Special Policy Update

• Remote Learning Guidance for 2021-2022
• Administration of Medication and Medical Marijuana
• School Entry Immunization Reporting Requirement
• Concurrent Enrollment 
• Entrance Age Requirements
• State Minimum Wage Clarification
• Announcing Sole Superintendent Finalist
• Further Updates Coming Soon
• What to do with an SPU?

To access the sample policies distributed with this Special Policy Update, click here.

Remote Learning Guidance for 2021-2022

On June 16, 2021, the Colorado Department of Education released finalized guidance concerning remote learning for handling COVID-19 health concerns during the 2021-22 school year. The guidance includes requirements for districts that wish to offer either a 100% remote learning option or a temporary remote learning option.

Districts will need to review CDE’s guidance documents and, if offering a 100% remote learning option, comply with CDE’s required assurances and documentation. Per CDE’s guidance, districts may submit a copy of their local board policy, resolutions, regulations, and/or governance documentation that is adopted specifically to address the implementation of remote learning during the 2021-22 school year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, CASB has updated sample board policy IC/ICA, School Year/School Calendar/Instruction Time and has drafted a Resolution Addressing Remote Learning During the 2021-2022 School Year for boards that wish to offer either a 100% remote learning option or a temporary remote learning option.

Other resources

• CDE, 100% Remote Learning Option (K-12) for the 2021-2022 School Year as a Result of COVID-19 Health Concerns
• CDE, 100% Remote Learning Option (K-12- for the 2021-2022 School Year as a Result of COVID-19: Frequently Asked Questions
• CDE, Best Practices for Temporary Remote Learning Options for the 2021-22 School Year

Administration of Medication and Medical Marijuana

The Colorado Legislature recently passed SB21-056, Expand Cannabis-based Medicine at Schools. Previously, school districts had to allow primary caregivers to possess and administer cannabis-based medicine to a qualified student on school grounds and school principals were given the discretion to allow school personnel to store, possess, administer, or assist in administering medical marijuana to qualified students on school grounds.

This bill removes the discretion from school principals and requires school boards to adopt and implement policies allowing students to possess and self-administer medication that is prescribed by a licensed health care practitioner and authorizing school personnel to volunteer to possess, administer, or assist in administering medical marijuana to qualified students. Boards must also adopt policies regarding actual administration and principals must create a written treatment plan for the administration of medical marijuana for each qualified student.

The bill emphasizes that school personnel are not required to store or administer medical marijuana — they may volunteer to do so — and that personnel may not be retaliated against for refusing to volunteer. The bill also provides disciplinary protection to nurses and school personnel who administer medical marijuana to qualified students on school grounds, as well as civil and criminal immunity to school personnel who act in good faith in administering medical marijuana.

Volunteer school personnel who administer medical marijuana must do so according to the instructions or plan for administration from one of the student’s recommending physicians, including the dosing, timing, and delivery route instructions.

The bill also provides that a district may prohibit a primary caregiver or volunteer school personnel from possessing, administering, or assisting to administer medical marijuana to a qualified student on school grounds only if: 

• the district loses or will lose federal funding as a result of implementing a policy allowing the previously referenced actions; 
• the district can demonstrate a reasonable, documented expectation of lost federal funding based on federal guidance or grant requirements directly as a result of implementing such policy; and 
• the district posts on its website in a conspicuous place a statement regarding this decision.

CASB has updated its Administering Medical Marijuana and CBD in Schools FAQ in addition to updating and creating the following policies:

School Entry Immunization Reporting Requirement

Last summer, the Colorado Legislature passed SB20-163, School Entry Immunization. This bill defines “nonmedical exemption” to mean an immunization exemption based upon a religious belief whose teachings are opposed to immunizations or a personal belief that is opposed to immunizations, and requires parents who want to claim a nonmedical exemption for their student to submit to the school either a certificate of completion of the online education module or a certificate of nonmedical exemption. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has developed standardized forms and a submission process, both of which are posted on its website.

The bill also created a vaccinated-children standard whereby the immunization rate goal for every school is 95% and the bill requires every school to publish its immunization rate and exemption rate for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine on the immunization document and annually distribute it to the parents, legal guardians, and students of the school by February 15, 2021. The new exemption process takes effect the 2021-2022 school year.

Concurrent Enrollment

Last summer, the Colorado Legislature passed SB20-095, Middle School Students Concurrent Enrollment Information. The bill requires local education providers to collaborate with the community college system to provide information to the parents of students enrolled in grades 6 through 8 about concurrent enrollment opportunities available in high school, by the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. This information must be provided to middle school students and their parents/guardians electronically at least once during the school year and once during the summer months.

Entrance Age Requirements

The 2020 Public School Finance Act, HB20-1418, deleted the requirement that first graders must be 6 years old by October 1 for schools to receive funding for these pupils, beginning with the 2020-2021 school year. Instead, all students in grades K-12 must be at least 5 years old as of October 1 in order to be eligible for funding.

CASB updated sample policy JEB, Entrance Age Requirements, in September 2020, and has further revised this sample policy for clarity in response to member feedback; specifically, to address concerns that the previous policy language would allow for children who are five years old to enter first grade without district approval.

State Minimum Wage Clarification

Minimum wage and overtime requirements in Colorado are established and controlled through federal law, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Colorado Constitution. While the FLSA establishes the federal minimum wage which all covered nonexempt employees must be paid, Colorado has also set a minimum wage that exceeds the federal minimum wage.

In 2016, Colorado voters passed Amendment 70, which progressively raised the state minimum wage each year, beginning in 2017, and provides that, "[t]his minimum wage shall be paid to employees who receive the state or federal minimum wage." Colo. Const. art. XVIII, § 15. The FLSA also requires that, in cases where an employee is subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee receives the higher minimum wage. Accordingly, effective January 1, 2021, under the minimum wage requirements set in the Colorado Constitution, all employees must be paid at least $12.32 per hour.

Announcing Sole Superintendent Finalist

The Colorado Legislature recently passed HB21-1051, Public Information Applicants for Public Employment. This bill repealed portions of the Colorado Open Meetings Law (COML) and Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) that stated that if three or fewer applicants for public top executive positions met the minimum qualifications, all applicants must be considered as finalists whose names and applications would be subject to public inspection. Accordingly, school districts may now name one or more finalists for a superintendent opening; naming a sole finalist is now permitted.

While the records of other candidates who were interviewed but named as finalists will remain confidential, certain demographic data — information on a candidate’s race and gender that has been legally requested and voluntarily provided on the candidate’s application and does not include the candidate’s name or other information — is now subject to public inspection under CORA.

Further Updates Coming Soon 

CASB’s policy and member legal departments continue to work diligently to provide our members with pertinent information as well as legal and policy updates resulting from changes to the laws affecting schools.

As the 2021 legislative session adjourned on June 8, CASB will address the remaining 2021 state legislation in forthcoming legal and/or policy updates, including the September 2021 Special Policy Update. Issues to be addressed may include, but are not limited to:

• HB21-1055 - Compensation for School District Board Members
• HB21-1108 - Gender Identity Expression Anti-discrimination
• HB21-1217 - Military Family Open Enrollment in Public Schools
• HB21-1221 - Bullying Prevention and Education in Schools
• SB21-117 - Foster Care Student Services Coordination

What to do with an SPU?

Whether you are a seasoned policy veteran or new to policy work, below are some tips for reviewing the information contained in the CASB SPU. CASB sample policies cannot simply be adopted “as is,” so please consider the following as you plan to update your district’s local policies:

• Review the new or updated sample policies;
• Make decisions on optional language included in the sample policies;
• Add district-specific information;
• Consider local needs and circumstances;
• Engage in board and community conversations;
• Remove CASB note boxes after the board has considered the information contained in the note box;
• Remove the CASB copyright information;
• Consult with legal counsel;
• Present the policies to the board for review and adoption; and
• Call the CASB policy team with any questions!