C.R.S. Section 22-2-146
Department of education

  • COVID-19-related education loss
  • strategies
  • resources
  • report
  • legislative declaration

(1)

The general assembly finds that:

(a)

Due to the public health risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public schools in Colorado have had to cease in-person instruction for repeated and extended periods of time during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years;

(b)

Research suggests that these periods of remote learning, as well as trauma experienced by students as a result of the pandemic, have had detrimental effects on students’ ability to learn and grow academically and on their ability even to retain the level of learning that they had previously achieved;

(c)

These negative effects have had an even greater impact on students of color, low-income students, and students with disabilities, who are expected to experience a significantly greater loss of learning, thereby exacerbating the academic achievement gaps that existed before the pandemic;

(d)

The school districts and public schools of the state will face significant challenges in trying to compensate for these learning losses and in helping all students to overcome the learning losses they have experienced and advance to grade-level or higher academic achievement;

(e)

There are indications that tutoring services, programs that extend the school day or the school year, and summer school programs may be successful in helping students, especially low-income students, students of color, and students with disabilities, to overcome learning loss and close the achievement gap;

(f)

There are other innovative strategies that some public schools and school districts have been implementing to address learning loss, including home visitation programs through which teachers visit their students’ homes to assist the students and the parents in efforts to overcome learning loss; and

(g)

The department of education can play a crucial role in supporting school districts and public schools by identifying best practices for addressing these learning losses and effective strategies for boosting student learning and closing achievement gaps and by providing a resource bank of model materials and strategies specifically designed to address learning recovery for all students.

(1.5)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

The general assembly further finds that on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed H.R.1319, the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021”, into law. In part, the act provides approximately $122.7 billion in supplemental money to the elementary and secondary emergency education relief fund for distribution to states. Approximately $1.166 billion of that amount is expected to be distributed to Colorado, of which at least $1.05 billion must be distributed to local education providers and $116.6 million will be retained by the state department of education. The act requires the department to use approximately $58 million to address learning recovery, approximately $11.6 million for after-school activities, and approximately $11.6 million for summer learning programs.

(b)

The department is strongly encouraged to use as much as possible of the amount of federal money that the department receives under the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” to fund programs to address learning recovery, which may include intensive tutoring programs, extended-day learning programs, supplemental online courses, summer learning programs, and other programs that are identified by local education providers or have demonstrated success in effectively addressing learning recovery. The department is specifically encouraged to use a portion of the federal money to assist local education providers in accessing supplemental online learning recovery courses for students enrolled in kindergarten through twelfth grade, as described in section 22-5-119 (11).

(2)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

By the fall semester of the 2021-22 school year and continuing thereafter, the department shall identify educational products, strategies, and services that have demonstrated effectiveness in identifying and reversing student learning loss, including those products, strategies, and services that are specifically designed to address learning loss experienced by students of color, low-income students, and students with disabilities. The department shall create and maintain a resource bank of examples of these products, explanations of and instructions for implementing these strategies and services, and models of professional development programs related to using the products and implementing the strategies and services. The department shall ensure that the resource bank includes products, strategies, and services and models of professional development programs that take into account the circumstances of, and are appropriate for implementation by, rural and small rural school districts and charter schools located within rural and small rural school districts.

(b)

The department shall include in the resource bank information concerning public and private nonprofit entities that may partner with school districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools to provide personnel or other resources to assist in implementing strategies to overcome learning loss.

(c)

School districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools may submit to the department descriptions and explanations of strategies, services, and programs that they have implemented, with evidence demonstrating the positive effects achieved through implementing the strategies, services, and programs. The department shall include the submitted examples in the resource bank.

(d)

The resource bank must be available for review by school districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools. To the greatest extent possible within existing resources, the department shall provide technical assistance, upon request, to assist school districts and charter schools in identifying and implementing strategies to address student learning loss.

(3)

The department shall create a report specifying the purposes for which the department used the federal money received pursuant to the federal “Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act”, Pub.L.116-136; the “Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021”, Pub.L.116-260; and the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021”, Pub.L.117-2. At a minimum, the report must identify the total amount that the department received and was authorized to spend at the state level under each act, the purposes for which the department spent the amounts received, the specific amount allotted to each purpose, and any data the department may have concerning the results achieved in using the money for each purpose. On or before December 1, 2021, and on or before December 1 each year thereafter through December 1, 2024, the department shall submit the report to the education committees of the house of representatives and senate, or any successor committees, and post the report on the department’s website. The department shall also present the report as part of the department’s hearing held each January pursuant to section 2-7-203, starting in 2022 and continuing through 2025.

Source: Section 22-2-146 — Department of education - COVID-19-related education loss - strategies - resources - report - legislative declaration, https://leg.­colorado.­gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2023-title-22.­pdf (accessed Oct. 20, 2023).

22‑2‑101
Short title 22‑2‑102
Definitions 22‑2‑103
Department of education 22‑2‑104
Offices and positions - nature 22‑2‑105
State board of education - composition 22‑2‑105.5
State board of education - definitions - vacancies - procedure for filling 22‑2‑106
State board - duties - rules 22‑2‑106.5
State board - duties with regard to student data - memorandum of understanding 22‑2‑107
State board - power 22‑2‑108
Federal financial assistance 22‑2‑109
State board of education - additional duties - teacher standards - principal standards - rules 22‑2‑110
Commissioner of education - oath - qualifications - tenure 22‑2‑111
Commissioner of education - office - records - confidential nature 22‑2‑112
Commissioner - duties - report - legislative declaration 22‑2‑113
Commissioner - powers 22‑2‑113.8
Department of education - additional local revenues - distribution to schools - annual report 22‑2‑114.1
Dropout rates - collection of data on grades seven through twelve 22‑2‑116
Additional power - waiver of reporting requirements - review of reporting requirements 22‑2‑116.5
Department of education - student-level course completion data 22‑2‑117
Additional power - state board - waiver of requirements - rules 22‑2‑119
Department of education - inquiries concerning prospective employees - background investigation fee 22‑2‑119.3
Department of education - educator preparation program students - record check - fee - definitions 22‑2‑119.5
Department of education - duty to report - convictions 22‑2‑122
Grants to schools and school districts 22‑2‑122.5
COVID-19 learning impacts - extended learning opportunities - funding - combined application, reporting, and evaluation process - rules - legislative declaration - definitions - repeal 22‑2‑125
Loan program for capital improvements in growth school districts - use of public school fund 22‑2‑127
Financial literacy - resource bank - technical assistance - definitions - appropriation - repeal 22‑2‑127.1
Stipends for financial aid training - definitions - appropriation - repeal 22‑2‑127.3
Holocaust and genocide studies - resource bank - technical assistance - definitions 22‑2‑127.5
Computer science programs - resource bank 22‑2‑127.7
Marijuana education materials - resource bank - technical assistance 22‑2‑127.9
Mental health education literacy - resource bank - technical assistance 22‑2‑128
Department of education - reciprocal agreements with adjacent states - report 22‑2‑129
Department of education - approved supplemental education services providers - list 22‑2‑130
Supplemental online education grant program - legislative declaration - definitions - creation - eligibility - award - fund 22‑2‑132
Department of education - career and technical education authorization - rules 22‑2‑133
Assessment and identification of students with literacy challenges including dyslexia - training and technical assistance - collaboration with higher education - report 22‑2‑135
Food allergy and anaphylaxis management - rules 22‑2‑136
Additional duty - state board - individual career and academic plans - standards - rules 22‑2‑137
State schools - legislative declaration - feasibility study - authority to contract - funding 22‑2‑138
State environmental education plan - fund created 22‑2‑139
Memorandum of understanding - notification of risk - rules 22‑2‑141
Early literacy assessment tool - request for proposals - software - hardware - training - distribution - legislative declaration 22‑2‑144
Bullying prevention and education policies - short title - study 22‑2‑145
Media literacy - committee - report - strategic plan - resource bank - definition - rules 22‑2‑146
Department of education - COVID-19-related education loss - strategies - resources - report - legislative declaration 22‑2‑146.5
Department of education - improving mathematics outcomes - training and technical assistance - report - definitions 22‑2‑146.6
Colorado academic accelerator grant program - report - rules - definitions 22‑2‑147
Menstrual hygiene products accessibility grant program - eligibility - rules - report - definitions 22‑2‑148
Secondary school student substance use - committee - definitions - repeal 22‑2‑301
Short title 22‑2‑302
Legislative declaration 22‑2‑303
Definitions 22‑2‑304
Education data advisory committee - creation - duties - approval 22‑2‑305
Data dictionary - legislative declaration - creation - contents - report 22‑2‑306
Advance notice - legislative declaration - data collection - data submission changes - website update - submission windows 22‑2‑307
Data reporting requirements - interpretation of federal law - suspension 22‑2‑308
Data reporting requirements - office of legislative legal services 22‑2‑401
Legislative declaration 22‑2‑402
Definitions 22‑2‑403
Office of facility schools - created 22‑2‑404
Facility schools board - created - membership 22‑2‑405
Facility schools office - duties 22‑2‑406
Facility schools board duties - curriculum - graduation standards - report - rules 22‑2‑407
List of approved facility schools - application - criteria - rules 22‑2‑407.5
Facility schools - sustainable model of education for facility students - work group - created - membership - duties - reporting requirements - funding 22‑2‑408
Approved facility schools - funding 22‑2‑409
Notification of risk 22‑2‑410
Administration - licensing - reports 22‑2‑411
Shared operational services grant program - creation - report - rules - definitions - repeal 22‑2‑412
Technical assistance center - creation - definitions 22‑2‑501
Legislative declaration 22‑2‑502
Definitions 22‑2‑503
Teaching and learning conditions survey 22‑2‑504
National certification compensation - definition - study 22‑2‑505
Minority teacher recruitment - short title - legislative declaration - study - report
Green check means up to date. Up to date

Current through Fall 2024

§ 22-2-146’s source at colorado​.gov