Bill Summary:

The act creates the Colorado high-impact tutoring program (program) to provide grant funding to local education providers, as defined in the act to include school districts and charter schools and others, to create high-impact tutoring programs (tutoring programs) to address student learning loss and unfinished learning due to the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado.A local education provider or group of providers may apply to the department of education (department) for a grant. To receive a grant, a local education provider shall apply to the department and shall demonstrate need, as determined by the department, which may include serving low-income or underserved students. The application must also include the local education provider's plan for its tutoring program (program plan), which must include the elements of a tutoring program and must detail how the local education provider will implement the program plan. The department shall review grant applications, and the commissioner of education (commissioner) shall award grants. In awarding grants, the commissioner shall consider the alignment of the local education provider's program plan with the requirements of the tutoring program, the number of students projected to be served, the needs of a rural local education provider for financial or technical support to implement a tutoring program, the cost of implementing the local education provider's tutoring program, the amount of available money for program grants, and any other criteria determined by the commissioner. The state board of education may promulgate rules necessary to implement the program.Each year in which a grant is awarded, the act requires a local education provider receiving a grant to report to the department information concerning the implementation of the tutoring program, including student outcomes. The department shall also report annually to the education committees of the general assembly summarizing local education providers' tutoring programs and student outcomes. The department is not required to implement the program if there is insufficient money to award program grants. The act is repealed July 1, 2026.The act appropriates $4,981,720 and 1.1 FTE to the department of education to implement the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)  

CEA Position Rationale: CEA supports meaningful resources being directed to schools to address disrupted learning. This bill ensures the funds go to the district and has a sunset review to formally evaluate if the program worked. 

Tier: 3