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

  • CU-Lock Haven Receives $1.75M Gift for New Entrepreneurship, Media Center

    Commonwealth University-Lock Haven in Lock Haven, Penn., recently received a $1.75-million donation from entrepreneur and alumnus Nicholas Subich ’17, according to a university news release. The funds will go toward establishing the Nicholas Subich Center for Entrepreneurship and Media, a technology-driven hub for innovation and experiential learning.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Announces Acquisition of JJCA

    Wold Architects & Engineers, based in Minneapolis, Minn., recently announced that it has acquired JJCA, an architecture firm based in Nashville, Tenn., according to a press release. JJCA specializes in healthcare and education design; the partnership allows both firms to expand their presence across the country while building on existing strengths.

  • Doerr School of Sustainability Accelerator

    From Concrete Warehouse to Innovation Hub: Accelerating Sustainability at Stanford

    The transformation of a once windowless, concrete publishing warehouse into a sun-drenched center for global innovation began with a single, fundamental challenge: how to turn an industrial storage shell into a space built for human connection.