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

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part I

    We asked, you answered, and the results are in! Last year, we put out a call for submissions to collect our readership’s opinion on trends and predictions for K–12 and higher education facilities in 2026.

  • Texas State University Completes Stadium Renovations

    Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, recently announced that it has completed a series of additions and renovations to its football stadium, according to a news release. Formerly known as the Bobcat Stadium End Zone Complex, the Johnny and Nathali Weisman Football Performance Center is an 85,000-square-foot expansion featuring hospitality spaces, banquet spaces, exterior concourses, and upgrades to the field house.

  • University of Kentucky Receives $150M Gift Toward New Arts District

    The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees recently received a $150-million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, according to a university news release, to build a new arts district on the campus in Lexington, Ky. The new district will feature a new College of Fine Arts building and a multi-hundred-seat theater, among other amenities.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.