Discriminatory Practices in Public Schools

The bill makes it a discriminatory education practice and unlawful for a public school, including a public school that enrolls students in any of grades kindergarten through 12 or a public institution of higher education, or employee of a public school or school district to take certain actions related to access to a public school because of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, or ancestry.

An individual aggrieved by a discriminatory education practice, or the Colorado civil rights commission, a commissioner, or the attorney general on their own motion, may file a charge against the public school (respondent) with the civil rights division (division) in the department of regulatory agencies. A complainant who files a charge may indicate that they are interested in early mediation with the respondent. If the complainant indicates that they are interested in early mediation, the division shall notify the respondent of the charge and that the complainant has requested early mediation. If the respondent wants to engage in early mediation, the division shall facilitate the mediation.

If the charge is not resolved by early mediation, the respondent has up to 60 days to cure any deficiency in its practices that gave rise to the charge. If the director determines that the respondent has cured the deficiency, the director shall dismiss the charge. If the director determines that the respondent has not cured the deficiency, the director, assisted by the division's staff, shall investigate the charge. The division's policies and procedures for investigating and hearing charges of discriminatory or unfair practices, and judicial review, apply.

The Colorado civil rights commission (commission) shall monitor a public school's compliance with the terms of a settlement agreement or commission order.

The division may consult with the department of education on matters related to the structure, governance, and operation of K-12 education and shall provide the department of education with data about discriminatory education practice charges filed with the division each year. The department of education shall employ one or more individuals to serve as a liaison to the division.

The bill requires each public institution of higher education (institution) to designate an individual to serve as the Title VI coordinator for the institution. The Title VI coordinator is responsible for ensuring the institution's compliance with the requirements of Title VI of the federal "Civil Rights Act of 1964", enforcing the institution's Title VI grievance procedures, identifying institutional issues related to Title VI compliance, and aggregating and making publicly available data about alleged violations of Title VI at the institution.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)