Education Public Schools - Digest of Bills

Digest of Bills - 2001

EDUCATION PUBLIC SCHOOLS
S.B. 01-49 Colorado preschool program - district council - community providers. Requires school district preschool program councils to assess, at least once every 5 years, whether alternative community providers are available and to ensure the highest quality service at the lowest cost.

APPROVED by Governor March 28, 2001
EFFECTIVE March 28, 2001

S.B. 01-76 School district collective bargaining agreements - public disclosure. Requires each school district board of education ("school board") to provide copies of all collective bargaining agreements entered into by the school board to the state board of education ("state board") and the largest public library in the school district. Requires each school board to post copies of all current collective bargaining agreements on its website, if available. Instructs the state board and libraries receiving the collective bargaining agreements to make copies available for public inspection. Compels each school board to make copies of the collective bargaining agreements available for public inspection at its main offices.

APPROVED by Governor March 28, 2001
EFFECTIVE August 8, 2001

NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see the note from page vi of this digest.

S.B. 01-80 Safe schools - bullying policy. Requires each school district to consult with student councils, where available, when adopting and implementing a safe school plan or when revising existing plans or policies concerning safe schools. Requires each school district to include a specific policy in the school district conduct and discipline code concerning bullying prevention and education. Defines bullying to mean any written or verbal expression, or physical act or gesture, or a pattern thereof, that is intended to cause distress upon one or more students in the school, on school grounds, in school vehicles, at a designated school bus stop, or at school activities or sanctioned events.

Requires each school to submit, in the annual report to the state board of education, information concerning the school's policy on bullying prevention and education, including information related to the development and implementation of any bullying prevention programs.

APPROVED by Governor May 2, 2001
EFFECTIVE August 8, 2001
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see the note from page vi of this digest.

S.B. 01-82 Public school funding - requirements of amendment 23 - accountability. Establishes state policies relating to section 17 of article IX of the state constitution (amendment 23) as follows:

Explains that for school district budget years 2001-02 through 2010-11, the general assembly is required to annually increase the statewide base per pupil funding for public education from preschool through 12^th grade and the total state funding for all categorical programs by the rate of inflation plus one percentage point;
Explains that for the school district budget year 2011-12 and each school district budget year thereafter, the general assembly is required to annually increase the statewide base per pupil funding for public education from preschool through 12^th grade and the total state funding for all categorical programs by the rate of inflation;
Requires each public school district (district) to include in its accreditation contract with the state board of education (state board) a continuous plan explaining how the district will use the additional education funding received pursuant to the requirements of amendment 23. Requires each district to annually update the plan to reflect any changes in the use of amendment 23 funding. Specifies that the plan is to include a statement concerning the need for increased funding for textbooks and whether said need will be addressed in the plan. For districts with total enrollment or more than 6,000 pupils, requires the plan to include a statement concerning the need for lower class sizes and whether said need will be addressed by the plan. When submitting data concerning student assessments, requires districts to include an accounting of the impact of additional amendment 23 funding on student achievement; and
Makes legislative findings regarding the implementation of amendment 23.

APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2001
EFFECTIVE May 30, 2001

S.B. 01-89 Class size - data collection. Commissions the state board of education ("state board") to annually collect from each public school and each school district class size data for classes in kindergarten through twelfth grade. For the school year 2001-02, requires collection of data pertaining to classes in the first priority state model content standard areas, and for each year thereafter, requires collection of data pertaining to classes in the first and second priority state model content standard areas. Directs the department of education, on or before July 1, 2002, to submit to the governor and the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives a report on class size in the first priority state model content standard area classes. Requires the commissioner of education to maintain the class size information collected by the state board and to make the information available upon request.

VETOED by Governor June 5, 2001

S.B. 01-91 Full-day kindergarten - pilot program - authority to contract - report - funding - appropriation. Permits school districts to offer kindergarten educational programs on a full-day basis as a pilot program, between the effective date of the act and July 1, 2006. Sets the minimum number of hours of instruction and contact for any full-day kindergarten at 900 hours, which can be reduced to no fewer than 870 hours for parent-teacher conferences, staff in-service programs, and closings. Specifies that such full-day kindergarten programs are in addition to any existing programs and are to serve those students attending a school that received an academic performance grade of "F" in the prior year. Permits a school district board of education to contract with any other public or private entity, including but not limited to a child care center or a head start agency, to provide the full-day kindergarten program and to place a teacher with such provider.

On or after July 1, 2005, directs the department of education ("department") to contract for a review and analysis of the effectiveness of full-day kindergarten in raising student achievement. Directs the department to present the results of such review and analysis to the general assembly on or before December 1, 2005. States that the full-day kindergarten pilot program moneys should come from the state education fund.

Appropriates $2,853,075 from the state education fund to the department of education for implementation of the act.

APPROVED by Governor May 29, 2001
EFFECTIVE May 29, 2001

S.B. 01-98 Academic performance - school accountability reports - terminology - school improvement plans - non-English statewide assessments - study - non-public home-based educational programs - teacher pay incentive program - teacher loan forgiveness pilot program - curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam - study - appropriations. Changes terminology in existing education statutes as follows:

Changes "school report card" to "school accountability report";
Changes school "grades" to school "ratings";
Changes the school ratings of "A", "B", "C", "D", and "F" to "excellent", "high", "average", "low", and "unsatisfactory", respectively; and
Changes the school improvement ratings of "A", "B", "C", "D", and "F" to "significant improvement", "improvement", "stable", "decline", and "significant decline", respectively.

Delays until the 2001-02 school year the use of the results of the curriculum-based, achievement college entrance exam ("ACT exam") in the calculation of a public high school's overall academic performance rating. Permits a student to show a need to take the ACT exam on the national testing date rather than the statewide testing date, and requires the department of education ("department") to pay for the test.

Deletes the separate school improvement designations for schools with academic performance grades of "A" and "B". Directs that the terms and data elements in school accountability reports are to be defined in the chart of accounts and personnel classification system. Clarifies that school accountability reports reflect the results in reading, writing, and math for all students tested. Clarifies that test scores are used in the calculation of the school's overall academic performance rating. Directs the department to print on the school accountability report a notation if a school failed to report data. Permits a school district, at its own expense, to include additional information with the school accountability report that does not refute the report. Requires the key for the pie charts showing student performance on the school accountability reports to include the label "no score". Extends the date for delivery of the accountability reports from August 15 to September 15.

Requires the number of librarians employed at the school to be included in the school accountability reports. For school accountability reports issued on or after July 1, 2002, deletes the notation of "Classroom Suspensions" and "Other Felonies as Defined by Statute". Requires school accountability reports, on and after July 1, 2002, to include the following information:

Substance abuse incidents segregated by drugs, alcohol, and tobacco;
Student enrollment stability, defined as the percentage of students enrolled in the school on October 1 who are still enrolled on February 1 of the same academic year; and
Students eligible for free lunch.

Deletes the 45-day deadline for the department to return comments and suggestions on a school improvement plan. Permits the state board of education ("state board") to remove a school district's accreditation, pursuant to a plan adopted by rule of the state board, after no significant improvement over 3 years in the assessment scores of a school operating under a school improvement plan.

Exempts from the calculation of a school's rating the score of any student who enrolls in the public school after February 1, rather than after October 1, of the school year in which the assessment is administered. Clarifies that the provision explaining which scores of students whose dominant language is not English are included in a school's rating shall apply regardless of the language in which the assessment is administered. Requires the academic performance ratings calculated for the 2000-01 school year to include all scores of non-English assessments.

Clarifies that a student attending a nonpublic school or nonpublic home-based educational program is not required to take a statewide assessment, even though the student may be attending a public school for part of the day and included in that public school's pupil count.

Allows parents of an habitually truant student who intend to begin home-schooling to notify any school district within the state instead of specifically notifying the school district superintendent. Clarifies that a home-school student who subsequently enrolls in a public school may be tested by that school district for placement purposes. Requires a public school to accept home-school transcripts for credit, except when testing does not verify their accuracy. Clarifies that a home-schooled child has the same rights as a public school student of the school district in which the child resides or is enrolled and may participate on an equal basis in extracurricular or interscholastic activities.

Establishes in the department a teacher pay incentive program to assist poorly-performing school districts in recruiting and maintaining quality teachers. Awards grants through the program to public schools with a "low" or "unsatisfactory" rating for the 2000-01 school year through a formula based on the number of students enrolled in the school. Awards bonuses to those schools that subsequently receive school improvement ratings of "significant improvement" or "improvement". Requires the department to report in February, 2005, to the governor and the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives on the effectiveness of the program and whether the program should continue. Specifies the minimum amount of the yearly bonuses and limitations on who may receive a bonus.

Directs the department, in conjunction with an appointed study committee, to conduct a study regarding student assessments administered to students whose dominant language is not English. Requires the department to submit a report of the study's findings and recommendations to the state board and the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives no later than December 31, 2001. Describes the appointment of members to the study committee. Specifies the study topics.

Includes in the list of accreditation indicators the percentage of students in each school district whose dominant language is not English. Requires annual assessment and certification of students whose dominant language is not English and inclusion of the information in the annual report of achievement of accreditation indicators.

Authorizes the Colorado commission on higher education ("CCHE") to develop and maintain a teacher loan forgiveness pilot program for the academic years 2001-02 through 2007-08. Directs that the program provide payment for all or part of the principal and interest of the education loans of first-year teachers employed in Colorado public schools or facility schools in the areas of math, science, special education, or linguistically diverse education. Authorizes the CCHE to receive gifts, grants, and donations and to expend those private moneys or moneys from the Colorado student obligation bond authority for the program. Creates the teacher loan forgiveness fund. Requires the CCHE to report to the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives on the program on or before each December 15 from 2002 through 2007. Permits each qualified teacher to receive up to $2000 in loan forgiveness for each of the first 4 years of teaching. Sets forth the qualifications for teachers to participate in the program.

Requires the department to contract with an independent, third-party expert for a study of the use of the ACT exam. Directs the department to report the results of the study to the governor, the state board, and the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives before December 1, 2001. Specifies the study contents.

Requires the department to review and update all statewide assessments, including non-English assessments, as necessary to maintain the integrity of the assessments.

Appropriates $12,630,000 from the state education fund to the department for the implementation of the teacher incentive pay program. Appropriates $50,000 from the state education fund to the department for the study of non-English statewide assessments. Appropriates $50,000 from the state education fund to the department for the study of the ACT exams. Appropriates $411,953 from the state education fund to the department for the review and update of statewide assessments. Appropriates $25,000 from the state education fund to the department to include non-English scores in school ratings for one year. Appropriates $50,000 from the state education fund to the department to reconfigure the

school accountability reports to accommodate two new items.

APPROVED by Governor June 8, 2001
PORTIONS EFFECTIVE June 8, 2001, July 1, 2002

S.B. 01-120 Preschool program - eligibility - significant family risk factors - definition - district council - criteria. Defines "significant family risk factors" for purposes of the Colorado preschool program. Clarifies that a school district preschool program council may define eligibility criteria that is in addition to such criteria established in statute.

APPROVED by Governor March 28, 2001
EFFECTIVE August 8, 2001
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see the note from page vi of this digest.

S.B. 01-123 Preschool program - required budgeting for program costs - allocation of moneys to preschool program fund. For any school district participating in the state preschool program, requires a portion of the district's per pupil operating revenues to be budgeted and allocated to the district's preschool program fund. Creates the preschool program fund for school districts. Limits expenditures from the fund to payment of costs of providing preschool program services to children enrolled in the district's preschool program. Provides that any unexpended funds at the end of a budget year shall remain in the fund.

APPROVED by Governor May 23, 2001
EFFECTIVE May 23, 2001

S.B. 01-129 School finance - preschool program - charter schools - capital construction funding - "National School Lunch Act" funding - summer school grant program - school improvement - student assessments - drug testing of district personnel - appropriations. Increases the statewide base per pupil fund for the 2001-02 budget year from $4,001.70 to $4,202. Beginning in the 2001-02 budget year, increases the minimum funding for districts to $5,100 per pupil. Specifies that, in complying with the maintenance of effort requirement in section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, the general assembly shall appropriate an amount of moneys from the general fund equal to the maintenance of effort base plus an amount equal to:

5.92% of the maintenance of effort base if Senate Bill 01-119 becomes law;
5.80% of the maintenance of effort base if Senate Bill 01-119 does not become law.

Defines "at-risk funded pupil count" as the greater of the number of at-risk pupils for the applicable budget year, the number of at-risk pupils averaged over 2 years, or the number of at-risk pupils averaged over 3 years. Expands the definition of "at-risk pupil" to include students who are not eligible for free lunch, whose dominant language is not English, and whose CSAP scores are not included in calculating a school's performance grade or who took the CSAP in a language other than English. Increases the at-risk factor for districts with a funded pupil count of greater than 50,000. Requires a district to use any additional at-risk funding it receives due to the expansion of the definition or increase in the at-risk factor to implement the district's English language proficiency program. Requires each district with over 6,000 students that receives at-risk funding to annually submit a report to the department of education specifying how the at-risk funding was used. Directs the department to annually submit a summary of the district reports to the general assembly.

Effective July 1, 2001, authorizes districts to submit a ballot question seeking authorization to collect and spend additional property tax revenue to provide a supplemental cost of living adjustment for the district. Allows such question to be placed on the ballot by initiative petition. Limits the amount of property tax revenue that a district can generate for this purpose for any given budget year. Requires additional voter approval for any subsequent mill levy increases to generate the maximum allowable amount of property tax revenue for this purpose.

Increases the maximum number of children that can participate in the state preschool program from 9,050 to 10,050 for the 2001-02 budget year and budget years thereafter. Reauthorizes the full-day kindergarten component of the preschool program for the 2001-02 budget year and increases the maximum number of children that can participate in the full-day kindergarten component from 500 to 1,000. Prohibits the department of education from granting waivers that allow more than 1,000 full-day kindergarten children.

For the 2001-02 budget year and budget years thereafter, allows a school district to retain the actual amount of a charter school's per pupil share of the central administrative overhead costs for services actually provided to the charter school; except that this amount shall not exceed 5% of the district per pupil revenues for each pupil enrolled in the charter school. Requires school districts, within 90 days after end of the fiscal year, to provide an itemized accounting of its central administrative overhead costs and an itemized accounting of all actual costs of the district services the charter school chose to purchase from the district. Calls for a reconciliation between the charges to the charter school and the actual costs with payment to the owed party. Allows any dispute between the district and charter school to be reviewed by the department of education with the cost being the responsibility of the requesting party. For any charter school that includes provision of transportation services by the school district in its charter, requires the charter school and the district to develop a transportation plan.

Requires the general assembly to appropriate state education fund moneys for the 2001-2002 budget year and subsequent budget years for the purpose of assisting qualified charter schools that expend a specified percentage of their operating revenues for capital construction with their capital construction needs. Requires those state education fund moneys to be appropriated to the department of education, distributed to districts, and allocated to qualified charter schools in amounts equal to 130% of the minimum amount of moneys per pupil that a school district must budget as a capital or risk management reserve multiplied by the number of qualified charter school pupils in a charter school or school district.

Requires an amount of state education fund moneys to be appropriated to the school capital construction expenditures reserve equal to the amount of state education fund moneys appropriated to the department of education for allocation to school districts and qualified charter schools. Directs the state auditor to review and annually report to the general assembly on the amount of state education fund moneys spent on school district and charter school capital construction. Requires bond proceeds from bonds issued by a school district pursuant to voter approval obtained on or after July 1, 2001, to be allocated to qualified charter schools within the district in proportion to the ratio of the qualified charter school's pupil enrollment at grade levels that are also served by one or more similarly situated noncharter public schools that will benefit from bond proceeds to the total pupil enrollment of all schools in the district that will receive bond proceeds.

Requires the general assembly to make annual appropriations for the state's match for the federal "National School Lunch Act". Directs the department of education to develop procedures to allocate and disburse those state moneys among participating school districts consistent with the Act. Imposes limitations on the use of these state moneys. In calculating the amount of tuition paid by a school district in educating a child with a disability, specifies that the costs incurred by a community centered board or facility in providing the special education program shall not be reduced by the amount of any revenues received by that community centered board or facility as donations or special education grants.

Creates the summer school grant program in the department of education to provide funding to school districts for the operation of summer school reading programs for students between 3^rd and 4^th grade and 4^th and 5^th grade who score unsatisfactory on the reading CSAPs. Sets the amount of the program grants at $100 per student enrolled in the summer school program. Creates the summer school grant program fund. Requires each district that participates in the summer school grant program to submit an annual report to the department, specifying the number of eligible students enrolled in the district and the program, the reading and writing performance levels of students in the program, and any other information the state board of education may require.

Establishes a 2-year grant program for schools that receive an academic performance grade of "F" on the school report card prepared for the 2000-01 school year. Grants are only available for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years and are awarded in the following amounts:

For eligible elementary schools, $75,000 per year;
For eligible middle or junior high schools, $100,000 per year; and
For eligible high schools, $125,000 per year.

Authorizes an additional award of $25,000 if the school has made "adequate progress" by improving by 0.5 or greater from the standard deviation over the immediately preceding year's overall standardized, weighted total score on the school report card. By January 1, 2002, and January 1, 2003, requires the department of education to submit a report on the grant program to the governor, the senate and house education committees, and the local board of education for each school district that received a school improvement grant.

Modifies provisions concerning existing school improvement plans to:

Eliminate the option of "F" schools to convert immediately to an independent charter school, thereby requiring all "F" schools to file a school improvement plan;
Beginning in 2003, for schools that received an "F" on the school report card prepared for the immediately preceding academic year, require the state board of education to notify those schools no later than May 1 if the school will receive an "F" on the report card prepared for that academic year;
Eliminate the specific elements of the school improvement plan that are listed in statute and authorize the state board to adopt rules specifying the elements of that plan, including, where possible, the incorporation of requirements of federal programs related to student achievement;
Extend the operation of "F" schools under a school improvement plan from 1 year to 2 years prior to being required to convert to an independent charter school if the school receives an "F" after the second year of operation under the plan.

Beginning in 2003, modifies the notification of student assessment results for schools that received an "F" on the school report card for the immediately preceding academic year to require notification of results by May 1 to allow for earlier conversion to an independent charter school if required. States that the department of education shall release the results of assessments administered in languages other than English at the same time it releases the English language test results.

Modifies the timeline for the conversion of "F" schools to independent charter schools as follows:

By May 1, notification of "F" sent to local board;
By May 10, state board issues requests for proposals (RFPs) for independent charter school;
Between May 10 & August 15, pursuant to state board rules, responses to RFPs are due, review committees are formed, applicants are selected, and local boards are notified of selected applicants;
By August 15, negotiations between selected applicant and local board conclude and application accepted by local board;
After August 15, independent charter school opens.

Requires the existing state data reporting system for collecting and reporting performance indicators from each public school to be capable, no later than June 1, 2002, of:

Storing all CSAP scores from CSAP assessments administered during the 2001-02 school year and each succeeding school year;
Performing longitudinal analyses of individual student assessment results, classroom assessment results, and entire school assessment results with respect to those CSAP assessments; and
Longitudinally tracking the CSAP assessment results of students who transfer from one school district to another and whose annual assessments are administered by different districts.

Increases from 17 to 22 the maximum number of boards of cooperative services (BOCES) that can receive state moneys if approved by the state board of education. Clarifies that tobacco moneys in the read-to-achieve fund remain in the fund and do not revert to the tobacco litigation settlement trust fund at the end of any fiscal year. Allows all categorical programs to be listed together in the general appropriations bill for purposes of complying with section 17 of article IX of the state constitution. Specifies how the pupil enrollment of districts involved in a deconsolidation approved by voters at the 2000 general election is to be determined for budget years prior to the deconsolidation that are used in determining pupil count.

Specifies that any unexpended moneys remaining in the contingency reserve at the end of a fiscal year shall remain in the contingency reserve and shall not be transferred to the general fund or any other fund. Requires any district's repayment of supplemental assistance made from the contingency reserve to be credited to the contingency reserve. Allows a school district to notify the state board of education to transfer a portion of the school district's monthly allocation of the state's share of total program to the division of vocational rehabilitation for the school district's participation in school-to-work alliance programs.

Authorizes school districts to create school safety programs, which may include drug testing of all personnel who apply for, transfer to, or are promoted to safety-sensitive positions and of personnel who are in safety-sensitive positions if there is probable cause to believe the person is using illegal drugs. Requires future collective bargaining agreements entered into with unions representing personnel in safety-sensitive positions to contain drug testing policies for said personnel.

Provides additional moneys to fund the school finance program for the 2001-02 fiscal year by appropriating $846,638 from the state public school fund and $8,868,480 from the state education fund. Appropriates the additional following amounts for the 2001-02 fiscal year:

$2,472,644 from the state public school fund for the federal "National School Lunch Act";
$50,000 from the state public school fund for grants to BOCES;
$2,900,000 from the state education fund for the school improvement grant program;
$5,308,961 for charter school capital construction;
$5,308,961 to the school capital construction expenditures reserve;
$945,800 for the summer school grant program; and
$388,000 and 2.0 FTE for the state data reporting system to longitudinally track CSAP scores.

Amends the 2000-01 general appropriations act to reduce the general fund appropriation and increase the cash funds exempt appropriation to the department of education for public school transportation and reduce the general fund appropriation and increase the cash funds exempt appropriation to the department of human services, division of child welfare, for family and children's programs. Amends the 2001-02 general appropriations act to reduce the general fund appropriation and increase the cash funds exempt appropriation to the department of human services, division of child welfare, for family and children's programs and increase the general fund appropriation and decrease the cash funds exempt appropriation to the department of education fo the state share of districts' total program funding.

APPROVED by Governor April 16, 2001
PORTIONS EFFECTIVE April 16, 2001, July 1, 2001

S.B. 01-204 Public school funding - implementation of amendment 23 - annual joint resolution procedures - definitions. Establishes state policies relating to section 17 of article IX of the state constitution (amendment 23) as follows:

Makes legislative declarations concerning the increased education funding requirements of amendment 23, the duty and intent of the general assembly to comply with said requirements, and the duty and intent of the general assembly to ensure the viability of the state education fund (fund) established by amendment 23 in order to meet the long-term requirements of the increased education funding requirements without adversely affecting the financial condition of the state and other state programs and services.
Defines the terms "categorical programs", "inflation", and "total state funding for all categorical programs".
Requires the general assembly, acting by joint resolution sponsored by the chair and vice-chair of the joint budget committee and prepared in cooperation with the education committees of the senate and house of representatives, to annually certify the amount of moneys in the fund that should be considered available for appropriation for the next state fiscal year after taking into consideration an analysis prepared by the staff of legislative council. Requires the joint resolution to contain certain information related to the amount of moneys that should be considered available from the fund, the general fund, and any other fund to meet the increased funding requirements of amendment 23 and to fund other programs consistent with amendment 23 while protecting the long-term solvency of the fund. Encourages the general assembly to appropriate from the fund no more than the amount certified in said joint resolution.
Requires the staff of the legislative council, with the assistance of the state auditor, the office of state planning and budgeting, the state treasurer, the department of education, and the joint budget committee, to conduct a review of the model used to forecast revenues in and expenditures from the fund and the spending requirements of the "Public School Finance Act of 1994", including: A determination of the reasonableness of the assumptions used to forecast revenues and expenditures, a revision to said assumptions if necessary; information on the financial stability of the fund; projections of the amount of total state moneys required to meet the increased funding requirements of amendment 23 and the availability of moneys in funds other than the general fund and the state education fund to meet said requirements; revenue projections for the fund; an estimate of the maximum amount of moneys that can be appropriated from the fund and the minimum amount of moneys that can be appropriated from the general fund to meet the funding requirements of amendment 23 without adversely impacting the solvency of the fund or the ability of the general assembly to comply with said funding requirements in future years; and estimates of the impact of various levels of general fund appropriations above the minimum level required by amendment 23 on the amount of moneys available in the fund for other programs authorized by amendment 23.
Requires legislative council staff to transmit copies of the analysis to the joint budget committee, the office of state planning and budgeting, and the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives.
Specifies that for state fiscal years 2001-02 through 2010-11, the general assembly is required to annually appropriate from the general fund an amount equal to the amount of general fund appropriations for total program pursuant to the "Public School Finance Act of 1994" for the immediately preceding state fiscal year, known as the maintenance of effort base, plus an amount annually determined by the general assembly that is equal to at least 5% of the maintenance of effort base, unless Colorado personal income grows less than 4½% between the 2 calendar years immediately preceding the state fiscal year in which an appropriation is made. Specifies that the maintenance of effort base includes any adjustments made pursuant to a supplemental appropriation bill or bills for that fiscal year and the general fund appropriation for business incentive agreements negotiated by school districts.
Specifies that for school district budget years 2001-02 through 2010-11, the general assembly is required to annually increase the statewide base per pupil funding for public education from preschool through 12^th grade and the total state funding for all categorical programs by at least the rate of inflation plus one percentage point.
Specifies that for school district budget years 2011-12 and each school district budget year thereafter, the general assembly is required to annually increase the statewide base per pupil funding for public education from preschool through 12^th grade and the total state funding for all categorical programs by at least the rate of inflation.

APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2001
EFFECTIVE May 30, 2001

S.B. 01-222 K-12 capital construction - state assistance in funding construction projects - exception to restriction on appropriation. Modifies the prohibition against the general assembly appropriating general fund moneys for public school capital construction in any fiscal year 2000-01 through 2010-11 if general fund revenues do not exceed a specified amount so that the prohibition is not applicable for fiscal year 2001-02.

APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2001
EFFECTIVE May 30, 2001

S.B. 01-237 Charter schools - funding capital construction needs. Makes a legislative declaration regarding the development of methods to fund the capital construction needs of charter schools and encouraging interested persons to meet and develop a legislative proposal regarding capital construction funding for charter schools for consideration at the 2002 regular session. Delays the requirement that a portion of bond proceeds from bonds issued by a school district pursuant to voter approval obtained on or after July 1, 2001, be allocated to qualified charter schools within the district under certain circumstances so that the requirement applies to bond proceeds from district bonds issued pursuant to voter approval obtained on or after July 1, 2002.

APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2001
EFFECTIVE May 30, 2001

H.B. 01-1041 Colorado preschool program - assistance and training - on-site visits - compliance with state law. Requires the department of education ("department"), upon the request of a school district, to provide necessary technical assistance to the school district for the submission of a preschool program proposal and to provide ongoing training of personnel. Directs the department to select annually a reasonable number of school districts for on-site visits. Requires the department to determine whether the following comply with all applicable state laws:

The screening process and the eligibility criteria;
The district preschool program council; and
The school district's quality assurance activities, evaluation efforts, and financial activities regarding the preschool program.

APPROVED by Governor March 20, 2001
EFFECTIVE March 20, 2001

H.B. 01-1129 Extracurricular athletic activities - reserved positions - fees. Allows a school district, for each athletic activity offered, to reserve for students enrolled in the district of the school of participation a certain number of positions on athletic teams at each level of competition. Allows the school of participation in certain circumstances to charge a nonenrolled student the actual cost of postseason participation in an individual athletic activity.

APPROVED by Governor February 22, 2001
EFFECTIVE February 22, 2001

H.B. 01-1146 Local boards of education - performance evaluation of superintendent. Authorizes and places exclusive responsibility with a local board of education to conduct the performance evaluation of the superintendent of the school district.

APPROVED by Governor March 11, 2001
EFFECTIVE August 8, 2001
NOTE: This act was passed without a safety clause. For further explanation concerning the effective date, see the note from page vi of this digest.

H.B. 01-1163 Colorado information technology education grant program - rules - fund. Creates the Colorado information technology education grant program ("grant program") to provide moneys to applying school districts, charter schools, and facility schools to use in integrating information technology education into the ninth-grade through twelfth-grade curriculum in public schools. Instructs the department of education ("department") to implement the grant program, including making recommendations concerning grant recipients to the state board of education ("state board"). Instructs the state board to award grants based on the department's recommendations, beginning with the 2002-03 school year, so long as appropriations are available.

Directs the state board to adopt rules for the implementation of the grant program. Specifies the information to be included in grant applications and the criteria to be applied in selecting grant recipients. If a facility school receives and grant and subsequently ceases operations, specifies that any hardware or software purchase by the facility school with grant moneys shall revert to the school district in which the facility school was operating. Clarifies that the grant program does not affect any school district's ability to enter into agreements with any private entity. Requires annual reports from grant recipients and from the department, and specifies the report contents.

Creates the information technology education fund ("fund"). Directs the department to seek any available moneys to use in implementing the grant program. Allows the department to retain a percentage of the moneys appropriated to the fund to cover the department's costs incurred in implementing the grant program.

APPROVED by Governor June 1, 2001
EFFECTIVE June 1, 2001

H.B. 01-1186 Retired employees - employment after retirement - reduction of PERA benefits. Subjects any PERA service retiree employed by a PERA employer during the month of the effective date of retirement to a daily 5 % reduction in retirement benefits for any part of a day that the retiree works during such month.

APPROVED by Governor March 11, 2001
EFFECTIVE July 1, 2001

H.B. 01-1196 Statewide assessments - return writing portion. If requested by a school district, requires a developer of a statewide assessment to return to the school district the student responses to the essay and appropriate paragraphs of the writing portion of the statewide assessment. Requires the school district making the request to pay for the actual cost of photocopying and mailing these portions of the tests.

APPROVED by Governor March 19, 2001
EFFECTIVE March 19, 2001

H.B. 01-1215 School report cards - elementary schools - teacher qualifications. For elementary schools only, eliminates information on school report cards concerning the percentage of teachers teaching in a subject in which the teacher received a degree.

APPROVED by Governor March 28, 2001
EFFECTIVE March 28, 2001

H.B. 01-1222 School report cards - elementary schools - attendance rates. For the school report cards for elementary schools only:

Eliminates information on student drop out rates; and
Replaces a chart on student drop out rates with a chart on attendance rates.

APPROVED by Governor March 28, 2001
EFFECTIVE March 28, 2001

H.B. 01-1232 Education funding - use of 1% increase in per pupil funding - statement - compilation. For any school district in which there are more than 6,000 pupils, requires the school district board of education ("district school board") to approve and submit to the department of education ("department") a statement concerning the use of the constitutionally required 1% increase in the statewide base per pupil funding. Establishes required elements for the statement. Requires the district school board to approve the statement as part of its budget process at a public meeting following specified, public notice. Directs the department to compile the statements and submit them to the governor, the state board of education, and the education committees of the general assembly.

Clarifies that school districts are to pass the 1% increase in per pupil funding on to all charter schools. For charter school contracts and renewals entered into between July 1, 2001, and July 1, 2010, requires the charter school to state how the school will use the increase in funding.

APPROVED by Governor April 16, 2001
EFFECTIVE April 16, 2001

H.B. 01-1262 Public school funding - implementation of amendment 23 - state education fund. Establishes state policies relating to the state education fund created by section 17 of article IX of the state constitution (amendment 23) as follows:

Codifies the state education fund created by amendment 23.
Requires the legislative council, in consultation with the office of state planning and budgeting, to calculate the amount of state income tax revenues that must be diverted to the state education fund during any state fiscal year no fewer than 4 times per year and to certify to the department of revenue the amount of state income tax revenues that the department must transfer to the state treasurer for deposit into the state education fund on the first business day of each month.
Specifies circumstances under which the legislative council, in consultation with the office of state planning and budgeting, may adjust the amount of transfers to the state education fund to ensure that the correct amount is transferred to the fund in each state fiscal year.
Specifies that, except as otherwise provided by law, all moneys in the state education fund are subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the department of education for the purpose of compliance with the requirements of amendment 23 and for any other purpose that is consistent with the requirements of amendment 23 and authorized by law.
Specifies the manner in which moneys in the state education fund may be invested.
Specifies that moneys credited to the state education fund, appropriated from the fund, or distributed from the fund and expended by any school district are exempt from constitutional limitations on state and local government fiscal year spending and the statutory limitation on general fund appropriations growth.

APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2001
EFFECTIVE June 5, 2001

H.B. 01-1272 Textbooks - funding - district plan - appropriation. For the 2001-02 school year, increases state funding to school districts by an amount determined by multiplying $20 by the school district's funded pupil count as of October 1, 2001. For the 2002-03 school year, increases state funding to school districts by an amount determined by multiplying $21 by the school district's funded pupil count as of October 1, 2002. Requires each school district to adopt a plan for the use of such moneys. Requires the plan to:

Specify which schools will receive what new textbooks;
Use the moneys first to buy new textbooks in the subjects of mathematics, reading, writing, and science, unless the district makes a specific finding that all of the textbooks in those subjects are up-to-date; and
Pass the increased funding per pupil through to charter schools.

Requires any moneys received by a school district and not expended by July 1, 2003, to be transferred back to the state education fund. Effective July 1, 2003, repeals the provisions of the act.

Appropriates $14,095,340 from the state education fund to the department of education for the implementation of the act.

APPROVED by Governor May 29, 2001
EFFECTIVE May 29, 2001

H.B. 01-1292 Character education programs - development - reports - fund. Recognizes that core character qualities help give youth the basic interpersonal skills and attributes that are critical building blocks for successful relationships. Acknowledges each school district's authority to exercise control over the specific instruction of students, yet declares a significant statewide interest in providing direction to school districts with regard to character education for Colorado's youth. Encourages school districts to develop and strengthen character education instruction to students in Colorado's schools.

Strongly encourages each school district to establish a character education program designed to help students cultivate the qualities of character that will promote an upright, moral, and desirable citizenry and better prepare students to become positive contributors to society. Encourages the school district to work with the parents and legal guardians of students enrolled in the school district in the development of any character education program. Allows the department of education ("department") to collect information related to character education and requires the department to serve as a character education resource for parents, school districts, and boards of cooperative services. Allows the department to store electronically all information collected.

Allows each school district to submit to the department a report concerning any character education program developed. Allows each school district to submit such report electronically, consistent with rules promulgated by the state board of education. On or before January 15, 2002, and on or before each January 15 thereafter, requires the department to submit to the house of representatives and senate education committees an executive summary of any school district reports received.

Creates the character education fund, and authorizes the department to receive grants, gifts, donations, and contributions from any source, public or private, for the purpose of implementing this act.

APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2001
EFFECTIVE June 5, 2001

H.B. 01-1348 Student with disabilities - alternate exams - use of CSAP scores. Authorizes the state board of education ("state board"), by rule, to exempt a school from receiving an academic performance grade if more than 95% of the students at the school have individual educational programs. Requires a school to establish a public process to ensure accountability before an exemption may be granted. Clarifies that the scores achieved by a student who is eligible for the state's alternate assessment or another assessment approved by rule of the state board, as determined by an annual review of the student's individual educational program, will not be used to calculate a school's academic performance or academic improvement grade.

Specifies that any student who is not eligible for an alternate assessment for students with disabilities but who has an individual educational program shall be assessed at the grade level in which the student is enrolled.

In provisions describing the school report card, clarifies that the scores of students who are eligible for an alternate assessment for students with disabilities are not used to calculate a school's academic performance grade, and that the percentages of students whose scores are included and students whose scores are not included in calculating the grade are specified in a chart.

APPROVED by Governor May 30, 2001
EFFECTIVE May 30, 2001

H.B. 01-1365 Science and technology education center grant program - creation - appropriation. Recognizes the creation of a science and technology education center grant program as an approved use of moneys in the state education fund. Creates the science and technology education center grant program ("grant program") to provide start-up and operating moneys to science and technology education centers. Defines "science and technology education" as educational activities that stimulate learning through space flight simulations or through simulations related to astronomy or space exploration. Beginning on or before January 2, 2002, instructs the state board of education ("state board") to award annually science and technology education center grants to selected applying centers, subject to available appropriations. Specifies the application contents and the criteria to be applied in awarding grants.

Directs the state board to specify the amount to be awarded to each grant recipient and caps the amounts that may be awarded for start-up and operating costs. Requires grant recipients to obtain dollar-for-dollar matching funds.

Creates the science and technology education center grants advisory board ("advisory board"). Directs the advisory board to review grant applications and make recommendations to the state board for the issuance of grants, including the amount of each grant. Repeals the advisory board on July 1, 2011, subject to sunset review.

Instructs the state board to promulgate rules for the implementation of the grant program. Directs the department to seek public and private funding for the grant program. Creates the science and technology education fund for the payment of science and technology education center grants.

Appropriates $1,400,000 from the state education fund to the department of education for implementation of the grant program.

APPROVED by Governor June 5, 2001
EFFECTIVE June 5, 2001