This page contains the Colorado Bullying Prevention and Education Best Practices and Model Policy.

(1) The short title of this section is "Ashawnty's Law".

(2)

• (a) The department shall research approaches, policies, and practices related to bullying prevention and education used by education providers in other states. On or before July 1, 2019, after consideration of the research conducted pursuant to this subsection (2)(a), the department, in consultation with the school safety resource center created in section 24-33.5-1803, shall develop a model bullying prevention and education policy. The research and model policy described in this subsection (2)(a) must be updated every three years.

  • (b) On or before July 1, 2019, and every three years thereafter, the department shall publish the results of the research and model policy required by subsection (2)(a) of this section on its website as guidance for school districts, charter schools, and the charter school institute to consider when developing and implementing bullying prevention and education policies.

(2) Safe school plan. In order to provide a learning environment that is safe, conducive to the learning process, and free from unnecessary disruption, each school district board of education or institute charter school board for a charter school authorized by the charter school institute shall, following consultation with the school district accountability committee and school accountability committees, parents, teachers, administrators, students, student councils where available, and, where appropriate, the community at large, adopt and implement a safe school plan, or review and revise, as necessary in response to any relevant data collected by the school district, any existing plans or policies already in effect. In addition to the aforementioned parties, each school district board of education, in adopting and implementing its safe school plan, may consult with victims' advocacy organizations, school psychologists, local law enforcement, and community partners. The plan, at a minimum, must include the following:

• (a) Conduct and discipline code.

  • (I) [Editor's note: This version of the introductory portion to subsection (2)(a)(I) is effective July 1, 2020.] A concisely written conduct and discipline code that shall be enforced uniformly, fairly, and consistently for all students. Copies of the code shall be provided to each student upon enrollment at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels and shall be posted or kept on file at each public school in the school district. The school district shall take reasonable measures to ensure that each student of each public school in the school district is familiar with the code. The code shall include, but need not be limited to:

    • (A) General policies on student conduct, safety, and welfare;

    • (B) General policies and procedures for dealing with students who cause a disruption on school grounds, in a school vehicle, or at a school activity or sanctioned event, including a specific policy allowing a teacher to remove a disruptive student from his or her classroom. The policy shall state that, upon the third such removal from a teacher's class, the teacher may remove the disruptive student from the teacher's class for the remainder of the term of the class; except that a disruptive student shall not be removed from a teacher's class for the remainder of the term of the class unless the principal of the student's school or his or her designee has developed and implemented a behavior plan for the student. A behavior plan may be developed after the first such removal from class and shall be developed after the second removal from class. The general policies and procedures shall include a due process procedure, which at a minimum shall require that, as soon as possible after a removal, the teacher or the school principal shall contact the parent or legal guardian of the student to request his or her attendance at a student-teacher conference regarding the removal. Any policy or procedure adopted shall comply with applicable federal and state laws, including but not limited to laws regarding students with disabilities.

    • (C) Provisions for the initiation of suspension or expulsion proceedings for students who qualify as habitually disruptive students; ...

    • (II) [Editor's note: This version of the introductory portion to subsection (2)(a)(II) is effective July 1, 2020.] In creating and enforcing a school conduct and discipline code pursuant to subsection (2)(a)(I) of this section, each school district board of education, on and after August 1, 2013, shall:

    • (A) Impose proportionate disciplinary interventions and consequences, including but not limited to in-school suspensions, in response to student misconduct, which interventions and consequences are designed to reduce the number of expulsions, out-of-school suspensions, and referrals to law enforcement, except for such referrals to law enforcement as are required by state or federal law;

    • (B) Include plans for the appropriate use of prevention, intervention, restorative justice, peer mediation, counseling, or other approaches to address student misconduct, which approaches are designed to minimize student exposure to the criminal and juvenile justice system. The plans shall state that a school administration shall not order a victim's participation in a restorative justice practice or peer mediation if the alleged victim of an offending student's misconduct alleges that the misconduct constitutes unlawful sexual behavior, as defined in section 16-22-102 (9), C.R.S.; a crime in which the underlying factual basis involves domestic violence, as defined in section 18-6-800.3 (1), C.R.S.; stalking as defined in section 18-3-602, C.R.S.; or violation of a protection order, as defined in section 18-6-803.5, C.R.S.; [...]

(A) Impose proportionate disciplinary interventions and consequences, including but not limited to in-school suspensions, in response to student misconduct, which interventions and consequences are designed to reduce the number of expulsions, out-of-school suspensions, and referrals to law enforcement, except for such referrals to law enforcement as are required by state or federal law

As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

• (1) "Bullying" shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 22-32-109.1 (1)(b).

• (2) "Cash fund" means the school bullying prevention and education cash fund created in section 22-93-105.

• (3) "Department" means the department of education created and existing pursuant to section 24-1-115, C.R.S.

• (4) "Facility school" means an approved facility school, as defined in section 22-2-402 (1).

• (5) "Program" means the school bullying prevention and education grant program created in section 22-93-102.

• (6) "Public school" means a school of a school district, a district charter school, an institute charter school, or a board of cooperative services, as defined in section 22-5-103.

• (7) "State board" means the state board of education created pursuant to section 1 of article IX of the state constitution.

(1) There is hereby created in the department the school bullying prevention and education grant program. Under the program, on and after July 1, 2012, or not more than ninety days after the promulgation of rules by the state board pursuant to section 22-93-104, whichever is later, a public school, a facility school, or a collaborative group of public schools or facility schools may apply for a grant to fund efforts to reduce the frequency of bullying incidents. The department shall administer the program in consultation with the school safety resource center created in section 24-33.5-1803, C.R.S.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the department shall not be required to implement the provisions of this article until sufficient moneys have been transferred or appropriated to the cash fund.

(3) The department is hereby authorized to hire any employees necessary to carry out the duties associated with the provisions of this article. The creation of any new positions of employment within the department pursuant to this article shall be subject to the availability of sufficient moneys in the cash fund and shall be eliminated when sufficient moneys are no longer available in the cash fund. The department shall ensure that all position descriptions and notices to hire for positions created pursuant to this article clearly state that such positions are subject to the availability of sufficient moneys in the cash fund.

(1) The department shall solicit and review applications from public schools and facility schools for grants pursuant to this section. The department may award grants to public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools for periods of one to three years.

(2) Each application, at a minimum, shall describe how the applicant public school, facility school, or collaborative group of public schools or facility schools will use any awarded grant moneys to reduce the frequency of bullying incidents. Each grant recipient shall use its grant moneys to supplement and not supplant any moneys currently being used by the grant recipient to reduce the frequency of bullying incidents.

(3) The department shall select those public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools that will receive grants pursuant to this section and the duration and amount of each grant. In selecting the grant recipients, the department, at a minimum, shall take into account the criteria established by rules promulgated by the state board pursuant to section 22-93-104 (1)(b).

(4) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), on or before a date specified by rule of the state board pursuant to section 22-93-104 (1)(d), the department shall submit annually to the state board and to the education committees of the senate and house of representatives, or any successor committees, the following information regarding the administration of the program in the preceding year:

• (a) The number of grant recipients that received grants under the program;

• (b) The amount of each grant awarded to each grant recipient;

• (c) The average amount of each grant awarded under the program;

• (d) The number of pupils who are either enrolled at each public school of each grant recipient or receiving services through each facility school of each grant recipient; and

• (e) The source and amount of each gift, grant, and donation received by the department for the implementation of this article pursuant to section 22-93-105 (3)(b).

(5) In selecting grant recipients, the department, to the extent possible, shall ensure that grants are awarded to public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools in a variety of geographic areas of the state.

(6) Each grant recipient shall submit a written report to the department not later than six months after the expiration of the term of the grant concerning the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of each use of grant moneys by the grant recipient in reducing the frequency of bullying incidents.

(1) On or before April 1, 2012, or not more than ninety days after the department receives sufficient moneys to implement this article as described in section 22-93-102 (2), whichever is later, the state board shall promulgate rules for the administration of this article, including but not limited to:

• (a) Application procedures by which public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools may apply for grants pursuant to this article;

• (b) Criteria for the department to apply in selecting the public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools that shall receive grants and determining the amount of grant moneys to be awarded to each grant recipient, which criteria, at a minimum, shall require each grant recipient to:

  • (I) Use awarded grant moneys for purposes that are based upon evidence-based best practices for preventing bullying;

  • (II) Use at least a portion of awarded grant moneys for the purpose of educating students' parents and legal guardians regarding the grant recipient's policies concerning bullying prevention and education and the grant recipient's ongoing efforts to reduce the frequency of bullying incidents; and

  • (III) Adopt a specific policy concerning bullying education and prevention that includes:

    • (A) Provisions for the biennial administration of surveys of students' impressions of the severity of bullying in their schools, the administration of which surveys, at a minimum, shall satisfy the rules promulgated by the state board pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection (1) ...

(1) On or before November 1, 2011, the department shall create a page on its public website at which the department shall continuously make publicly available evidence-based best practices and other resources for educators and other professionals engaged in bullying prevention and education.

(2) The department shall solicit evidence-based best practices and other resources from the school safety resource center created in section 24-33.5-1803, C.R.S.; from school districts; from the state charter school institute established in section 22-30.5-503; and from other state and federal agencies that are concerned with school bullying prevention and education. The department shall review materials that it receives and, as may be appropriate, make such materials available to the public on the website described in subsection (1) of this section.

(h)

• (I) To consult with school districts, schools, and charter schools concerning evidence-based best practices for bullying prevention and education;

• (II) To consult with the department of education concerning its administration of the school bullying prevention and education grant program created in section 22-93-102, C.R.S.; and

• (III) To submit evidence-based best practices for bullying prevention and education to the department of education for the purposes of section 22-93-106, C.R.S.