Colorado § 22-1-151 - Key boxes required at schools - contents - immunity - definitions.

§ 22-1-151. Key boxes required at schools - contents - immunity - definitions.

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

(a) "Local education provider" means:

(I) For a school of a school district, including a charter school that enters into a charter contract with a school district pursuant to part 1 of article 30.5 of this title 22, the school district or board of cooperative services;

(II) For a charter school authorized by the state charter school institute pursuant to part 5 of article 30.5 of this title 22, the school;

(III) For a nonpublic school, the school; or

(IV) For any other school, the body responsible for the administration of the school.

(b) "Local law enforcement agency" means a sheriff's office, police department, or town marshal's office.

(c) "School" means a public school in the state that enrolls students in any of grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, including a charter school of a school district, an institute charter school, or a nonpublic school, where students attend the school facilities. "School" does not include a home school.

(2) (a) On or before July 1, 2030, each local education provider shall install at each school of the local education provider at least one exterior key box that meets or exceeds underwriters laboratories standard 1037.

(b) Each key box must be installed at an appropriate location to permit law enforcement officers emergency access to each building and room on the school grounds. The local education provider shall determine the precise location of each key box at a school after consultation with local law enforcement agencies of the jurisdiction in which the school building is located.

(c) Each local education provider shall provide each local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which the school building is located with a key or access code that permits access to the contents of the exterior key box.

(d) This subsection (2) does not require a local education provider to install a new exterior key box at a school that has a key box installed that satisfies the requirements for exterior key boxes set forth in this section.

(3) Each key box required by this section must contain:

(a) The keys and other access control devices necessary to access each building and room on the entire school grounds; and

(b) Accurate maps of the entire school grounds that identify and label:

(I) Access points to each building's interior, including rooms, doors, stairwells, and hallways. The maps must include the identifiers or names utilized by staff and students to identify the rooms, doors, stairwells, and hallways on the map.

(II) Locations of critical utilities, key boxes, automated external defibrillators, trauma kits, and other emergency response aids; and

(III) Areas at or near each building, including parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads, outbuildings, and neighboring properties.

(4) (a) The contents of a key box and the information contained therein is not a public record for the purposes of the "Colorado Open Records Act", part 2 of article 72 of title 24.

(b) An employee of a local education provider or school is immune from civil liability for damages arising out of the installation and use of key boxes required by this section unless the employee acted with gross negligence or bad faith.

(5) Notwithstanding the requirement to install an exterior key box pursuant to this section, a local education provider is not required to install an exterior key box at a school if the school has a key box that does not satisfy the requirements for exterior key boxes set forth in subsection (2) of this section and has an alternative plan and procedures to provide emergency access for local law enforcement to each building and room on the entire school grounds.

(6) Installing an exterior key box at a school as required by this section is a permissible use of a disbursement from the school security disbursement program pursuant to section 24-33.5-1810 (3)(a). Notwithstanding the requirement to install an exterior key box pursuant to this section, a local education provider is not required to install an exterior key box at a school if the local education provider applied for but does not receive a disbursement from the school security disbursement program created in section 24-33.5-1810 that may be used to install an exterior key box at the school.

Source: L. 2026: Entire section added, (SB 26-104), ch. 82, p. 328, § 1, effective August 12.