The Colorado Senate on March 13 passed Senate Bill 1‑43 to regulate the limited use of facial‑recognition services by schools, adding amendments that narrow consent requirements for younger students, permit some safety‑critical operational uses, and create a judicial enforcement pathway in cases of misuse.

Senator Doherty, sponsor of the bill, said the measure balances student privacy — particularly biometric data — with schools’ safety needs after the temporary prohibition in Senate Bill 22‑113 would otherwise expire in July 2025. “We have worked to reach this balance,” Doherty said on the floor.

Floor amendment L11 clarified that for students in kindergarten through fifth grade only a parent or legal guardian’s consent is required for curriculum uses; it also allowed schools to obtain consent at the start of the year for all curriculum uses or before using a new curriculum midyear. The same amendment permits facial‑recognition systems to remain operational where the technology cannot be effectively enabled or disabled without degrading its safety function, but it requires that the system not be used to actively or passively identify individuals unless specified safety circumstances occur.

A second amendment, L12, creates a judicial enforcement mechanism: a judge may issue an injunction or restraining order to prohibit misuse of facial recognition and may order reinstatement of a student or staff member if dismissal was directly caused by misuse; the amendment does not create monetary damages or fines.

Supporters and stakeholders worked on the package. “We truly believe that we have worked to reach this balance,” Doherty said, urging adoption so schools would not return to an unregulated environment. The minority leader, Lundin, described stakeholder negotiation that produced the compromise language and urged an aye vote.

Opponents cautioned about the broader trend of investing in school security technologies; Senator Sullivan argued funding and attention might better address domestic violence and in‑home firearm safety issues than fortifying schools. “We aren't spending billions of dollars to try to solve the domestic violence problem we have in this country,” Sullivan said during debate.

The Senate adopted the bill after the amendments; the clerk recorded “The ayes have it. 1 43 is adopted.”