Discriminatory Practices in Public Schools

Plain English: This amendment replaces the original bill with new rules that define how schools and colleges must handle discrimination, require them to have specific complaint processes, and mandate a coordinator at higher education institutions.

• It defines three ways an educational institution can be found guilty of denying equal access: excluding students from programs, treating similar groups differently without a valid reason, or failing to stop a hostile environment after being notified about it.
• It updates the definition of harassment in schools to include pregnancy and parental status as protected classes and states that conduct does not need to be severe or widespread to count as discrimination if it is offensive to a reasonable person.
• It requires colleges and universities to create public complaint procedures for Title VI violations, designate a specific coordinator to handle these issues, train staff on compliance, and publish data about complaints without including personal names.

• The amendment text uses legal terms like 'constructive notice' and 'disparate impact' that may require further explanation for full understanding.
• The specific details of how schools must track or aggregate the complaint data mentioned in Section 3 are not fully described beyond making it publicly available.

Plain English: This amendment adds a detailed definition of harassment in public schools, stating that unwelcome conduct based on protected classes is illegal if it affects access to education or creates a hostile environment.

• Defines 'harassment' as any unwelcome physical, verbal, written, or visual behavior directed at someone because of their actual or perceived membership in a protected class.
• Clarifies that harassment does not need to be severe or happen repeatedly; even one incident can count if it blocks access to education or creates an intimidating environment.
• Lists specific factors schools must consider when judging harassment, such as how often it happened, the location, power differences between people involved, and whether violence was used.
• States that small annoyances or bad manners are not considered harassment unless they happen together in a way that meets the full definition of harassment.

• The amendment text does not list which specific groups count as 'protected classes,' only referring to another section of law (Section 24-34-1102) for that information.
• This summary is based solely on the provided amendment text and cannot explain how this definition interacts with other parts of the original bill or existing state laws.

Plain English: This amendment changes the law to explicitly include public schools as places where people with disabilities cannot be discriminated against.

• It updates the definition of a 'place of public accommodation' by adding an exception that specifically excludes public schools from that category.
• It adds new rules stating that individuals with disabilities must not be excluded or denied benefits by public schools, just like they are protected in other places.

• The amendment text does not explain how this change affects discrimination based on race, gender, or religion, only disability.
• The exact legal impact depends on the full definitions of 'public school' and 'disability' found in other sections of Colorado law referenced by name.

Plain English: This amendment changes how discrimination complaints are filed and handled in public schools by updating legal terms, clarifying who can file charges, limiting the remedies available when government officials file cases, and adding county courts as a place to sue for damages.

• Removes language that specifically mentions employees of public schools from the list of protected groups on page 4.
• Changes the legal phrase 'disproportionately adverse effect' to 'disparate impact' when describing how discrimination is measured.
• Updates the rules for filing a complaint so it clearly states what information must be included and who can file it, while limiting government-filed cases to stopping the bad practice rather than awarding money.
• Allows individuals harmed by these practices to sue in county court to recover damages and gives both sides the right to a jury trial.

• The amendment text does not explain why 'employees of public schools' were removed from page 4, so it is unclear if this was an error or intentional.
• The specific definition of what counts as a violation under the new 'disparate impact' standard is not detailed in this short summary.

Plain English: This amendment changes the rules for handling discrimination complaints in schools by adding a step to check if an issue is fixed before investigating, and it updates names of government groups involved.

• The process now requires checking that the agency has authority over a claim after mediation ends but before moving forward.
• If a school fixes a problem within 60 days and the person who complained agrees, the case is closed without an investigation.
• If the complaint is not resolved in 60 days, the director must start an official investigation into the charge.
• The amendment updates text to refer to the 'Division' instead of the 'Commission' for handling these cases.

• The exact legal definition of what counts as a 'cured deficiency' is not explained in this short summary.
• Details about how volunteers will be selected or managed are mentioned but not fully described.

Plain English: This amendment would add a rule stating that schools do not have to take actions or provide services if those things go against their sincerely held religious beliefs.

• Adds an exception for educational institutions based on their sincere religious beliefs.

• The amendment was lost and did not become part of the final bill.
• The text does not define what specific actions or services are covered by this rule.

Plain English: This amendment would remove a specific section of the bill that defines when schools deny equal access based on protected classes.

• It deletes lines 6 through 22 on page 4 of the original bill.

• The provided text does not include the actual words being removed, so it is unclear exactly what rules or definitions would be taken out.
• Because the amendment was marked as 'Lost', this change did not become part of the final law.

Plain English: This amendment removes the words 'or constructive' from a list of actions that count as denying equal access in public schools.

• The bill will no longer include the phrase 'OR CONSTRUCTIVE' when describing how an educational institution denies someone full and equal enjoyment.

• The amendment text does not explain what specific legal meaning was intended by removing these words or how this change affects real-world situations.
• Without the rest of the bill's context, it is unclear exactly which types of school actions are now excluded from being called discriminatory.

Plain English: This amendment changes the bill to apply only to public schools instead of all educational institutions.

• The text is changed from 'an educational institution' to 'a public educational institution'.
• Another section adds the word 'public' before 'educational' to limit who must follow these rules.

• This amendment was voted down and did not become part of the bill.
• The provided text does not explain what specific actions are considered discriminatory, only which schools would be covered if passed.