Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Colorado School Safety Committee Propose 5 Bills for 2020 Legislature

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 11/04/19

Colorado’s school safety committee approved five out of 11 draft bills, advancing them to the upcoming legislative session that begins in January, reported the Denver Post. The interim legislative committee formed after a fatal shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch in May. The bills drafted by the bipartisan committee stayed away from controversial ideas like arming teachers and instead focused on student mental health and safety training.

The committee unanimously passed two bills: one that would reorganize an already existing safety program called Safe2Tell anonymous tip system and allow the attorney general to disclose Safe2Tell information in the event of an imminent safety risk, and another that would create a working group that would include the departments of Education, Public Safety, Public Health and Environment and Human Services to continue studying school safety.

Other bills focused on student mental health. One would require school districts to include behavioral health needs as a reason for an excused absence, alongside physical health problems. Another would require the School Safety Resource Center to create a working group to examine the lack of residential treatment options for youth and propose solutions. Another bill would expand mental health training for teachers.

The committee unanimously voted for a resolution to express support for the I Love U Guys Foundation’s school safety efforts.

The committee is headed by Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • St. John Fisher University

    Classroom Revitalization – Basil Hall Room 216

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. St. John Fisher University's Basil Hall Room 216 Classroom Revitalization has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of Spaces.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • William Penn Charter School

    Richard A. Balderston OPC’69 Lower School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Richard A. Balderston OPC’69 Lower School has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Secret to Efficient, On-Time School Infrastructure & Modernization Projects is All in the Preparation

    Warmer weather and longer days make summer the ideal time for construction and modernization projects at educational facilities. School boards and construction firms must coordinate effectively to ensure that these projects do not extend even a single day into the school year and impede classroom operation.