Concerning requirements related to a federal tax program involving scholarship granting organizations, and, in connection therewith, establishing requirements for a school that receives funds from a scholarship granting organization.
HB26-1292 would create a new article in Colorado law governing schools that receive money from scholarship granting organizations, which the bill defines as organizations using public funding or tax-favored funding to pay student education-related expenses. The bill is tied to a federal tax-credit program enacted in federal law and says that if Colorado voluntarily opts into that program, the state must include every scholarship granting organization that meets federal requirements on the list it submits to the U.S. Treasury. In practical terms, the bill is designed to align Colorado’s participation in the federal program with federal eligibility rules rather than allowing the state to narrow the list of qualifying organizations.
The bill also imposes conditions on any participating school that enrolls a student whose expenses are paid, in whole or in part, by a scholarship granting organization. Those schools would be prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability, special education status, race, ethnicity, religion, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, family composition, age, national origin, ancestry, language proficiency, or socioeconomic status. The bill requires these nondiscrimination rules to be posted publicly and extends explicit compliance obligations to state and federal disability laws, including Section 504, the ADA, IDEA, and Colorado’s Exceptional Children’s Educational Act. Schools could not charge extra tuition or fees for required accommodations or services, but nonpublic schools would still be allowed to preserve their religious mission and instruction.
If a participating school violates the bill’s requirements, the bill creates enforcement mechanisms. An injured party or the scholarship granting organization that provided the funds could seek injunctive relief in court, and the State Board of Education could suspend the school’s eligibility to receive scholarship-funded money for up to five years after finding a violation. The bill therefore adds both private and administrative enforcement tools to ensure compliance by schools that accept these funds.
The bill’s impact on state law would be to add a new regulatory framework in Title 22 for schools participating in a federally connected scholarship funding system, while also directing how Colorado must treat scholarship granting organizations if it chooses to participate in the federal program. It would affect public and nonpublic schools that accept scholarship-funded students, the State Board of Education, scholarship granting organizations, and families using those scholarships. Because the bill is contingent on Colorado voluntarily opting into the federal program, its practical effect would depend on future state participation decisions.
The available legislative history suggests the bill did not advance out of the House Education Committee, where it was postponed indefinitely. With no recorded votes or committee transcript excerpts provided, the overall sentiment appears to have been cautious or unfavorable enough to halt the bill in committee. The main points of contention likely centered on the bill’s regulation of private and religious schools, the breadth of the nondiscrimination and disability-compliance requirements, and the state’s obligation to include all federally eligible scholarship granting organizations if it joins the federal program.
HB26-1292 would add article 2.5 to Title 22 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, creating new requirements for schools that enroll students whose education-related expenses are paid by scholarship granting organizations. It would require the State Board of Education, if Colorado opts into the referenced federal tax-credit program, to include all federally eligible scholarship granting organizations on the list submitted to the U.S. Treasury. It would also impose nondiscrimination, disability-compliance, notice, and enforcement obligations on participating schools, with potential injunctions and suspension of eligibility for noncompliance.
The bill appears to have faced limited support in committee, as reflected by its postponement indefinitely in the House Education Committee and the absence of recorded affirmative progress in the provided history. The bill’s structure suggests an attempt to pair participation in a federal scholarship tax program with civil rights and disability protections, but the committee outcome indicates that members were not prepared to advance it. No transcript is available, so the precise tone of debate is unknown, but the final action suggests skepticism or opposition outweighed support.
The most likely areas of contention are the bill’s application to nonpublic and religious schools, the scope of the nondiscrimination rules, and the requirement that participating schools comply with federal and state disability laws without charging extra fees for accommodations. Another likely issue is the mandate that Colorado include all federally eligible scholarship granting organizations if it opts into the federal program, which could be viewed as limiting state discretion. Supporters would likely emphasize student protections and uniform participation rules, while opponents may focus on private-school autonomy, religious liberty, and the administrative burden of compliance and enforcement.