C.R.S.
Section 24-90-120
Colorado imagination library program
- creation
- request for proposal
- state librarian duties
- report
- legislative declaration
- definitions
(1)
For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:(a)
“County-based affiliate programs” means a local affiliate of the Colorado imagination library program that operates within a county or city and county.(b)
“Eligible child” means a child from birth to the child’s fifth birthday.(c)
“National nonprofit foundation” means a national nonprofit foundation that exists for the sole purpose of working with local entities to identify eligible children and mail age-appropriate, high-quality books each month to those children at no cost to families.(d)
“Program” means the Colorado imagination library program created pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.(2)
No later than December 31, 2021, the state librarian in the department of education shall contract with a Colorado nonprofit organization for the creation and operation of the Colorado imagination library program. The contractor shall:(a)
Exist for the sole purpose of creating and operating the program;(b)
Manage the daily operations of the program, including but not limited to establishing county-based affiliate programs in all Colorado counties and cities and counties and advancing and strengthening the affiliate programs to ensure enrollment growth;(c)
Develop, promote, and coordinate a public awareness campaign in coordination with the department of education to ensure alignment with the “Colorado READ Act”, part 12 of article 7 of title 22, including any public awareness campaign for the “Colorado READ Act”, and to make the public aware of the opportunity to register eligible children to receive free books through the program;(d)
Contract with a national nonprofit foundation to provide age-appropriate, high-quality books each month to eligible children at no cost to families;(e)
Provide for a high-quality independent evaluation of the impact of the program on child and family outcomes, including child literacy and parent and family engagement; and(f)
Establish a distressed affiliate fund using gifts, grants, or donations to help county-based affiliate programs that have financial difficulty meeting the county-based affiliate programs’ funding requirements.(3)
Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), on or before July 1 of the year after the state librarian enters into a contract pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, and each July 1 thereafter, the contractor shall submit a report to the department of education which shall then submit the report to the education committees of the senate and house of representatives, or any successor committees, concerning the total number of eligible children residing in each county or city and county in Colorado and how many eligible children are enrolled in the program in each county or city and county.(4)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
The contractor, in operating the program pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, shall pay to the national nonprofit foundation the statewide cost to provide free books to eligible children enrolled in the program, as determined by the national nonprofit foundation. The general assembly shall annually appropriate money from the general fund to the department of education for the state librarian to distribute to the contractor for the state’s fifty percent share of the cost to provide the books.(b)
Each county-based affiliate program shall pay to the contractor the remainder of the cost, as determined by the national nonprofit foundation, to provide books to the eligible children enrolled in the county or city and county.(5)
The department of education may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the implementation of this section.(6)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
It is the intent of the general assembly to provide full funding by 2026 for any eligible child who wants to participate in the program.(b)
For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the general assembly shall appropriate nine hundred seven thousand one hundred forty dollars for the Colorado imagination library and shall increase the appropriation in subsequent fiscal years as necessary to meet the intention of the general assembly set forth in subsection (6)(a) of this section.(c)
Twenty percent of money appropriated for the 2021-22 state fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, may be used for the contractor operating the program for duties set forth in subsections (2)(a) to (2)(d) and (2)(f) of this section.
Source:
Section 24-90-120 — Colorado imagination library program - creation - request for proposal - state librarian duties - report - legislative declaration - definitions, https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2023-title-24.pdf (accessed Oct. 20, 2023).
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