The bill allows school districts to employ licensed mental health professionals who are not licensed by the Department of Education. These professionals may be supervised by either a mentor in the professional field in which they are licensed or by a school district administrator. School districts must conduct a fingerprint based criminal history background check of these additional employees.

This bill encourages each public school in the state to provide instruction on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an automated external defibrillator to students in grades 9 through 12.

This bill eliminates the requirement that the department of education administer a state assessment in social studies to elementary and secondary students, returning valuable instructional time back to our students.

This bill continues the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, giving Colorado’s youth an opportunity to directly shape the State Government.

With this bill, public and nonprofit employees will qualify for federal loan forgiveness after ten years of making student loan payments. This bill applies a multiplier of 4.35 to each hour of direct instruction to accurately reflect the full time work, allowing part time or adjunct instructors to qualify for the loan forgiveness program.

As an alternative route to teacher licensure, the bill creates a teacher degree apprenticeship program, which builds on elements of current alternative teacher licensure programs, including a bachelor's degree requirement, training programs approved by the state department of education (CDE), and structured on-the-job training.

This bill would improve homeowner protections by ensuring that the interest rate on debt issued to a metro district is at or below market rates, if one of the district’s directors has a potential conflict of interest. The bill also requires a metro district to include the maximum mill levy it will assess and total debt it can incur in the original proposal, providing greater transparency and property tax certainty for property owners

The bill implements the recommendation of the department of regulatory agencies in its sunset review and report on the state noxious weed advisory committee to continue the advisory committee. The bill continues the noxious weed advisory committee until September 1, 2034.

The bill makes it a deceptive trade practice to directly or indirectly advertise abortions, emergency contraceptives, or referrals for these services when the person does not provide these services. The bill also makes it unprofessional conduct for a regulated health care professional to provide, prescribe, administer or attempt medication abortion reversal.

This bill updates the exception to specify that agricultural land may be included in an urban renewal area if the agricultural land is in an existing urban renewal plan, the urban renewal plan was originally approved or modified to include the agricultural land prior to June 1, 2010, and if the land still remains in that same urban renewal plan.

This bill requires that public schools adopt a formal policy protecting students from harassment or discrimination, train staff annually, and collect and pass data on reported incidents to school districts and the state.

The Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (C-PACE) allows certain property owners to obtain financing for new energy improvements, which under current law include energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy improvements. The bill expands the scope of the program to include resiliency and water efficiency improvements, such as addressing structural integrity, indoor air quality, and storm water control.

The bill adds agricultural equipment to the existing consumer right-to-repair statutes. It requires a manufacturer to provide necessary parts, software, firmware, tools, or documentation to independent repair providers and owners at a fair and reasonable price. The bill specifies that fair and reasonable price for these items cannot be greater than the suggested retail price indicated by the manufacturer or a dealer selling on behalf of the manufacturer. The bill creates a deceptive trade practice for manufacturers that do not comply with the requirements of the bill.

The bill enacts the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, which allows licensed teachers in a member state to more easily obtain a teacher’s licenses from another member state. The compact takes effect when ten states have enacted the compact.

The bill requires the state to compile and maintain a list of eligible licenses that the state is willing to consider for equivalency under the compact. When a state receives an application for licensure by a teacher with an eligible license in good standing, it must determine which eligible licenses the teacher is eligible for and grant the license after completion of a background check and any other requirements.

The bill expands the jurisdiction of the Independent Ethics Commission in the Judicial Department to include public officials and employees of school districts and special districts. Complaints to the commission may include any ethical issue arising under the constitution, or under the code of ethics as proscribed by current law for employees and officials of local governments.

The bill requires the Office to Future of Work in the Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to solicit a vendor contract, through a competitive process, for a study to evaluate the skill transferability of workers in the oil and gas industry and in occupations in Colorado facing disruption due to automation and technological development. The bill specifies that the study must make policy recommendations, consult with relevant stakeholders, evaluate and analyze current funding sources available for workforce development, identify transferable skills and emerging industries, and identify ways to remove barriers to obtaining appropriate skills and licenses. The study must be completed on or before December 1, 2024, and a report submitted to the Governor’s Office and relevant legislative committees.

The state child care contribution tax credit is currently available through tax year 2024 to taxpayers who make a monetary contribution to promote child care in Colorado. The credit is nonrefundable, meaning that the amount claimed cannot exceed a taxpayer’s income tax liability for a given year. The credit is equal to the lesser of 50 percent of the total contribution, up to $100,000 per taxpayer per year or the taxpayer’s actual income tax liability. Qualifying contributions include those to facilities, schools, or programs that provide child care, programs that train child care providers, and grant or loan programs for parents requiring financial assistance for child care purposes.

This bill extends the credit through tax year 2027.

Under current law, faculty at institutions of higher education are allowed to take a sabbatical if approved by the governing board of the institution. The bill extends this privilege to staff members of the institution who serve in a management position, including a director up to a vice president.

The bill updates the process of changing groundwater well owner information. Under current law, a groundwater well owner must file any name or mailing address change with the State Engineer in person, by mail, or by fax. Current law also requires that when a change of ownership occurs, any required forms must be submitted before the change in ownership transaction. The bill modifies these requirements by:

1. removing the in person, by mail, or by fax requirement; and

2. requiring any necessary forms to be submitted within 63 days after a change in ownership transaction occurs.

This bill is a huge investment in our K-12 schools and does the following:

$25 million for three-year grants for after-school math and STEM improvement. School districts, Boys and Girls Clubs and other community groups, and individual charter schools could apply for tutoring programs.

Free optional training for an estimated 36,000 educators in the latest evidence-based math practices. Parents could also tap into training. The Colorado Department of Education would create a free “train the trainer” model and provide technical assistance in math instruction to specifically help small rural districts and for high-quality math curricula. Training would include interventions for students with disabilities, students below grade level and English-language learners.

Required education preparation programs to train their new teachers in evidence-based math instruction. That includes interventions to help students who are below grade level, children with disabilities and English-language learners.

Encourage school districts to identify students who are struggling in math, notify parents, and offer interventions to assist with math at home. A targeted focus would be on ninth graders as they transition into high school.

Require preschool teachers to educate young children in basic early numeracy.

Purchase a master license for a digital online math accelerator tutoring program that could offer personalized instruction to every elementary and middle school student in Colorado.

The bill requires that the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) ensure that standardized tests are administered to the minimum extent practicable while still assessing the academic achievement of students. If necessary, the CDE must apply to the federal Department of Education (DOE) for a waiver of state testing requirements. The waiver application may propose shorter testing, a sampling model, or other alternative strategies.

The bill removes the requirement that the any inspection, testing, and quarantine of livestock occur pursuant to any rules promulgated by the Commissioner of Agriculture. The bill shifts the authority to issue an order of condemnation in cases where there is an outbreak of contagious or infectious diseases among livestock from the State Agricultural Commission to the Commissioner of Agriculture, in collaboration with State Veterinarian and the Governor.

The bill creates the Born to Be Wild special license plate. By January 1, 2024, the license plate will be available to applicants who pay an annual $50 fee credited to the Wildlife Cash Fund, two one-time special license plate fees of $25, and standard license plate fees. The Division of Parks and Wildlife will use money from the annual fee for nonlethal methods of mitigating and preventing human conflict with gray wolves, including programs and training, deploying equipment and technology, supporting relevant research, and promoting and marketing the plate.