Concurrent enrollment - transfer of credits - website - concurrent enrollment expansion and innovation grant program - appropriations. The act clarifies the differences between concurrent enrollment, dual enrollment, and other programs that enable a student to earn postsecondary credits while the student is enrolled in high school. Beginning in the 2020-21 school year, each school district, charter school, and public school operated by a board of cooperative services (local education provider) that enrolls students in grades 9 through 12 is required to provide the opportunity for concurrent enrollment. A local education provider cannot unreasonably deny approval for concurrent enrollment or limit the number of postsecondary courses in which a qualified student may enroll unless the local education provider is unable to provide access due to technological capacity. A local education provider may determine the manner in which it provides opportunities for concurrent enrollment. The act clarifies the information that a local education provider must provide to qualified students and their parents concerning concurrent enrollment, the transferability of postsecondary course credits, and the costs that a qualified student or the student's parent may incur by enrolling in a postsecondary course through concurrent enrollment. The act clarifies that a qualified student and the student's parent are not required to pay tuition for concurrent enrollment. The act requires the department of education and the department of higher education to create a concurrent enrollment website to provide information to the public concerning the various types of programs available to enable students to earn postsecondary credits while enrolled in high school. The act creates the concurrent enrollment expansion and innovation grant program (grant program) to provide grants to local education providers to use in starting to offer concurrent enrollment or expanding the availability of concurrent enrollment. The department of education shall administer the grant program, including providing an annual report that explains how the grant money is used, who is enrolling in concurrent enrollment and the types of courses they are enrolling in, and the number and transferability of postsecondary credits earned through concurrent enrollment. The department shall submit the report to the state board of education, the department of higher education, the Colorado commission on higher education, and the education committees of the general assembly. The department shall also post the report to the concurrent enrollment website. The act directs the state board for community colleges and occupational education to provide management and coordination of efforts to implement efforts to maximize participation in concurrent enrollment through the community college system. For the 2019-20 fiscal year, the act appropriates $44,916 from the general fund to the department of education for college and career readiness, $1,500,000 from the marijuana tax cash fund to the department of education for the concurrent enrollment expansion and innovation grant program, and $105,000 from the general fund to the department of higher education for a limited purpose fee-for-service contract with the state board of community colleges and occupational education. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Sponsored bills
Legislative interim committee on school finance - 2019 legislative interim - expenses. The act extends the work of the legislative interim committee on school finance (interim committee) for one year to include the 2019 legislative interim. For the 2019 legislative interim, the act maintains the party and chamber balance of legislative members on the interim committee, with 5 members from each chamber and 5 democrats and 5 republicans on the interim committee, and specifies the method for appointing interim committee members. The act permits the interim committee to determine whether and in which interim to study the issues set forth in statute. The act authorizes the interim committee to contract with a vendor or vendors to assist with or facilitate the work of the interim committee. The act authorizes the interim committee to use unexpended money from the 2018-19 budget year during the 2019-20 budget year to cover costs incurred by the interim committee, including the hiring of a consultant or facilitator, if applicable. (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
Minor victims of human trafficking - immunity - affirmative defense report - post-enactment review. The act clarifies definitions in the "Colorado Children's Code" concerning victims of human trafficking of a minor for involuntary servitude and for sexual servitude. The act creates immunity for a violation of a prostitution-related offense if probable cause exists to believe that a minor was a victim of either human trafficking of a minor for involuntary servitude or for sexual servitude. The act establishes an affirmative defense for all criminal violations, except class 1 felonies, if a minor proves that he or she was: A victim of human trafficking of a minor for involuntary servitude or sexual servitude; and Forced or coerced into engaging in the criminal acts. The act also requires that, if a law enforcement officer encounters a minor and there is probable cause to believe that the minor was a victim of human trafficking of a minor for sexual servitude, the officer shall report the suspected violation to the county department of human or social services or the child abuse hotline. The act requires the legislative services agencies of the general assembly to conduct a review of the implementation of the act 5 years after May 6, 2019. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
The bill requires the council created and existing pursuant to section 23-1-108.5 (council) to implement a plan for determining and awarding academic credit for postsecondary education based on past and present work-related experience. As a part of the plan, the council must also determine how academic credit for postsecondary education will transfer to the extent possible from career and technical education programs and technical certificate programs to state public 2-year and 4-year institutions of higher education. The council must consult with representatives from state institutions of higher education, representatives of the Colorado work force development council, and representatives from growing industries in implementing the plan. The bill requires state institutions of higher education to develop plans to evaluate whether postsecondary education was acquired by work experience and to accept and transfer academic credit awarded for work-related experience as courses with guaranteed-transfer designation or as a part of a statewide articulation agreement. The bill supplements Colorado's student bill of rights to include a provision declaring that the council shall implement a plan to award academic credit for past and present work-related experience. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More
Defendant pretrial release - no monetary bond for low level offenses. Under current law, the court is required to release a person charged with a class 3 misdemeanor, petty offense, or unclassified offense on a personal recognizance bond unless certain conditions exist. The act removes petty offenses from that requirement. The act prohibits a court from imposing a monetary condition of release for a defendant charged with a traffic offense, petty offense, or comparable municipal offense, except for a traffic offense involving death or bodily injury, eluding a police officer, circumventing an interlock device, or a municipal offense with substantially similar elements to a state misdemeanor offense. The act does not prohibit a defendant's release based on a pretrial policy that includes monetary conditions if the defendant is informed that he or she would be released without monetary conditions if he or she waits for a bond hearing. The act does not prohibit issuance of a warrant with monetary conditions of bond for a defendant who fails to appear in court as required or who violates a condition of release.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
State institutions of higher education - requirements for developmental education and basic skills courses - supplemental academic instruction. The act directs the Colorado commission on higher education (commission) to adopt a developmental education policy requiring the governing boards of state institutions of higher education (institutions) to maximize the likelihood of success in entry-level (gateway) college-level course work when placing students into developmental education. The act also specifies that institutions cannot place a student into developmental education based on a single instrument or test. For institutions authorized to offer developmental education, the act requires that, by 2022, such institutions shall directly enroll no more than 10 percent of students enrolling in the institution into stand-alone developmental education courses that may extend the student's time to degree. Instead, a student should be enrolled in a gateway college-level course with additional supports through supplemental academic instruction (SAI) or co-requisite remediation. The act allows institutions to pilot new approaches to remediate students who may not benefit from SAI or co-requisite remediation and to seek waivers from the commission to expand or duplicate successful pilots. The act authorizes all 4-year institutions to offer SAI, without approval from the commission, to students who need additional supports to be successful in college-level courses. The act clarifies and adds reporting requirements relating to developmental education and SAI. The act changes the term "basic skills" in statute to "developmental education" and makes conforming amendments throughout. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.) Read More
Read More
The resolution makes the following changes regarding the operations of the general assembly: Decreases the maximum length of regular sessions of the general assembly from 120 calendar days to 90 calendar days in even-numbered years and 60 calendar days in odd-numbered years; Requires a biennial budget session to be held in every even-numbered year; Limits the number of bills that a member of the general assembly may introduce to 2 bills in any regular session of the general assembly, excluding bills for appropriations and bills recommended by legislative committees; Limits the number of resolutions that a member of the general assembly may introduce to 2 resolutions in any regular session of the general assembly. This includes resolutions, joint resolutions, and concurrent resolutions, but excludes resolutions on the question of adjournment or relating solely to the transaction of business between the 2 houses. Allows both houses of the general assembly to create a restrictive process to authorize an exemption from the specified bill and resolution limits; Beginning with the fiscal year commencing on July 1, 2022, implements a biennial state budget cycle and specifies how the general assembly will apply existing constitutional requirements to the biennial budget process; and Establishes the process for consideration of a general appropriation bill.(Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as introduced.) Read More
Read More