0.0 STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE The Bullying Prevention and Education Program, 22-93-101 et. seq., C.R.S., requires the State Board of Education to promulgate rules to implement and administer the program. At a minimum, the rules must include: Application procedures by which public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools may apply for grants; 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. 1.0 DEFINITIONS 1.01 For purposes of the bullying prevention and education grant program, "bullying" means any written or verbal expression, or physical or electronic act or gesture, or a pattern thereof, that a reasonable person would believe is intended to coerce, intimidate, or cause any physical, mental, or emotional harm to any student. Bullying is prohibited against any student for any reason, including but not limited to any such behavior that is directed toward a student on the basis of his or her academic performance; or against whom federal and state laws prohibit discrimination upon any of the bases described in section 22-32-109(1)(ll)(I). This definition is not intended to infringe upon any right guaranteed to any person by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and shall not be used to prevent the expression of any religious, political, or philosophical views. 1.02 "Cash Fund" means the school bullying prevention and education cash fund created in section 22-93-105, C.R.S. 1.03 "Department" means the department of education created and existing pursuant to section 24-1-115, C.R.S. 1.04 "Evidence-based best practices" means that the bullying prevention practice is based on research that applies rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge that is relevant to bullying and bullying prevention. 1.05 "Facility Schools" means an approved facility school, as defined in section 22-2-402 (1), C.R.S. 1.06 "Program" means the school bullying prevention and education grant program created in section 22-93-102, C.R.S. 1.07 "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, C.R.S. 1.08 "State Board" means the state board of education created pursuant to section 1 of article IX of the state constitution. 1.09 "Website" means the Department of Education's Bullying Prevention Website as outlined in section 2.0., created pursuant to 22-93-106, C.R.S. 2.0 BULLYING PREVENTION WEBSITE 2.01 The department of education shall maintain a page on its public website pursuant to 22-93-106, C.R.S. 2.01.1 As a part of this website, the department continuously makes publicly available resources and evidence-based best practices in bullying prevention. 2.01.2 Using the website, the department will also continuously make publicly available procedures for the distribution, collection, standardization, and analysis of data collected from surveys of students' impressions of the severity of bullying in their schools for the Bullying Prevention and Education Grant Program. 2.01.2.1 These procedures shall include those to ensure the confidentiality of each student's answers to the survey and to clarify that the completion of a survey shall be voluntary and shall not be required of any student. 2.01.2.2 The website will also provide guidance on survey questions, such as the forms of bullying that the student has experienced, where those incidents occurred, how frequently the student witnessed bullying at his or her school and how frequently the student perceives himself or herself to be a victim of bullying. 3.0 APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND TIMELINE 3.01 As legislated monies are available, the department shall solicit, review, and award grants to public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools for periods of one to three years. 3.02 On an annual basis on a date determined by the Department, public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools interested in obtaining funding shall submit a bullying prevention grant application electronically to the department, using the application form provided by the Department. 3.03 Each application submitted shall include, but need not be limited to the following: 3.03.1 A description of the evidence-based best practices for preventing bullying that applicants plan to implement using the grant moneys, including a description of the evidence supporting the chosen practices that have proven successful in other public schools in the country. These evidence-based practices for bullying prevention may be drawn from the department's bullying prevention website, pursuant to section 2.01.1; 3.03.2 A description of the methods that will be used to ensure sustained implementation of evidence-based best practices in bullying prevention that result in improved outcomes and reduced bullying over time and past the grant period; 3.03.3 A description of how grantees will 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, the grant recipient's ongoing efforts to reduce the frequency of bullying incidents, and the grant recipient's strategies for including families and the community in school bullying prevention. 3.03.4 A description of how grantees will include student leadership and voice in the creation and implementation of bullying prevention strategies. 3.03.5 A description of how the applicant will adopt specific policies concerning bullying education and prevention that includes: 3.03.5.1 Creation or revision of a district safe school plan as indicated in 22-32-109.1; 3.03.5.2 Provisions for the administration of surveys of students' impressions of the severity of bullying in their schools; 3.03.5.3 The designation of a team of persons at each school of the school district who advise the school administration concerning the severity and frequency of bullying incidents; 3.03.5.4 Provisions for adequate due processes and safeguards for students accused of engaging in bullying behaviors. 3.03.6 A description of the procedures for the distribution, collection, standardization, and analysis of student impression survey data collected, and procedures that ensure the confidentiality of each student's answers to the survey, and clarify that the completion of a survey shall be voluntary and shall not be required of any student.. 3.03.6.1 A description of the survey that will be used to ask about how frequently the student witnesses bullying at his or her school and how frequently the student perceives himself or herself to be a victim of bullying; 3.03.6.2 To the extent practicable, grantees may utilize existing forms and procedures, including those outlined on the Bullying Prevention website, to administer surveys; 3.03.6.3 Grantees may use a digital or paper and pencil version of the survey; 3.03.6.4 Grantees are required to implement an active opt in procedure for parents and students for any surveys used as a part of the grantee's program; 3.03.7 A description of the procedures for the distribution, collection, standardization, and analysis of implementation data that indicates the degree to which the school, leadership teams, and school staff implement the evidence-based bullying prevention best practices; and 3.03.8 An explanation of the cost of the bullying prevention program that the applicant(s) plan to implement using the grant moneys and an explanation of how grant funding will be used to supplement and not supplant any funding currently being used on bullying prevention practices already provided to the students, school, families, and community. 4.0 APPLICATION EVALUATION CRITERIA 4.01 In reviewing grant applications to determine which applicants should receive grant funding and the duration and amount of each grant, the Department shall consider the following criteria: 4.01.1 The quality of the evidence-based best practices for preventing bullying that the applicant(s) plans to implement using the grant moneys, including the evidence supporting the chosen practices that have proven successful in other public schools in the country; 4.01.2 The quality of the methods that will be used to ensure sustained implementation of the best practices in bullying prevention that can result in improved outcomes and reduced bullying over time and beyond the grant period; 4.01.3 The quality of the plan for using 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, the grant recipient's ongoing efforts to reduce the frequency of bullying incidents, and the grant recipient's strategies for including families and the community in school bullying prevention; 4.01.4 The quality of the plan for including student leadership and voice in the creation and implementation of bullying prevention strategies; 4.01.5 The quality of the plans to adopt specific policies concerning bullying education and prevention; 4.01.6 The rigor with which the applicant(s) intend(s) to monitor the distribution, collection, standardization, and analysis of survey data collected, and procedures that ensure the confidentiality of each student's answers to the survey and clarify that the completion of a survey shall be voluntary and shall not be required of any student; 4.01.7 The rigor with which the applicant(s) intend(s) to monitor the distribution, collection, standardization, and analysis of implementation data that indicates the degree to which the school, leadership teams, and school staff implement the evidence-based bullying prevention best practices; and 4.01.8 The cost of the bullying prevention best evidence-based practices that the applicant(s) plan to implement using the grant moneys. 5.0 DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING 5.01 Each public school, facility school, and collaborative group of public schools and facility schools funded through the Bullying Prevention and Education Grant Program shall submit annually information to the Department describing the following: 5.01.1 The evidence-based best practices in bullying prevention that the applicant(s) implemented using the grant moneys; 5.01.2 The number and grade levels of students who participated in each of the bullying prevention practices or services provided; 5.01.3 The progress made by the participating public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools in including family and community partnering in school bullying prevention strategies; 5.01.4 The progress made by the participating public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools in adopting specific policies concerning bullying education and prevention; 5.01.5 The progress made by the participating public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools in implementing the evidence-based best practices in bullying prevention with fidelity; and 5.01.6 The progress made by the participating public schools, facility schools, and collaborative groups of public schools and facility schools in reducing the frequency of bullying as indicated by school surveys and other relevant measures. 5.02 On or before May 1, 2017, and each year thereafter as long as monies are available, 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: 5.02.1 The number of grant recipients that received grants under the program; 5.02.2 The amount of each grant awarded to each grant recipient; 5.02.3 The average amount of each grant awarded under the program; 5.02.4 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 5.02.5 The source and amount of each gift, grant, and donation received by the Department for the implementation of the bullying prevention program, pursuant to section 22-93-105 (3) (b), C.R.S.

(1) The general assembly finds that:

• (a) School mental health professionals, including school social workers, positively impact the school environment by working with young students and their families to identify safety-net insecurities, social and emotional skills deficits, instances of abuse and neglect, and mental health challenges;

• (b) Identifying these student issues as early as possible increases the likelihood that problems can be resolved successfully and in a manner that decreases long-term problems with learning and other barriers to student success in the future;

• (c) A pilot program that places a team of school mental health professionals in every pilot program school will allow the team, in partnership with classroom teachers, to provide needed support for young students and their families at a critical time in their education;

• (d) A significant goal of the pilot program is to ensure that students of elementary age receive the right level of necessary services, in the right place, and at the right time;

• (e) Receiving the right level of services, in the right place, and at the right time helps remove the burden placed on teachers to be everything to a student, from therapist to family counselor, and instead allows teachers to return to their primary task: Teaching; and

• (f) The pilot program will enable parents, students, teachers, administrators, and school mental health professionals to create a safe, positive, and successful school learning environment.

(2) Therefore, the general assembly declares that the creation and successful implementation of a Colorado K-5 social and emotional health pilot program could have a profound impact on the early educational and social experiences of kindergarten through fifth-grade students, resulting in those students graduating to middle and high school programs with fewer social, emotional, and behavioral issues; adverse childhood experiences; disciplinary referrals and delinquent conduct; school absences and truancy; and incidences of self-harm.

As used in this article 102, unless the context otherwise requires:

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

• (2) "Pilot program" means the K-5 social and emotional health pilot program, created in section 22-102-104.

• (3) "Pilot school" means a school selected by the department to participate in the pilot program created in section 22-102-104 for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

• (4) "School counselor" means a counselor holding a master's degree in educational counseling and a professional special services license in Colorado with an endorsement in school counseling, including but not limited to the completion of course work in the areas of academic and social emotional development; assessment for social and emotional concerns, including suicide prevention and intervention; crisis intervention; social-emotional prevention programs, including character education and violence prevention; mental health, protective factors for at-risk students, and career awareness, exploration, and planning.

• (5) "School district" means a school district organized and existing pursuant to law but does not include a local college district. "School district" includes the state charter school institute and a board of cooperative services that operates a school.

• (6) "School mental health professional" means a school counselor, a school psychologist, or a school social worker.

• (7) "School psychologist" means a school psychologist holding a master's degree and a professional special services license in Colorado with a school psychologist endorsement.

• (8) "School social worker" means a social worker holding a master's degree and a professional special services license in Colorado with an endorsement in school social work, including but not limited to the completion of course work in the areas of school and special education law, including content covering functional behavior assessment and the development of behavior intervention plans.

(1) There is created the K-5 social and emotional health pilot program in the department to determine the impact of dedicated school mental health professionals in kindergarten through fifth grade in elementary schools that have high-poverty, high-need students. The pilot program is implemented within the selected pilot schools and administered by the department. Operation of the pilot program begins in the 2020-21 school year and continues through the conclusion of the 2022-23 school year, unless the repeal of the pilot program is extended by the general assembly. Pursuant to section 22-102-106, the department shall employ or contract with a pilot program coordinator and contract for preliminary and final program evaluations of the pilot program. The department shall promulgate any rules necessary for the administration of the pilot program.

(2) (a) No later than January 15, 2020, the department shall select up to ten pilot schools to participate in the pilot program. If available appropriations and gifts, grants, or donations are insufficient to fully fund the pilot program, the department may select fewer than ten pilot schools to participate in the pilot program. The department shall select pilot schools that exhibit the characteristics set forth in subsection (2)(b) of this section and that are appropriate test schools to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the pilot program. The pilot schools must demonstrate a willingness to participate in the pilot program and to collect the data and information necessary for the evaluation of the pilot program.

• (b) The department shall select pilot schools, including rural, small, and geographically diverse schools, which schools shall be located in a school district that has a high rate of youth suicide, attempted suicide, or suicidal ideation; have a high-poverty student population and a high percentage of students who experience or may experience food insecurity, as evidenced by the number or percentage of students in the school who are eligible for free and reduced-priced meals; and may include schools:

• (I) In large, metropolitan school districts;

• (II) That have significant ethnic, cultural, and language diversity within their student populations, which may include students from refugee populations;

• (III) That have a high number or density of youth who are students in out-of-home placement, as defined in section 22-32-138;

• (IV) That are in a school district that has a high percentage of students who are adjudicated delinquent; and

• (V) That are in a school district that has a plan in place to recruit, hire, and retain a diverse workforce that reflects the race, ethnicity, and other characteristics of the student body.

• (c) Prior to a selected school implementing the pilot program pursuant to this article 102, the school must notify all parents or legal guardians of students at the school of the school's selection as a pilot school.

(1) In the first and subsequent years of operation of the pilot program, each pilot school shall employ or contract with additional school mental health professionals so that each of grades one through five and the kindergarten program in each pilot school has a school mental health professional dedicated to each grade and the kindergarten program. If a single grade or the kindergarten program has more than two hundred fifty students, additional school mental health professionals must be added to the grade or kindergarten program to maintain a ratio of approximately one school mental health professional per two hundred fifty students, as determined by the pilot school. A small pilot school shall maintain a ratio of approximately one school mental health professional per two hundred fifty students, as determined by the pilot school. At least one of the school mental health professionals at each pilot school must be a school social worker.

(2) The goal of the pilot program is for a school mental health professional to develop an ongoing relationship with pilot school students and to follow those students, to the extent possible, as the students advance through the grades at the pilot school. This will allow the school mental health professional to understand the needs of the students and their families over time and to help address those needs over time, if necessary. To achieve this goal, school mental health professionals may be assigned to a cohort of students by grade or, in a smaller school, by multiple grades. School mental health professionals in each pilot school shall work as a team to address the academic and social-emotional needs of the pilot school's students and to create a safe and positive school learning environment through additional behavioral health supports.

(3) For purposes of implementing this pilot program, the general assembly shall appropriate to the department for distribution to the pilot schools, or to the governing body for the pilot school, the amount of money necessary for the pilot schools to employ or contract with the number of additional school mental health professionals necessary to implement the pilot program, as described in subsection (1) of this section. Throughout the duration of the pilot program, the pilot school must employ or contract with, at the pilot school's expense, the same number of school mental health professionals employed by or contracted with the pilot school during the 2019-20 school year, so that the appropriation to the pilot school for the pilot program supplements, but does not supplant, the pilot school's existing expenditures for school mental health professional positions prior to the operation of the pilot program.

(4) (a) In implementing the pilot program, the school mental health professionals shall work as a team, with each professional providing services to students and offering training and resources to school faculty and administrators that are authorized under the school mental health professional's special services license and endorsement.

• (b) In addition, school mental health professionals shall, consistent with the school mental health professional's job duties and licensure:

• (I) Provide the school with resources to develop and improve the social and emotional health of students, including resources translated into the primary languages of the student population to the extent possible, and create a safe and positive learning environment through additional behavioral health supports; and

• (II) Provide social and emotional skill building in the school and with students in the classroom.

• (c) School mental health professionals may, consistent with the school mental health professional's job duties and licensure:

• (I) Assist students and their families with applying for and obtaining necessary public benefits for which each student and the student's family is eligible;

• (II) Provide services and supports to students who have an individualized education program, as provided in section 22-20-108;

• (III) Consult and coordinate with other school professionals on behalf of students and support families accessing community-based resources as needed and appropriate; and

• (IV) Identify food insecurity, homelessness, and other issues affecting students and make referrals to services within the community, bringing those services into the school setting where possible.

• (d) As appropriate, and to the extent possible, the school mental health professional must provide services or arrange for services to be provided for students at the school and during school hours or when student busing is available.

• (e) Services provided by the school mental health professional to the student must include the student's family and household, where appropriate. The school mental health professional is specifically authorized to make home visits when appropriate under the circumstances and consistent with licensure.

(5) Each pilot school's team of school mental health professionals shall participate in the school's or school district's multi-tiered systems of support process to assist in developing appropriate plans for the mental health and behavioral needs of individual students.

(6) Each pilot school, or each pilot school's governing body, where appropriate, shall collect, transmit, and retain any data and information necessary for the evaluation of the pilot program pursuant to section 22-102-106. Each pilot school shall record the unique student identifier, as defined in section 22-16-103, for all students enrolled in the pilot school.

(7) A student who is home-schooled but who participates in extracurricular activities or athletic programs at a school that is selected as a pilot school is excluded from any data collection or reporting requirements pursuant to this article 102.

(1) The department shall employ or contract with a pilot program coordinator to oversee the implementation of the pilot program across the pilot schools. The pilot program coordinator must be a school social worker who shall work with each pilot school's team of school mental health professionals. The duties of the pilot program coordinator include, at a minimum:

• (a) Coordinating data collection and program evaluation requirements with the professional program evaluator retained pursuant to subsection (2) of this section;

• (b) Serving as a contact person and resource for teams of school mental health professionals in the pilot schools;

• (c) Helping pilot schools identify successful practices for recruiting and retaining mental health professionals;

• (d) Sharing best practices relating to the pilot program and its implementation at the pilot schools; and

• (e) Ensuring fidelity to the goals of the pilot program across the pilot schools.

(2) (a) The department shall select a professional program evaluator to complete a preliminary evaluation of the pilot program on or before September 1, 2022, and a final evaluation of the pilot program to be completed on or before September 1, 2023. The department shall contract with the evaluator prior to the implementation of the pilot program in the pilot schools during the 2020-21 school year to create a process for the collection and transmission of data and information to the evaluator to ensure that the evaluator has the data and information necessary to complete the preliminary and final reports concerning the impact and outcomes of the pilot program. The pilot program evaluator, in conjunction with the department, shall select a group of control schools that have school characteristics and student demographics similar to those of the pilot schools, to serve as a control group for purposes of evaluating the impacts and outcomes of the pilot program on participating students and pilot schools. Data collected for pilot schools and control group schools must include data from school climate and healthy schools surveys for any grade in which such surveys have been created.

• (b) The department shall select a professional program evaluator that has the knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of services provided by the pilot program and the resulting impacts and outcomes of the pilot program on the student cohorts participating in the pilot program. The department is encouraged, but is not required, to contract with a state institution of higher education to complete the evaluation of the pilot program.

• (c) The department and the pilot schools shall cooperate fully with the pilot program evaluator's collection and analysis of data and information relating to the pilot program's impact and outcomes. The department, pilot schools, the pilot program coordinator, and the contracted evaluator shall comply with all state and federal laws relating to the confidentiality of academic and medical records of students and shall provide aggregated data where appropriate.

• (d) The pilot program evaluator shall determine the impact of the pilot program on students' academic, mental, social-emotional, and physical health and well-being. The evaluator shall collect and analyze data relating to student and school outcomes, which outcomes may include:

• (I) The increase or decrease in students' disciplinary referrals, either within the pilot school, or pilot school's district, if relevant, or with law enforcement, and the increase or decrease in students adjudicated delinquent within the pilot school's district;

• (II) The increase or decrease in students' lost instruction time due to disciplinary action or visits to the school nurse or school counselor;

• (III) The increase or decrease in excused and unexcused absences and truancy;

• (IV) The increase or decrease in overall student performance on statewide assessments, by grade;

• (V) The increase or decrease in the student cohorts' grade point average, by grade;

• (VI) The increase in access to supportive services for students and their families, as evidenced by:

• (A) An increase in the number or percentage of students identified as eligible for free or reduced-price meals, by grade;

• (B) An increase in employment outcomes for students' families;

• (C) An increase or decrease in students' food security as demonstrated by an increase or decrease in the number or percentage of students participating in the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program;

• (D) An increase or decrease in the number or percentage of eligible students accessing public benefits;

• (E) An increase or decrease in the pilot schools' awareness of or involvement with domestic violence or child abuse issues affecting students;

• (F) Impact on the school's learning environment and changes to the school climate during the operation of the pilot program and evaluation of school climate;

• (G) The reduction in adverse childhood experiences or the positive resolution of adverse childhood experiences, if available;

• (H) The reduction in youth suicide and attempted suicide; and

• (VII) Any other relevant data and information relating to pilot program outcomes and impacts as determined by the pilot program evaluator.

(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

• (a) "Charter school" means a charter school authorized by a school district pursuant to part 1 of article 30.5 of this title 22 or an institute charter school authorized by the state charter school institute pursuant to part 5 of article 30.5 of this title 22.

• (b) "Program" means the ninth-grade success grant program created in this section.

• (c) "Small rural school district" means a school district in Colorado that the department determines is rural based on the geographic size of the school district and the distance of the school district from the nearest large, urbanized area, and that enrolls fewer than one thousand students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

• (d) "Student group" has the same meaning as provided in section 22-11-103.

• (e) "Success team" means a cross-disciplinary team of ninth-grade teachers and support staff as described in subsection (5) of this section.

(2) (a) There is created in the department the ninth-grade success grant program to provide funding to local education providers and charter schools to implement a ninth-grade success program, as described in subsection (5) of this section, to assist students enrolled in ninth grade to develop the skills they need to successfully persist to high school graduation and succeed in their education and professional careers.

• (b) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, an alternative education campus designated pursuant to section 22-7-604.5 may not apply for or receive money or services through a grant awarded pursuant to this section.

(3) (a) A local education provider or charter school that serves students enrolled in grades nine through twelve and that chooses to apply for a grant through the program must submit a grant application to the department in accordance with rules adopted by the state board. A local education provider or charter school that is selected to receive a grant must, as a condition of accepting the grant, provide a grant match, which may include in-kind contributions, in an amount set by the state board, which amount must not exceed:

• (I) Fifteen percent of the grant amount for a local education provider that is a small rural school district or for a charter school; and

• (II) Twenty-five percent of the grant amount for all other local education providers.

• (b) A grant application at a minimum must include:

• (I) The applicant's four-year graduation rate for the three preceding school years;

  *(II) Whether the applicant has a data system that allows school leaders and teachers real-time access to integrated data concerning a student's behavior, attendance, and grades and allows comparison of the data across demographic categories and student groups;

• (III) For a local education provider, designation of the schools in which the local education provider will use the grant money to implement ninth-grade success teams;

• (IV) Indication of the applicant's ability to provide the required grant match and any type and value of in-kind contribution that the applicant may provide; and

• (V) Any additional information required by rule of the state board that assists the department in determining the likelihood that, in implementing the success teams, the applicant will be successful in improving the success of students enrolled in ninth grade.

(4) The department shall review each of the applications received pursuant to this section and recommend to the state board applicants to receive grants and the amount, duration, and grant match amount of each recommended grant. Beginning in the 2019-20 budget year, the state board, subject to available appropriations, shall award the grants, taking into consideration the recommendations of the department. In awarding a grant, the state board shall specify the amount and duration of the grant and the amount of the grant match, including any type of in-kind contribution, that the grant recipient must provide. The department and the state board in recommending and awarding grants shall prioritize applicants that have a four-year graduation rate that, over the preceding three school years, has consistently ranked within the lowest twenty percent of the four-year graduation rates for public high schools in the state. To the extent practicable, the state board shall also ensure that the grant recipients vary in student population size and are located in urban, suburban, and rural areas throughout the state.

(5) A local education provider or charter school that receives a grant through the program must use the grant money to implement a ninth-grade success program that, at a minimum, must include the following elements:

• (a)

• (I) Creating and implementing a cross-disciplinary success team of ninth-grade teachers and support staff, which must include at least one school counselor, school mental health professional, or school social worker. To the extent practicable, a success team must include all of the ninth-grade teachers who teach core courses, as defined in section 22-11-503.5. The local education provider or charter school shall designate a member of the success team to serve as the success team leader and reduce the team leader's workload to a level that allows the team leader sufficient time to complete the leadership duties, which include team logistics, preparing team meeting agendas, and facilitating team meetings.

• (II) The success team must meet at least every two weeks, to the extent practicable, throughout the school year to collaborate on identifying and implementing strategies to improve outcomes for ninth-grade students who are found to be at risk of dropping out of school before graduation and to address systems-level barriers to success for all ninth-grade students. The strategies must be informed by data concerning, at a minimum, ninth-grade students' behavior, attendance, and grades across demographic categories and student groups. The local education provider or charter school shall allow success team members time during the work day for planning and collaboration or provide incentives to meet outside of the work day.

• (b) Organizing the school staff to ensure that, to the extent practicable, the ninth-grade classes are taught by a single group of teachers who teach only or mostly ninth-grade classes;

• (c) Implementing a data system that provides real-time access to integrated data concerning a student's behavior, attendance, and grades and provides the ability to compare the data across demographic categories and student groups;

• (d) Identifying and prioritizing services for ninth-grade students who are at risk of academic failure in ninth grade;

• (e) Providing instructional support for ninth-grade students including attendance support, content-specific academic interventions, tutoring, course-completion programs, social-emotional learning, and trauma-informed instruction;

• (f) Ensuring that school leadership, guidance counselors, and key members of the success team receive and review data on all incoming ninth-grade students and plan course work and supports for the students based on the data received;

• (g) Ensuring that all ninth-grade teachers receive data concerning the incoming ninth-grade students before the start of the school year and receive professional development concerning how to use the data to inform instruction for the students. To the extent possible, the local education provider or charter school shall ensure that middle school teachers provide information to ninth-grade teachers concerning the incoming ninth-grade students.

• (h) Providing summer orientation for incoming ninth-grade students and their parents to introduce students to the behavioral and academic expectations of high school; and

• (i) Evaluating with rigor the impact of the interventions provided through the ninth-grade success program on student attendance, behavior, course completion, academic results, discipline rates, teacher surveys, student surveys, dropout rates, and graduation rates as the information becomes available for ninth-grade students who receive interventions through the program. ...

(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.

(1) The board of education of each school district shall designate one or more of the employees of the district to act as attendance officer for the district. It is the attendance officer's duty in appropriate cases to counsel with students and parents and investigate the causes of nonattendance and report to the local board of education so as to enforce the provisions of this article which relate to compulsory attendance.

(2) The commissioner of education shall designate an employee of the department of education whose duty it is to assist the individual school districts and to supervise the enforcement of compulsory school attendance for the entire state.

(3) (a) As used in this subsection (3):

• (I) "Child who is habitually truant" means a child who has attained the age of six years on or before August 1 of the year in question and is under the age of seventeen years and who has four unexcused absences from public school in any one month or ten unexcused absences from public school during any school year. Absences due to suspension or expulsion of a child are considered excused absences for purposes of this subsection (3).
• (II) "Local community services group" means the local juvenile services planning committee created pursuant to section 19-2-211, C.R.S., the local collaborative management group created by a memorandum of understanding entered into pursuant to section 24-1.9-102, C.R.S., or another local group of public agencies that collaborate with the school district to identify and provide support services for students.

(b) The board of education of each school district shall adopt and implement policies and procedures concerning elementary and secondary school attendance, including but not limited to policies and procedures to work with children who are habitually truant. The policies and procedures must include provisions for the development of a plan. The plan must be developed with the goal of assisting the child to remain in school and, when practicable, with the full participation of the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian. Appropriate school personnel shall make all reasonable efforts to meet with the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the child to review and evaluate the reasons for the child's truancy. The appropriate school personnel are encouraged to work with the local community services group to develop the plan. The policies and procedures may also include but need not be limited to the following:

• (I) (Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 1808, § 4, effective July 1, 1996.)

• (I.5) Procedures to monitor the attendance of each child enrolled in the school district to identify each child who has a significant number of unexcused absences and to work with the local community services group and the child's parent to identify and address the likely issues underlying the child's truancy, including any nonacademic issues;

• (II) Annually at the beginning of the school year and upon any enrollment during the school year, obtaining from the parent of each child a telephone number or other means of contacting such parent during the school day; and

• (IV) Establishing a system of monitoring individual unexcused absences of children which shall provide that, whenever a child who is enrolled in a public school fails to report to school on a regularly scheduled school day and school personnel have received no indication that the child's parent is aware of the child's absence, school personnel or volunteers under the direction of school personnel shall make a reasonable effort to notify by telephone such parent. Any person who, in good faith, gives or fails to give notice pursuant to this subparagraph (IV) shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, which might otherwise be incurred or imposed and shall have the same immunity with respect to any judicial proceeding which results from such notice or failure to give such notice.

(4) On or before September 15, 2010, and on or before September 15 each year thereafter, the board of education of each school district shall report to the department of education the number of children who are habitually truant, as defined in section 22-33-102 (3.5), for the preceding academic year. The department shall post this information for each school district on its website for the public to access and may post additional information reported by school districts related to truancy.

(5) The department of education may post on its website information concerning effective, research-based, truancy- and dropout-prevention programs for the benefit of school districts.

(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 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.

(1) There is hereby created within the department the school safety resource center to assist schools in preventing, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and crisis situations and to foster positive learning environments. The director of the center shall be appointed by the executive director pursuant to section 13 of article XII of the state constitution.

(2) The center and the director shall exercise their powers and perform their duties and functions under the department and the executive director as if the same were transferred to the department by a type 2 transfer, as such transfer is defined in the "Administrative Organization Act of 1968", article 1 of this title.

(3) The center has the following duties:

• (a) To assist schools in developing and implementing safety and preparedness plans, including but not limited to any such plans that are required by state law or applicable rules of accreditation;

• (b) To assist schools in establishing practices and strategies for use in responding to an emergency or crisis situation;

• (c) To assist schools in developing and establishing prevention and intervention efforts to ensure safe and secure learning environments;

• (d) To conduct regular research and assessment projects to determine the efficacy of statewide and local policies and programming;

• (e) To make information and other resources available to all schools and school officials;

• (f)

• (I) To select at least one but not more than five school districts or regions, with the consent of the affected school district boards of education, to serve as pilot sites during the first year of the center's operation. The center shall evaluate and develop enhanced school safety services to be provided by the center to the pilot sites.

• (II) In selecting the school districts or regions that shall serve as pilot sites pursuant to subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (f), the center shall designate at least one but not more than three schools within each of the pilot sites to participate in a cooperative effort by all such designated schools within the pilot sites to create a first responder school mapping system to provide first responders immediate electronic or digital access to maps of, and other schematic information about, school buildings at such designated schools in the event of an emergency at the designated schools. In creating the first responder school mapping system, the pilot sites may contract with one or more public or private entities with experience in creating first responder school mapping systems. Before entering into any such contract or otherwise proceeding with plans for the creation of the first responder school mapping system, the pilot sites shall submit the contract or plans to the center to approve or disapprove. The department shall reimburse the pilot sites for the direct and indirect costs of creating the first responder school mapping system pursuant to this subparagraph (II).

• (III) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that, for purposes of section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, the development and creation of a first responder school mapping system, pursuant to subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (f), is an important element of improving student safety and may therefore receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution.

• (g) To provide information and resources relating to school safety, school emergency response planning and training, and interoperable communications in schools, as determined by the center, to the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety to be distributed to school districts and schools pursuant to section 24-33.5-1213.4;

• (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.

• (i) Repealed.

• (j) To provide information and resources relating to the development and maintenance of school resource officer programs, as determined by the center, to the division of fire prevention and control in the department of public safety for distribution to school districts and schools pursuant to section 24-33.5-1213.4 and to law enforcement agencies and other community partners, as described in section 22-32-109.1, C.R.S.;

• (k) To provide suggestions for school resource officer training to the peace officers Standard and training board, pursuant to section 24-31-312;

• (l) To provide materials and training as described in section 24-33.5-1809 to personnel in school districts and charter schools, parents, and students regarding the awareness and prevention of child sexual abuse and assault, including human trafficking;

• (m) By June 1, 2018, to make available a model program that conforms with section 22-1-128, regarding the risks and consequences of sexting for school districts to use, which curriculum must include information informing students of the provisions of section 18-7-109, including that, if a student receives a sexually explicit image in violation of section 18-7-109, the student can avoid adjudication as a juvenile delinquent by taking reasonable steps to either destroy or delete or report the initial viewing of the image within seventy-two hours after receiving the image; and

• (n)

• (I) To act as a resource for school districts, public schools, charter schools, and institute charter schools concerning crisis and suicide prevention training; and

• (II) To work collaboratively with the office of suicide prevention in the department of public health and environment concerning the crisis and suicide prevention training grant program created in section 25-1.5-113.

(4) Subject to the provisions of section 13 of article XII of the state constitution, the director shall appoint employees necessary to conduct an efficient center.