First Regular Session
Sixty-second General Assembly
LLS NO. 99-0107.01 Jeff Conway HOUSE BILL 99-1042
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVES Mace and Gotlieb;
also SENATORS Hernandez, Arnold, and Tebedo.
EDUCATION
A BILL FOR AN ACT
101 CONCERNING EVALUATIONS FOR DISABILITIES OF CERTAIN SUSPENDED
102 STUDENTS.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
not necessarily reflect any amendments that may be subsequently
adopted.)
Interim Committee on Dropout Rates in Secondary Schools.
Requires a school district to evaluate a child for any disability while it
prepares a remedial discipline plan. A school district is required to
prepare such a plan following the child's second suspension for
disruption.
Requires that the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian give
written consent for the disability evaluation.
Includes attention deficit disorder ("ADD"), attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder ("ADHD"), and bipolar disorder within the scope
of any disability involving a significant identifiable emotional, perceptual,
or communicative disorder.
1 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
2 SECTION 1. 22-33-106 (1) (c.5) (IV), Colorado Revised
3 Statutes, is amended to read:
4 22-33-106. Grounds for suspension, expulsion, and denial of
5 admission. (1) The following shall be grounds for suspension or
6 expulsion of a child from a public school during a school year:
[ ] denotes HOUSE amendment. { } denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters indicate new material to be added to existing statute.
Dashes through the words indicate material to be deleted from existing statute.
Page 2
1 (c.5) (IV) (A) No child shall be declared to be an habitually
2 disruptive student prior to the development of a remedial discipline plan
3 for the child that shall address the child's disruptive behavior, his or her
4 educational needs, and the goal of keeping the child in school. The
5 remedial discipline plan shall be developed after the second suspension
6 for a material and substantial disruption. The district shall encourage and
7 solicit the full participation of the child's parent, guardian, or legal
8 custodian in the development of the remedial discipline plan.
9 (B) IN THE COURSE OF DEVELOPING THE REMEDIAL DISCIPLINE
10 PLAN PURSUANT TO SUB-SUBPARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBPARAGRAPH (IV),
11 THE DISTRICT SHALL EVALUATE THE CHILD TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE
12 CHILD HAS A DISABILITY AS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 22-20-103 (1.5). SUCH
13 EVALUATION SHALL BE CONDUCTED ONLY WITH THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF
14 THE CHILD'S PARENT, GUARDIAN, OR LEGAL CUSTODIAN. FOR PURPOSES OF
15 THIS SECTION, ANY "SIGNIFICANT IDENTIFIABLE EMOTIONAL DISORDER OR
16 IDENTIFIABLE PERCEPTUAL OR COMMUNICATIVE DISORDERS", AS SET
17 FORTH IN SECTION 22-20-103 (1.5), SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NEED NOT BE
18 LIMITED TO, ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER, ATTENTION DEFICIT
19 HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER, AND BIPOLAR DISORDER.
20 SECTION 2. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds,
21 determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
22 preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.