence for advanced technology aerial firefighting (center of excellence) in the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety to establish a remote camera technology pilot program. The center of excellence must acquire or contract for a system of remote pan-tilt-zoom cameras and associated tools to provide a live feed of information that can detect, locate, and confirm ignition in the wildland-urban interface. The center of excellence must report to the wildfire matters review committee on the system's effectiveness and potential for more widespread use in the state.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates a sales tax exemption for fencing material used in a farm operation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
