Sen. Jeff Bridges

The act adds educators to the list of protected persons whose personal information may be withheld from the internet if the protected person believes dissemination of such information poses an imminent and serious threat to the protected person or the safety of the protected person's immediate family. Under current law, the "Colorado Open Records Act" (CORA) definition of "personnel file" does not include the specific date of an educator's absence from work. The act amends the CORA definition of "personnel file" to include the specific date of an educator's absence from work. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates in the department of higher education (department) the inclusive higher education grant program to provide grants to state institutions of higher education for the purpose of establishing, or expanding existing, inclusive higher education programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The act requires the department to contract with an organization that has demonstrated success in assisting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities attend institutions of higher education to administer the grant program, perform annual evaluations of the grant recipients, and produce an annual report that is submitted to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate. The act appropriates $450,000 from the general fund to the department of higher education to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes a number of new programs concerning postsecondary career and education options for students, including: Establishing the postsecondary, workforce, career, and education grant program in the department of education (CDE) to provide grants to local education providers to improve the training of school educators and administrators, to support students and families in developing career and education plans for after high school, and to increase the number of students for whom applications for free financial aid are completed; Creating regional postsecondary and workforce readiness coordinators in CDE to train educators concerning financial aspects of postsecondary options; Updating the financial literacy resource bank to include more information and training concerning postsecondary financial aid; Creating $500 stipends for teachers who successfully complete financial aid training; Adding a requirement that public schools ensure students and families receive communication about available state and federal financial aid; Requiring the department of higher education (CDHE) to develop a tool kit and training to help schools and nonprofit organizations support students and families in completing postsecondary state and federal financial aid applications and to increase the number of students completing the financial aid forms; and Requiring CDHE to make certain improvements to streamline the Colorado application for financial aid. The act appropriates to CDE from the general fund: $1,150,000 for the postsecondary, workforce, career, and education grant and readiness program; and $475,000 for financial aid training stipends and resource bank. The act appropriates to CDHE from the general fund: $680,000 for a financial aid toolkit; $320,000 for financial aid assessment tool improvements; and $250,000 for Colorado commission on higher education and higher education special purpose program administration.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the transformational affordable housing revolving loan fund program (loan program) in the division of housing (division) in the department of local affairs (department) as a revolving loan program in accordance with the requirements of the act and the policies established by the division. The loan program provides flexible, low-interest, and below-market rate loan funding to assist eligible recipients in completing the eligible loan projects identified in the act. The division may administer the loan program or, if it determines that it would be more efficient and effective to contract out full or partial administration of the loan program, the division may enter into a contract with a third-party entity to administer the loan program. Any loan made under the loan program by the state, any department, division, or agency of the state, or any administrator to a district, as defined in the TABOR amendment to the state constitution, must either be approved by the voters of the district in accordance with TABOR or be structured so that it is not a multiple-fiscal year direct or indirect district debt or other financial obligation whatsoever that requires voter approval under TABOR. The act specifies eligibility requirements in order for projects to be funded under the loan program. The division is required to establish and publicize policies for the loan program. The division is encouraged to consider prioritizing applications for funding that satisfy certain objectives specified in the act. The transformational affordable housing revolving loan fund (fund) is created in the state treasury and the act specifies requirements pertaining to the administration of the fund. On July 1, 2022, the state treasurer is required to transfer $150 million from the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund to the fund. The division is required to report on the activities of the loan program as part of the regular annual public report prepared by the division on affordable housing spending undertaken by the state. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $379,081 to the office of the governor for use by the office of information technology (OIT). The appropriation is from reappropriated money from the fund. To implement the act, OIT may use the appropriation to provide information technology services for the department. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act establishes the regional talent development initiative grant program (grant program) in the office of economic development (office) to fund talent development initiatives across the state that meet regional labor market needs and specified grant program goals, including initiatives that meet workforce development needs in regions as they recover from the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The office, a state agency designated by the office, or a third party with whom the office contracts is to serve as the administrator of the grant program (program administrator). The office is directed to appoint a steering committee of 5 to 8 business, civic, education, and nonprofit professionals (steering committee), including at least one member representing a rural area of the state, one member representing a 2-year institution of higher education, and one member representing a 4-year institution of higher education. The steering committee will support the program administrator in: Developing a grant application process; Establishing grant application selection and prioritization criteria; and Appointing a selection committee to review grant applications and make grant award recommendations. The office, in collaboration with the departments of labor and employment, higher education, and education and the steering committee, is to identify regions throughout the state to inform the selection of grant applications. The office is to publish a report on the grant program by November 1, 2023, and by each November 1 through November 1, 2027. The act creates the regional talent development initiative grant program fund (grant program fund) and directs the state treasurer to transfer $91 million from the workers, employers, and workforce centers cash fund (cash fund) to the grant program fund as follows: $89,123,184 from federal money in the cash fund that the state received pursuant to the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021"; and $1,876,816 from money in the cash fund that originated from the general fund. The money in the grant program fund is continuously appropriated to the office for the grant program and related costs. The grant program repeals on July 1, 2028. The act also directs the state treasurer to transfer $32,373,184 from the money in the cash fund that originated from the general fund back to the general fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act specifies the duties of the department of education (department) related to licensed personnel performance evaluation systems, including the following duties, which the department must comply with by the beginning of the 2023-24 school year: Creating a modified rubric for evaluating personnel who are consistently rated highly effective; Creating specialized rubrics for particular teacher or principal roles; Providing free evaluator training for school districts and boards of cooperative services (BOCES); Providing guidelines for incorporating a licensed person's professional growth achievements into the evaluation; and Providing best practices in methods of conducting evaluations. The act directs the state board of education (state board) to adopt rules as necessary to ensure that, beginning with evaluations completed in the 2023-24 school year: 30% of a teacher's or principal's evaluation is based on the academic growth of students, and the remainder is based on the teacher's or principal's attainment of quality standards; Of that 30%, up to 10% of a teacher's or principal's evaluation may be based on measures of collective student academic growth for a particular grade level or for an entire school, but the evaluation must not include measures of collective student academic growth for students who are not enrolled in the school at which the teacher or principal is employed; and If a licensed person has been employed by a school district or BOCES for one year or less, the person's evaluation must not include data created before the licensed person's employment began. School districts and BOCES are encouraged to experiment with innovative methods of conducting observations for licensed personnel evaluations and train multiple persons to serve as evaluators. A school district or BOCES must complete the licensed personnel evaluations within the school year for which the person is evaluated and report the performance ratings to the department by October 15 of the next school year. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, the act appropriates $452,973 from the general fund to the department. Of that amount: $343,059 is for educator effectiveness unit administration; $90,200 is for information technology services; and $19,714 is for legal services and is reappropriated to the department of law.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Whenever a child is conceived or born as a result of an assisted reproduction procedure (procedure) and the person who did not give birth is a parent or a presumed parent, the act allows the parents to complete an adoption of the child to affirm parentage. In such an instance, both parents must join the adoption petition as petitioners. The act details what must be included on a form for adoption or a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage to acknowledge parentage of the child, as well as jurisdictional requirements and options. The act clarifies the requirements for parentage when a child is conceived through a procedure, including that the donor of gametes used in the procedure is not considered a parent, unless the gamete donor is a spouse or civil union partner of the person who gives birth to the child. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act requires the judicial department to publish opinions of the Colorado supreme court and the Colorado court of appeals online on or before March 1, 2024, but no earlier than July 1, 2023. The opinions must be published online in a searchable format and be available free of charge. Colorado supreme court and court of appeals opinions that are not published pursuant to state law or court rules are exempt from the online publishing requirement. The judicial department and the general assembly must each include a link to the opinions web page in a conspicuous place on their websites. The act appropriates $100,000 to the judicial department for information technology infrastructure. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act creates the innovative housing incentive program (program) within the office of economic development (office). A business located in Colorado that has 500 or fewer employees and that manufactures certain types of housing may apply for funding through the program. Funding may be awarded through grants for operating expenses and for incentives for units manufactured based on criteria established by the office such as affordability, location where the unit is installed in the state, or meeting energy efficiency standards. Funding may also be awarded through loans that fund a new housing manufacturing factory or the expansion of an existing housing manufacturing factory. The act creates the innovative housing incentive program fund, requires a $40 million transfer to the fund of money from the affordable housing and home ownership cash fund that originates from the general fund, and continuously appropriates all money in the fund to the office to fund the program. The office must annually report to the general assembly regarding the expenditure of money from the innovative housing incentive program fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The school security disbursement program (program), which was repealed in 2021, is recreated and reenacted in the department of public safety (department) to provide funding for school districts, district charter schools, institute charter schools, boards of cooperative services, and eligible nonprofit organizations (eligible entities) to implement school security improvements to prevent incidents of school violence. Eligible entities may apply for a disbursement by submitting an application to the department. An eligible entity that receives a disbursement may use the money for one or more of the following purposes: Capital construction that improves the security of a public school facility or public school vehicle; Training in student threat assessment for school staff; In collaboration with local law enforcement agencies, providing the training for peace officers on interactions with students at school; School emergency response training for school staff; Programs to help students become more resilient in meeting the daily challenges they face without resorting to violence against themselves or others; Developing and providing training programs, curricula, and seminars related to school safety incident response; and Developing best practices and protocols related to school safety incident response. The department is required to review the applications received from eligible entities and, subject to available appropriations, to disburse money to applicants that satisfy the application requirements from money credited to the school security disbursement cash fund. The department is required to give priority to applicants that commit to providing matching money for the amount of the disbursement received. Each disbursement recipient is required to report to the department concerning its use of the money, and the department is required to annually provide a summary of the reports to specified committees of the general assembly. The program is repealed, effective July 1, 2032. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)