(1) (a) There is hereby created, within the Colorado department of education prevention initiatives unit, the Colorado law-related education program for the purpose of promoting behavior which will reduce through education the incidence of gang or other antisocial behavior and substance abuse by students in the public school system.
(b) Under the program, each school district and facility school in the state is strongly encouraged to implement a law-related education program pursuant to the requirements of this article, which program shall specifically address the development of resistance to antisocial gang behavior and substance abuse without compromising academics.
(2) (a) A law-related education program implemented by a school district or facility school may be designed to promote responsible citizenship and reduce antisocial behavior without compromising academics. Specific grade levels should be determined by school districts and facility schools based on local curricular frameworks and review of what is known about existing and promising programs. All topics addressed in such law-related education program shall be taught in a manner which is appropriate for the ages of the students to be instructed.
(b) The topics for instruction in a law-related education program shall include instruction on the United States constitution and the declaration of independence and may include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(I) The rights and responsibilities of citizenship;
(II) The foundations and principles of American constitutional democracy;
(III) The role of law in American society;
(IV) The organization and purpose of legal and political systems;
(V) The disposition to abide by law;
(VI) The opportunities for responsible participation;
(VII) The alternative dispute resolution approach including mediation and conflict resolution.
(c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2000, p. 372, � 25, effective April 10, 2000.)
(3) and (4) (Deleted by amendment, L. 99, p. 106, � 1, effective March 24, 1999.)
(5) (a) The state board shall promulgate guidelines to provide grants to and to assist school districts and facility schools in the implementation of effective, comprehensive law-related education programs addressing gang awareness and substance abuse resistance. Such guidelines shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(I) Suggested topics for instruction;
(II) Suggested texts and other instructional materials; and
(III) The necessary training for instructors.
(b) The state board shall make such guidelines available to all school districts and facility schools for use in implementing law-related education programs.
(c) The department of education, through the coordinator and staff of the prevention initiatives unit, shall be responsible for implementation, monitoring, and administration of the program and shall maintain certifications and records and act as a statewide clearinghouse for information and assistance for the law-related education programs.
(6) (a) All school districts and facility schools are encouraged to create programs for the training of instructors and administrators in gang awareness and substance abuse resistance education in order to provide effective instruction to students concerning the dangers of gang involvement and substance abuse.
(b) Upon the request of school district officials, the state board shall assist school district officials in the preparation of plans for the creation by school districts of training programs for instructors and administrators in gang awareness and substance abuse resistance education.
(7) (a) Each school district and facility school may prepare an annual report concerning the progress of the school district or facility school in implementing a law-related education program. The report shall be filed with the state board on or before October 1 of each year.
(b) Each annual report prepared pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (7) shall include, but shall not be limited to, an analysis by school district or facility school officials of the effect of the law-related education program on the incidence of gang involvement and substance abuse by the students in the school district or facility school.
Source: L. 94: Entire section added, p. 1257, � 3, effective May 22. L. 99: (3) to (6) amended, p. 106, � 1, effective March 24. L. 2000: IP(2)(b) and (2)(c) amended, p. 372, � 25, effective April 10. L. 2006: (7)(a) amended, p. 598, � 14, effective August 7. L. 2008: Entire section amended, p. 1393, � 27, effective May 27.
22-25-105. Review of local comprehensive health education programs and local student wellness programs - allocation of funds by the state board of education. (1) A school district, facility school, or board of cooperative services that is seeking funding for a local comprehensive health education program or a local student wellness program under this article shall file an application with the department of education in such form as the department of education shall require. An application for a local comprehensive health education program shall include provisions for the implementation of a law-related education program for the purpose of reducing the incidence of gang involvement and substance abuse by students through education.
(2) The commissioner or the commissioner's designee, with the assistance of the executive director of the department of public health and environment or his or her designee, shall review all applications for review of local comprehensive health education programs and local student wellness programs submitted to the department of education.
(3) (a) The state board of education shall establish a review and prioritization process for the allocation of available funds to school districts, boards of cooperative services, and facility schools based upon applications submitted to the department of education and giving due consideration to the guidelines developed pursuant to section 22-25-104 (3). Funding may be made available to districts or facility schools to implement portions of a comprehensive health education program or portions of a local student wellness program that are coordinated with health education, according to the needs of the individual school district or facility school. Pursuant to the review and prioritization process, the state board of education shall allocate available funds to the applying school districts, boards of cooperative services, and facility schools based on whether the state board of education finds that a school district, a board of cooperative services, or a facility school has planned or developed a local comprehensive health education program or a local school wellness program that will serve the objectives of this article. Funding for local comprehensive health education programs and local school wellness programs may include, but shall not be limited to, the implementation of training programs, in-service education institutes, and curriculum development programs for staff who shall instruct in comprehensive health education or for staff who shall instruct in or otherwise provide services through student wellness programs that are coordinated with health education. The state board of education shall not allocate funds to school districts, boards of cooperative services, or facility schools pursuant to the provisions of this subsection (3) until the department determines the amount of money that will be available for allocation.
(b) If sufficient moneys are not available to fund programs in every school district, the department may establish pilot programs for school districts that express an interest in developing or expanding a local comprehensive health education program or one or more components of a local student wellness program, which components include and are coordinated with health education, and in which districts there is a need for a program.
(c) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2010, (SB 10-151), ch. 109, p. 364, � 1, effective July 1, 2010.)
(4) (a) A school district may receive funding for a local student wellness program only if it includes or is otherwise coordinated with health education.
(b) A school district or board of cooperative services may receive funding for a local student wellness program that includes physical education only if each person who teaches one or more physical education courses in the school district or for the board of cooperative services is licensed and endorsed pursuant to article 60.5 of this title in physical education; except that this requirement shall not apply to a school district that enrolls one thousand five hundred or fewer students.
Source: L. 90: Entire article R&RE, p. 1095, � 62, effective May 31. L. 94: (1) amended, p. 1261, � 4, effective May 22; (2) amended, p. 2738, � 368, effective July 1. L. 2008: Entire section amended, p. 1394, � 28, effective May 27; entire section amended, p. 674, � 5, effective August 5. L. 2010: (3) amended, (SB 10-151), ch. 109, p. 364, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2023: (3)(a) amended, (SB 23-023), ch. 25, p. 89, � 3, effective August 7.
Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former � 22-25-107 as it existed prior to 1990.
(2) Amendments to this section by House Bill 08-1204 and House Bill 08-1224 were harmonized.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 1994 act amending subsection (2), see section 1 of chapter 345, Session Laws of Colorado 1994.
22-25-106. Local comprehensive health education programs - local student wellness programs - establishment of comprehensive health education advisory councils. (1) (a) Each school district and board of cooperative services may and is encouraged to establish a local comprehensive health education program. To ensure that a local comprehensive health education program reflects the health issues and values of the community, each school district or board of cooperative services may establish a comprehensive health education advisory council, or may add necessary representatives to the school district's accountability committee created pursuant to section 22-11-301 or other appropriate committee, to address and make recommendations to the school district or board of cooperative services concerning the curriculum of the local comprehensive health education program.
(b) Each school district and board of cooperative services is further encouraged to establish a local student wellness program that includes or is otherwise coordinated with health education. A school district's or board of cooperative services' comprehensive health education advisory council or accountability committee may address and make recommendations to the school district or the board of cooperative services concerning the local student wellness program, including but not limited to the programs to be provided and best practices and strategies for involving families and the community in the local student wellness programs.
(2) In establishing a comprehensive health education advisory council or in supplementing an accountability committee or other appropriate committee, the board of a school district or board of cooperative services is encouraged to appoint members of the community who represent various points of view within the school district concerning comprehensive health education; however, a majority of the committee shall be comprised of parents of children enrolled in the district. Members may include, but shall not be limited to, parents, a member of the clergy, teachers, school administrators, pupils, health-care professionals, members of the business community, law enforcement representatives, senior citizens, and other interested residents of the school district.
(3) In addition to the requirements of section 22-25-104 (3), each school district and board of cooperative services is encouraged to include instruction in its local comprehensive health education program which:
(a) Promotes parental involvement, promotes abstinence from high-risk behaviors, fosters positive self-concepts, develops decision-making skills, and provides mechanisms for coping with and resisting peer pressure;
(b) Focuses on the dynamic relationship among physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being; and
(c) Integrates available community resources into the educational program.
(4) (a) Each local comprehensive health education program which is adopted by a school district or board of cooperative services shall include a procedure to exempt a student, upon request of the parent or guardian of such student, from a specific portion of the program on the grounds that it is contrary to the religious beliefs and teachings of the student or the student's parent or guardian.
(b) Any local school district or board of cooperative services which adopts a local comprehensive health education program shall ensure that at a minimum the following public information requirements are met:
(I) Written notification of such local comprehensive health education program shall be given to the parents or guardians of all students within such school district or board of cooperative services, including notification that a student is allowed an exemption which permits such a student, at the request of the parent or guardian of the student, to be excused from all or any part of the local comprehensive health education program; and
(II) The curriculum and materials to be used shall be made available for public inspection at reasonable times and reasonable hours and a public forum to receive public comment upon such curriculum and materials shall be held.
Source: L. 90: Entire article R&RE, p. 1096, � 62, effective May 31. L. 92: (4) amended, p. 550, � 28, effective May 28. L. 2002: (1) and (2) amended, p. 1018, � 27, effective June 1. L. 2008: (1) amended, p. 675, � 6, effective August 5. L. 2009: (1)(a) amended, (SB 09-163), ch. 293, p. 1533, � 20, effective May 21. L. 2023: IP(3) amended, (SB 23-023), ch. 25, p. 89, � 4, effective August 7.