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Presented to the Joint Education Committee.

Presented to the Joint Education Committee at is January 25, 2017, meeting.

Submitted herewith is the final report of the Interim Committee to Study the Every Student Succeeds Act. This committee was created pursuant to Legislative Council Executive Committee approval of Interim Committee Letter 2016-6. The purpose of this committee is to study new federal legislation requiring state actions related to education.

Presented to the Joint Education Committee at its January 18, 2017, meeting.

Presented to the Joint Education Committee at its January 10, 2017, meeting.

Final Report to the Colorado General Assembly by the School Safety and Youth in Crisis Interim Committee.

This memorandum responds to your request for information on school discipline policies.  Specifically, you were contacted by a constituent expressing concern about several incidents at her granddaughter’s elementary school in School District 27J.  Please note that because Legislative Council Staff is unable to analyze whether there is a conflict between state law and the district's policies related to the circumstances the constituent describes, the memorandum provides background information on school discipline laws and regulations.

Personally identifiable information (PII) is information that can be used to trace or identify an individual. In Colorado K-12 education, the term refers to student data collected and retained by public schools and school districts, and maintained by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). This Issue Brief provides an overview of

Colorado law provides distinct roles for the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and the State Board of Education (state board) in overseeing charter schools. Colorado's charter schools are authorized through a local school district or the state Charter School Institute (CSI). The CSI was created in 2004 as an independent agency within CDE. It currently authorizes 35 charter schools, and is the only statewide, non-district authorizer.

This memorandum provides information regarding the regulation of school districts, charter schools, innovation schools, and home schools. Specifically, it describes the waivers to state law granted by the State Board of Education (SBE) to school districts, charter schools, innovation districts and schools, and home schools. Also included is information relating to the processes for requesting waivers.

House Bill 16-1422 amends the Public School Finance Act of 1994 to provide funding for school districts in FY 2016-17. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 10, 2016, and became effective on that date. House Bill 16-1405, the "Long Bill," appropriates most of the state aid distributed to school districts. The following summarizes the primary funding changes contained in these bills.

Legislative Council Staff conducts a study of the cost of living in each school district every two years, as required by state law. The results of the 2015 study indicate that the cost of living, adjusted by where employees live, increased in 177 of the 178 school districts in the state. In 137 of these districts, the change in cost of living from 2013 to 2015 was large enough to increase the cost-of-living factor used in the school finance funding formula.

This memo discusses the scope of bullying in Colorado schools; summarizes the provisions and programs in Colorado state law related to bullying prevention, including safe school plans and criminal penalties; and provides information on training resources and best practices for preventing bullying.

2015 Colorado School District Cost of Living Analysis

The forecast for the State Education Fund and the level of General Fund appropriations needed to pay for school finance has changed from when the General Assembly adjourned in May 2015. Property values grew rapidly in 2015, and are expected to continue to grow over the next few years, helping to boost the local contribution to school finance. In contrast, expectations for income taxes have fallen, decreasing projected deposits into the State Education Fund and the General Fund.

Pursuant to Article 15 of Title 22, Colorado Revised Statutes. The purpose of this committee is to study issues relating to school safety and threat prevention in public and private schools; programs and methods for identifying and monitoring students in crisis; standardized criteria for school personnel to use in assessing potential threats; and the implementation of Senate Bill 15-213. 

Pursuant to Section 26-6.5-203, Colorado Revised Statutes. The purpose of this commission is to study issues related to early childhood and school readiness in order to improve the state’s early childhood policies.

The “negative factor” is a provision in state law that reduces the amount of total program funding and state aid provided to K-12 school districts.  This issue  brief  discusses how the negative factor is applied in the School Finance Act (SFA), gives a short history of school finance leading to the creation of the  negative factor, and provides a summary of the recent legal challenge to the negative factor.

Senate Bill 15-267 amends the Public School Finance Act of 1994 to provide funding for school districts in FY 2015-16. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 5, 2015, and became effective on that date. Senate Bill 15-234, the "Long Bill," appropriates most of the state aid distributed to school districts. The following summarizes the primary funding changes contained in these bills.

Senate Bill 15-267 amends the Public School Finance Act of 1994 to provide funding for school districts in FY 2015-16. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 5, 2015, and became effective on that date. Senate Bill 15-234, the "Long Bill," appropriates most of the state aid distributed to school districts. The following summarizes the primary funding changes contained in these bills.

ESTIMATED VALUE OF SCHOOL FINANCE FACTORS, INCLUDING NEGATIVE FACTOR, FY 2015-16

Additional At-Risk Student Funding Under SB 15-267, FY 2015-16 (estimated allocation is about $16.13 per at-risk student)

Reengrossed Senate Bill 15-267 FY 2015-16 Compared with FY 2014-15

Senate Bill 15-267 as Introduced by the General Assembly

FY 2015-16 Compared with FY 2014-15