Registry in Colorado Department of Education for School Personnel
Summary
SB 55 would create a centralized registry within the Colorado Department of Education to track disciplinary records for school personnel who have been found to have engaged in misconduct. The bill defines misconduct broadly as conduct that violates a school district’s conduct and discipline code or an employee contract, and it applies to teachers, administrators, school resource officers, and other school employees.
Under the bill, each school would be required to report covered disciplinary actions to the department within 30 days. The registry would include the employee’s name, date of birth, employing school district, and pertinent disciplinary record. The Department of Education would be responsible for creating and maintaining the registry, and access would be limited to administrators only.
Impact
The bill would add a new Part 5 to article 63 of title 22 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, establishing a statewide school personnel disciplinary records registry. It would impose a reporting obligation on schools and school districts, create a new state-level database managed by the Department of Education, and restrict access to the registry to administrators. If enacted, it would affect hiring, retention, and internal discipline practices for public schools and school districts by making disciplinary history more centralized and visible to school leadership.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the bill faced significant resistance in committee. On February 24, 2026, the Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee first voted 2-2 on a motion to refer the bill to Appropriations, and then used a reverse roll call to postpone the bill indefinitely, which indicates the measure did not advance. No committee transcript is available, so the record shows procedural opposition rather than detailed public debate.
Contention
The main point of contention appears to be whether the state should create and maintain a centralized disciplinary registry for school personnel and limit access to administrators. Supporters likely view the registry as a tool for improving school safety, transparency, and hiring decisions, while opponents may be concerned about privacy, due process, the breadth of the misconduct definition, administrative burden on schools, and the potential for misuse or overreach in personnel records. The 2-2 committee split and subsequent indefinite postponement indicate the bill was controversial and lacked sufficient support to move forward.