HOUSE BILL 23-1263
BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Garcia and Young, Amabile, Bacon, Bird,
Bockenfeld, Boesenecker, Brown, deGruy Kennedy, Dickson, Duran, Epps,
Gonzales-Gutierrez, Jodeh, Joseph, Kipp, Lindsay, Lindstedt, Mabrey,
Marshall, Martinez, McLachlan, Michaelson Jenet, Ortiz, Parenti, Sharbini,
Sirota, Story, Titone, Velasco, Weissman, Willford, Woodrow, Bradley,
English, Froelich, Hamrick, Herod, Lieder, Lukens, Ricks, Valdez,
Weinberg, McCluskie, McCormick, Snyder, Vigil;
also SENATOR(S) Zenzinger and Gonzales, Buckner, Danielson,
Hinrichsen, Jaquez Lewis, Kirkmeyer, Moreno, Winter F., Bridges, Cutter,
Exum, Ginal, Hansen, Kolker, Marchman, Mullica, Priola, Roberts,
Rodriguez, Sullivan, Fenberg.
C
ONCERNING TRANSLATING INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR
CHILDREN WHO MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES
.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly
finds and declares that:
(a) The federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act", 20
U.S.C. sec. 1400 et seq., as amended, states that parents, guardians, or legal
NOTE: This bill has been prepared for the signatures of the appropriate legislative
officers and the Governor. To determine whether the Governor has signed the bill
or taken other action on it, please consult the legislative status sheet, the legislative
history, or the Session Laws.
________
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act. custodians shall be a meaningful part of the individualized education
program (IEP) development team;
(b) Meaningful engagement includes the participation of parents,
guardians, or legal custodians, which is possible only if parents or guardians
understand the proposed IEP;
(c) School districts currently cover costs necessary to meaningfully
engage families, which does not include financial support from the federal
government; and
(d) By adding translation services to the "Exceptional Children's
Educational Act" pursuant to article 20 of title 22, Colorado Revised
Statutes, school districts can access resources from the state to support the
translation of IEPs, including draft documents, into the dominant language
spoken in the home of the parents, guardians, or legal custodians receiving
the IEP.
(2) The general assembly finds, therefore, that children who require
an IEP deserve the best chance at success, which includes engaging parents,
guardians, or legal custodians by translating IEPs into the dominant
language spoken in the home of the parents, guardians, or legal custodians.
It also includes engagement between parents, guardians, or legal custodians
and critical school district partners.
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-20-108, add (4.8)
as follows:
22-20-108. Determination of disability - enrollment. (4.8) I
N
DEVELOPING AN
IEP PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (4) OF THIS SECTION FOR A
CHILD WHO IS AN
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER , IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER
REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED BY THE STATE BOARD
, THE IEP SHALL
CONSIDER THE RELATED SERVICES AND PROGRAM OPTIONS THAT PROVIDE
THE CHILD WITH AN APPROPRIATE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR
COMMUNICATION ACCESS
. COMMUNICATION ACCESS MUST INCLUDE ACCESS
TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION PURSUANT TO
TITLE II OF THE FEDERAL
"AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990", 42 U.S.C. SEC. 12131 ET
SEQ
., AS AMENDED. THE IEP TEAM SHALL CONSIDER THE CHILD'S SPECIFIC
COMMUNICATION NEEDS AND
, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, ADDRESS THOSE
NEEDS AS APPROPRIATE IN THE CHILD
'S IEP. IN CONSIDERING THE CHILD'S
PAGE 2-HOUSE BILL 23-1263 NEEDS, THE IEP TEAM MAY TRANSLATE OR CONTRACT WITH A TRANSLATION
SERVICE PROVIDER TO TRANSLATE ANY
IEP DRAFT DOCUMENTS INTO THE
DOMINANT LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN THE HOME OF THE CHILD
'S PARENT,
GUARDIAN, OR LEGAL CUSTODIAN. UPON REQUEST OF THE CHILD'S PARENT,
GUARDIAN, OR LEGAL CUSTODIAN, THE IEP TEAM SHALL TRANSLATE OR
CONTRACT WITH A TRANSLATION SERVICE PROVIDER TO TRANSLATE THE
FINAL
IEP DOCUMENT INTO A WRITTEN TRANSLATION OR AN ORAL
RECORDING IN THE DOMINANT LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN THE HOME OF THE
CHILD
'S PARENT, GUARDIAN, OR LEGAL CUSTODIAN. THE IEP TEAM SHALL
VERBALLY INFORM THE CHILD
'S PARENT, GUARDIAN, OR LEGAL CUSTODIAN
OF THE RIGHT TO REQUEST TRANSLATION SERVICES
.
SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except
that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V
of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act
within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect
unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in
PAGE 3-HOUSE BILL 23-1263 November 2024 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official
declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.
____________________________ ____________________________
Julie McCluskie Steve Fenberg
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE PRESIDENT OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE
____________________________ ____________________________
Robin Jones Cindi L. Markwell
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE SECRETARY OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE
APPROVED________________________________________
(Date and Time)
_________________________________________
Jared S. Polis
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
PAGE 4-HOUSE BILL 23-1263