Colorado families who have a student with a disability are one step closer to a new state resource where they will be able to file complaints when they believe a school is discriminating against their child or failing to fulfill specific requirements spelled out in their learning plan.
But whether the state will be able to stand up a team responsible for investigating complaints isn’t a guarantee, even after Gov. Jared Polis on Friday signed Senate Bill 125 into law. It will all come down to whether Colorado can find the money in a penny-pinching budget year.
The new law, which codifies the federal civil rights of students with disabilities into state law, aims to develop an arm under the Colorado Department of Education that can examine allegations of discrimination against schools from parents of kids requiring a 504 plan. Those types of plans, protected by federal law, ensure students with disabilities have equal access to education and equip them with necessary learning accommodations, such as additional testing time or a seat at the front of the classroom.
Proponents of the legislation advocated for a state-level focus on responding to parents’ concerns about their student’s civil rights being violated because of significant cuts to the federal Office for Civil Rights. That office, housed under the U.S. Department of Education, has historically taken the lead on investigations into complaints of discrimination in K-12 schools, including from parents filing a complaint on the basis of disability. But after the Trump administration closed seven of its 12 regional offices and dismissed nearly 300 employees last year, families were left in a lurch, wondering when — or if — the federal government would take a closer look at their cases.
“At this moment in time, we’re seeing a great reduction of civil rights enforcement at the federal level and that includes disability rights,” Emily Harvey, co-legal director at the nonprofit Disability Law Colorado who helped write the legislation, told The Colorado Sun. “And as the federal government steps away from enforcing people’s civil rights, I think states need to step in to make sure that people are protected.”
Harvey said she is optimistic the new law will reinforce the need for schools to follow through on providing kids with resources defined in their 504 plans. It will also give families a new avenue for recourse when schools are not adequately addressing bullying and will hold school officials accountable should they retaliate against a parent fighting for their child’s rights, she added.
Where will the state find $650K in startup costs?
While Polis threw his support behind the legislation, he also raised questions about using gifts, grants and donations — as outlined in the bill — to cover the costs of launching and operating an arm in the state education department that can manage complaints.
The department will need more than $650,000 to hire three staff members who can dig into complaints and enforce the civil rights of students with disabilities. That startup funding will also help the department train local districts and give them resources to inform them on how to adequately serve kids with 504 plans. Additionally, the money will support the state education department in getting critical technology in place to accept and track complaints.
The state education department will also need more than $500,000 every year to pay staff.
In a letter Polis sent to the state Senate on Friday, he wrote that he thinks the state should fund the work and so he plans to work with the education department to ask the General Assembly to cover the budget.
Polis described gifts, grants and donations as a “problematic funding mechanism” for protecting kids with disabilities. He wrote in the letter he believes that it “sets a dangerous precedent for how to fund core government services, especially something as critical as civil rights enforcement, which should never be on-again, off-again” based on whether the agency raises enough money. He said he also worries about the potential for a conflict of interest should the department receive dollars from organizations subject to enforcement.
Funding aside, Polis wrote that he understands the need for families to “have a more easily navigable pathway” to submit complaints to the state. Otherwise, he noted, many families simply decide to not seek help for their complaints and some wait months or years for some kind of resolution.
“As any parent understands,” Polis wrote, “time is of the essence when it comes to ensuring their children receive the services they need to succeed in school.”
The governor’s stamp of approval for the legislation extinguished widespread panic that he would veto it.
The State Board of Education even chimed in with a May 22 letter in which four of the nine board members urged Polis to sign the legislation.
“The concerns that gave rise to this legislation are not theoretical,” the board members wrote. “They reflect the real experiences of Colorado students and families who have struggled to access educational opportunities guaranteed to them under the law. Those students deserve meaningful protections, consistent standards, and confidence that their state will stand behind their rights.”
Jack Johnson, an attorney and the public policy liaison at Disability Law Colorado, said state funding would be the “best and most appropriate funding stream” for the law. Disability Law Colorado also plans to turn to the State Board of Education and the education department to ask about other funding sources that might be available. Bill sponsors and drafters have two years to nail down funding.
The education department will not move forward with hiring employees to take on complaints of discrimination until funding is firmly in place, Johnson said. And he is confident the education department will avoid conflicts of interest should they turn to outside sources of funding, saying plenty of grants exist that would keep them free of any conflicts.
Before families whose children have experienced discrimination in schools tap the state education department for help, the law will require them to first try to work with their school district toward a resolution.
“Rather than have folks get caught up in some state process that isn’t fully baked, we wanted to make sure that they could just go directly to their schools to start the process,” state Sen. Janice Marchman, one of four Democrats to sponsor the bill.
If that doesn’t work, they can then ask the state to swoop in for help.
“They know their rights,” Marchman, of Loveland, said. “They know their kids have rights, but sometimes the schools don’t honor those, and it feels really bad when your rights are not provided to you. And so I’m just hopeful that this results in less bullying, less discrimination, easier access to services, easier conversations between parents, counselors, students and teachers.”