Colorado § 22-108-104 - Educational support for justice-engaged students - local education provider responsibilities - point-of-contact person - guidance - automatic referral to multi-tiered systems of supports.

§ 22-108-104. Educational support for justice-engaged students - local education provider responsibilities - point-of-contact person - guidance - automatic referral to multi-tiered systems of supports.

(1) Each local education provider in the state shall:

(a) Prominently publish on its website an explanation of services and resources available for justice-engaged students, including the name, phone number, and email address of a point-of-contact person at the local education provider. The information should be easily accessible and offered in multiple languages, as best suits the needs of the demographic makeup of the area in which the local education provider is located.

(b) Designate one person to serve as point of contact for justice-engaged students and their families or caregivers. The point-of-contact person shall respond to inquiries and connect with justice-engaged students and their families or caregivers within three business days after an inquiry, pursuant to the justice-engaged student's bill of rights established in section 22-108-103. For small and rural school districts that are not members of a BOCES, a designated support person within the department may act as a point of contact for the purposes of this section, pursuant to section 22-108-109.

(2) (a) The designated point-of-contact person for each local education provider shall read and understand the guidance developed and provided pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section upon designation as the point of contact. The point-of-contact person shall be knowledgeable about alternative education options and wraparound services available to students enrolled in the local education provider.

(b) The department shall partner with persons involved with justice-engaged students in the state to develop guidance that aligns with the justice-engaged student's bill of rights established in section 22-108-103 and that includes guidance in state attendance laws, cases pertaining to education as a protected property interest, re-entry best practices, the credit transfer process developed pursuant to section 22-108-106, and requirements of the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act", 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400 et seq., as amended, or section 504 of the federal "Rehabilitation Act of 1973", 29 U.S.C. sec. 794, as amended. On or before August 1, 2026, the department shall develop guidance and make it available to local education providers online and in modules for ease of access. Each local education provider shall ensure that the point-of-contact person for the provider has complete understanding of the guidance developed pursuant to this subsection (2)(b) on or before the pupil enrollment count day as defined in section 22-54-103 and maintain the position of a designated point-of-contact person.

(c) The guidance developed pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section is recommended for any person acting as a child welfare education liaison, guardian ad litem, counsel for youth, or other officers who work with youth. The department shall make the guidance publicly available to any youth-serving agency or community-based organization.

(3) The point-of-contact person shall actively engage with justice-engaged students and their families or caregivers to explore alternative solutions for educational attainment before resorting to a denial of access to education pursuant to article 33 of this title 22, and if the local education provider denies the student access to education, the point-of-contact person shall refer the student to the hotline created pursuant to section 22-108-108.

(4) Upon notification or request, a local education provider will work with the team of professionals, including the multi-tiered systems of supports and appropriate intervention teams, families, and justice-engaged students, to ensure a pathway to graduation that is consistent with requirements set forth in sections 22-2-106, 22-2-406, and 22-32-109, including workforce development opportunities, access to alternative educational programming, and mental health and other supports as and if appropriate and available. The team shall develop a plan to guide implementation of these supports.

Source: L. 2024: Entire article added, (HB 24-1216), ch. 314, p. 2111, § 1, effective August 7.