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Second Regular Session
Seventy-fifth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REENGROSSED
This Version Includes All Amendments
Adopted in the House of Introduction
LLS NO. 26-0667.01 Ken Fowler x2372 HOUSE BILL 26-1299
House Committees Senate Committees
Education
A BILL FOR AN ACT
CONCERNING REDUCTION OF RE GULATORY BURDENS ON LOCAL101
EDUCATION PROVIDERS.102
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
http://leg.colorado.gov.)
The bill requires the Colorado bureau of investigation to transmit
a list of missing children to the Colorado department of education
(department) instead of each school district.
The bill repeals the requirement for a school district, board of
cooperative services, district charter school, or institute charter school
(local education provider) to have paper and pencil assessment policies
HOUSE
3rd Reading Unamended
March 20, 2026
HOUSE
Amended 2nd Reading
March 17, 2026
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Garcia Sander and Lukens, Barron, Camacho, Clifford, Duran, Goldstein, Gonzalez R.,
Jackson, Keltie, Lieder, Lindsay, Marshall, McCluskie, Nguyen, Phillips, Richardson, Rydin,
Smith, Stewart K., Weinberg, Woog
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Pelton B.,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law.
for state-administered assessments in public schools.
The bill allows a school district, a charter school network, or a
charter school collaborative with 1,200 students or fewer to submit a
single plan to satisfy school district, school network, or school plan
requirements.
The bill allows schools that have waived out of the underlying
requirements for licensed personnel evaluations to be exempt from
submitting licensed personnel evaluations.
The bill prohibits the department from representing a voluntary
data collection request to a school district, the state charter school
institute, or a public school as mandatory and prohibits the department
from conditioning any benefit unrelated to a specific grant on the
completion of a voluntary data collection request.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:1
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly2
finds and declares that:3
(a) Colorado's commitment to public education is rooted in the4
belief that every student deserves access to high-quality instruction and5
the supports necessary to thrive from preschool through graduation;6
(b) Honoring this commitment requires state law to prioritize7
student learning and well-being, safeguard student privacy and safety, and8
promote accountability and continuous improvement while avoiding9
administrative requirements that no longer reflect current educational10
practice;11
(c) Statutory and regulatory reporting, planning assessment, and12
data collection obligations have accumulated in ways that are often13
duplicative, misaligned, or outdated, resulting in an administrative14
workload that reduces the time, flexibility, and capacity educators can15
devote to direct instruction and student support;16
(d) Feedback collected through surveys and stakeholder17
engagement conducted by the education data advisory committee18
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demonstrates that many local education providers experience data1
reporting and planning requirements that lack a straightforward statutory2
requirement, overlap with other mandated submissions, or provide limited3
instructional or accountability value; and4
(e) The general assembly therefore determines that strengthening5
transparency, statutory alignment, and modernization of these6
requirements will improve the usefulness and integrity of collected data,7
reduce unnecessary burden, and better support educators, students, and8
families across Colorado.9
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-33.5-415.1,10
amend (5) as follows:11
24-33.5-415.1. List of missing children.12
(5) A timely THE BUREAU SHALL DISTRIBUTE A list of missing13
children shall be distributed on a regular basis to all school districts in this14
state, except those school districts which have elected to provide the15
names of all new or transfer students to the bureau, and each school16
district shall distribute such information to the individual schools within17
the district in whatever manner deemed appropriate THE COLORADO18
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOR CROSS -REFERENCE AGAINST THE19
DEPARTMENT'S STUDENT RECORDS. The list shall MUST include the names20
of missing children together with whatever information the bureau21
determines would be helpful in making identification. A school district22
THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SHALL COMPARE THE23
BUREAU'S MISSING CHILDREN LIST TO THE DEPARTMENT'S COMPREHENSIVE24
LIST OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN COLORADO PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND shall25
either immediately notify the bureau if it comes in contact with a child26
whose name appears on the list of missing children or send the names of27
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all new or transfer students to the bureau on a regular basis, ITS1
COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN COLORADO PUBLIC2
SCHOOLS INCLUDES A MISSING STUDENT OR INFORMATION ON THE3
LAST-KNOWN SCHOOL OF ENROLLMENT OF A MISSING STUDENT, and, if a4
missing child is identified, the bureau shall, in turn, notify the law5
enforcement agency that submitted the missing child report. All6
information received or transmitted pursuant to this subsection (5) shall7
be IS confidential and shall only be used for law enforcement purposes.8
SECTION 3. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-7-1013, repeal (6)9
as follows:10
22-7-1013. Local education provider - preschool through11
elementary and secondary education standards - adoption - academic12
acceleration - definition.13
(6) Each local education provider shall adopt and implement a14
written policy by which the local education provider will decide whether15
the students enrolled by the local education provider will use pencil and16
paper to complete any portion of a state assessment administered pursuant17
to section 22-7-1006.3 (1)(a) that the students would otherwise complete18
using a computer. The policy must ensure that the local education19
provider makes the decision in consultation with parents and, if the local20
education provider is a school district or board of cooperative services,21
the public schools that the local education provider operates. The local22
education provider may decide that the students in one or more of the23
public schools, or in one or more of the classrooms of the public schools,24
operated by the local education provider will use pencil and paper to25
complete the computerized portions of a state assessment. Each year26
before the start of fall semester classes, the local education provider shall27
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distribute copies of the policy to the parents of students enrolled in the1
local education provider and post a copy of the policy on the local2
education provider's website.3
SECTION 4. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-11-208, amend4
(1)(d) as follows:5
22-11-208. Accreditation - annual review - supports and6
interventions - rules.7
(1) (d) The state board by rule shall establish the time frames in8
which the department shall MUST review school dist rict and institute9
performance and determine and report each school district's and the10
institute's appropriate accreditation category, and the time frames in11
which the school districts and the institute shall MUST adopt their12
respective plans and submit them for review and publication on the data13
portal. A school district with one thousand TWO HUNDRED students or14
fewer shall only be required to MAY submit a single plan to satisfy the15
school district and school plan requirements. A CHARTER SCHOOL16
NETWORK WITH ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED STUDENTS OR FEWER17
AND AUTHORIZED BY A SINGLE AUTHORIZER MAY SUBMIT A SINGLE PLAN18
TO SATISFY THE SCHOOL PLAN REQUIREMENTS OF ITS SCHOOLS.19
20
SECTION 5. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-2-307, add (4) as21
follows:22
22-2-307. Data reporting requirements - interpretation of23
federal law - suspension - information on required data.24
(4) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT REPRESENT A VOLUNTARY DATA25
COLLECTION REQUEST AS MANDATORY TO A SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE STATE26
CHARTER SCHOOL INSTITUTE , OR A PUBLIC SCHOOL AND SHALL NOT27
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CONDITION ANY BENEFIT TO A SCHOOL DISTRICT , THE STATE CHARTER1
SCHOOL INSTITUTE , OR A PUBLIC SCHOOL , UNRELATED TO A SPECIFIC2
GRANT, ON THE COMPLETION OF A VOLUNTARY DATA COLLECTION3
REQUEST.4
SECTION 6. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act5
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the6
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August7
12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a8
referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the9
state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act10
within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect11
unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in12
November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the13
official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.14
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