Sen. Nancy Todd

The bill creates the submarine service license plate. In addition to the standard motor vehicle fees, the plate requires 2 one-time fees of $25. One fee is credited to the highway users tax fund and the other to a fund that provides licensing services. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The bill creates the teacher residency expansion program (program) in the department of education (department). The goal of the program is to identify and communicate to school districts, charter schools, and boards of cooperative services that operate public schools (local education providers) the best practices, effective strategies, and critical components of effective teacher residency programs and thereby facilitate expansion of the effective teacher residency programs across the state. To implement the program, the department will contract with an institution of higher education (institution) and an alternative teacher program (alternative program), each of which is currently operating an effective teacher residency program with a local education provider. The institution and alternative program will expand their respective teacher residency programs with other local education providers as pilot programs that must include specified components. The institution and alternative program will share the specified components with the department, which will share them with other local education providers, institutions, and alternative programs that are not participating in the pilot programs. After the pilot programs have operated for a year, and annually thereafter, the department will evaluate the success of the pilot programs based on specified criteria. The department will submit a report concerning the evaluation to the state board of education, the Colorado commission on higher education, the executive director of the department of higher education, the governor's office, and the education committees of the general assembly. The department will also post the report on its website. The department will distribute to the institution and alternative program that contract with the department an amount to offset a portion of the costs of implementing the pilot program. The institution and alternative program must agree to provide matching funds equal to 100% of the amount distributed to the institution and alternative program by the department. The program is repealed in 5 years. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The bill creates the crisis and suicide prevention training grant program (grant program) in the department of public health and environment (department). The purpose of the grant program is to provide financial assistance to schools in providing crisis and suicide prevention training to schools, with priority given to those schools that have previously not received such training. The grant program may authorize up to $400,000 in grants per year in varying amounts. The office of suicide prevention and the school safety resource center shall work collaboratively with the department to develop guidelines and criteria for the grant program. Grant recipients are required to report on their activities using grant money. The crisis and suicide prevention training grant program fund is created and authorized to accept appropriations from the general assembly, as well as gifts, grants, and donations. The bill makes conforming amendments that authorize the existing office of suicide prevention in statute. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The bill changes the name of the 'Colorado commission for the deaf and hard of hearing' to the 'Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind'. The bill expands the commission's duties to include establishing a community access program for one-on-one system navigation and changes the membership on the committee reviewing grant applications under the act. The bill creates the deafblind citizens council to advise the commission on assisting the deafblind community. The commission must also establish a pilot program to provide auxiliary services to executive agencies. The pilot program must be evaluated by an independent contractor and the evaluation must be provided to the governor and general assembly. Currently the laws of the state refer to 'deaf or hard of hearing'. The bill updates the references to 'deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind'. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Joint Technology Committee. The government data advisory board (board) was created in the office of information technology to advise and provide recommendations to the chief information officer regarding interdepartmental data protocol and best practices in sharing and protecting data in state government. The bill modifies the definition of interdepartmental protocol to reflect current practice. The bill also modifies the composition of the board to include a representative from each state agency and to remove members of the education data subcommittee from the board. Currently, the board is scheduled for repeal on July 1, 2019. The bill extends the board to July 1, 2024. The bill specifies that prior to being repealed, the board is subject to review by the joint technology committee rather than pursuant to the sunset review process. In addition, current law specifies that prior to its repeal on July 1, 2019, the education data subcommittee is subject to review pursuant to the sunset review process. The bill eliminates the sunset review of the education data subcommittee to facilitate the repeal of the subcommittee on July 1, 2019. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) , Read More

The bill creates a remuneration-exempt identifying placard that exempts an individual with a disability from paying for parking if the disability limits the individual's: Fine motor control in both hands; Ability to reach a height of 48 inches from the ground due to lack of finger, hand, or upper extremity strength or mobility; or Ability to reach or access a parking meter due to the use of a wheelchair or other ambulatory device. The bill repeals existing authority for a person with a disability to park without paying. The bill appropriates $9,870 to the department of revenue from the general fund for use by the division of motor vehicles to order license plates to implement the act. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The bill directs the department of education to identify geographic areas within the state and specific subjects for which there is a teacher shortage. Under the bill, a rural school district, rural charter school, or rural board of cooperative services (rural local education provider) and a public or private institution of higher education (institution) may enter into an agreement to provide a teaching fellowship program for students enrolled in the fourth year of the approved educator preparation program. The rural local education provider must be located within an identified area or need a teacher for one of the identified subjects and demonstrate chronic hiring difficulty and financial need; the institution must offer an approved educator preparation program. The agreement must include the commitments of both the rural local education provider and the institution, including the commitments of both the rural local education provider and the institution to jointly design an individualized fellowship plan for each teaching fellow that addresses necessary competencies, the rural local education provider's commitment to extend an offer of employment to the teaching fellow when he or she successfully completes the fellowship year, and the institution's commitment to pay a percentage of a stipend to the teaching fellow during the fellowship year. Each teaching fellow receives a stipend of $10,000 to use for costs of attendance during the fellowship year. The department of higher education, based on the rural local education provider's demonstrated chronic hiring difficulties and financial need, will annually select up to 100 teaching fellows for which the state will provide 50% of the stipend through the state financial assistance program. For these teaching fellows, the institution must provide the remaining 50% from institutional financial assistance. If the teaching fellow receives an offer of employment from the rural local education provider for the 2 school years following completion of the fellowship and does not work for the rural local education provider for those 2 school years, the teaching fellow must repay the amount of the stipend. The rural local education provider and institution must prepare an annual report concerning implementation of the teaching fellowship program and submit it to the department of higher education. The department must prepare a summary report concerning the implementation and effect of the teaching fellowship programs throughout the state and submit the report to the state board of education, the Colorado commission on higher education, and the joint budget committee and education committees of the general assembly. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Current law allows the department of higher education to provide up to 20 financial stipends annually, not to exceed $6,000 each, to teachers in rural schools or school districts (rural schools) who are seeking certification as a national board certified teacher, seeking certification as a concurrent enrollment teacher, or furthering their professional development plan through continuing education, and who commit to employment in a rural school for a minimum of 3 years. The bill increases the number of available stipends to 60 and expands it to include teachers completing an approved alternative licensure program leading to initial licensure and full-time employment in a rural school or school district that serves rural schools and individuals completing the required course work leading to certification and employment in a rural school or a rural school district that serves rural schools. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

Current law contains a pilot program to assist veterans, veterans' spouses, and other eligible participants in obtaining employment and provide support services to seek and obtain employment. The bill continues the program and includes funding for the current pilot program and the expanded program. The bill adds persons who may participate in the program and addresses veterans who have barriers to employment. The department is required to develop an evaluation methodology to measure program effectiveness. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More

The state historical society is currently governed by a board of directors with 9 members appointed by the governor. The bill expands the number of directors to 13. The governor is prohibited from appointing more than 7 members from the same major or minor political party. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) , Read More