House approves bill to form trauma‑informed practices work group for school safety, adds charter representation
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Summary
The House passed Senate Bill 27 to create a work group on trauma‑informed practices to improve school safety and student connection. Amendments in the education committee added charter school representation and a petition clause; the bill relies on gifts, grants and donations for initial funding.
The Colorado House on May 3 passed Senate Bill 27, which creates a statewide work group tasked with recommending trauma‑informed practices to address school safety and student connection.
Sponsor Representative Joseph and co-sponsor Representative Gonzales said the bill does not mandate school districts adopt practices; instead the work group will compile expertise and offer guidance. Representative Story successfully offered an amendment (L11) to ensure appointments to the work group are made "with the advice of" relevant statewide associations and agencies and to add a trauma‑informed specialist to the panel.
Committee action also added charter-school representation to the work group and inserted a petition clause as part of an agreement in committee. Sponsors emphasized that the work group will rely on gifts, grants and donations rather than state general fund dollars; Representative Gonzales cited an estimated startup cost in the $50,000–$70,000 range and said the bill would not pull money from the general fund or affect TABOR.
Ending
The bill passed the House and was advanced for third reading. Sponsors said the measure is intended to provide guidance and resources to districts that want to adopt trauma‑informed practices while acknowledging resource constraints in smaller or rural districts.