DENVER, Colo. (KOAA) — On Friday, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 125 (SB 125) into law. It strengthens protections for students with disabilities and creates a formal state level complaint process for families when students are denied accommodations.
Colorado Springs resident Ronnie Broyles testified during House and Senate hearings on the legislation, plus provided input while it was being drafted. His daughter, Victoria, was born with spina bifida and has 29 different disabilities.
In 2024, Broyles filed a complaint against Academy School District 20. The complaint said the school district violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
“We won that in July of 2024," Broyles said. "Then we filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, which was settled this past March on amicable terms.”
Broyles hopes the new law will motivate Colorado school districts to "simply do the right thing."
“It codifies large amounts of the IDEA into state law," Broyles said. "It gives the CDE [Colorado Department of Education] teeth now to hold districts accountable when they violate these children’s civil rights.”
Emily Harvey is co-legal director at Disability Law Colorado and helped draft the legislation. She says this new law is about core civil rights for students with disabilities, including equal access to education.
"Historically, the U.S. Department of Education within the Office for Civil Rights has enforced the laws that provide those protections, that office has since been gutted. They still have staff, but not enough staff to address the needs of the community," Harvey said. "This really is a situation where the state needs to step in and make sure that those kids are protected."
According to Harvey, some examples of what the law covers include:
- A student's Section 504 plan not being implemented
- A student not getting equal access to educational services
- Discrimination, retaliation, and harassment based on disability
Prior to signing SB 125, a spokesperson for Governor Polis told News5 that the governor had concerns about how the legislation would be funded.
“The Governor is still reviewing the legislation. He agrees strongly with the premise of the legislation. His concern is specifically related to the lack of funding to do any of the work in the bill. He has expressed concerns about tying funding for fundamental civil rights for children and families to the state receiving adequate donations. Nevertheless, he is exploring options to ensure that if the bill became law, it would be appropriately funded.”
After signing SB 125 into law, Governor Polis addressed funding in a signing statement.
"Unfortunately, SB26-125 charges the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) with enforcement of the law, but only if CDE receives adequate funding in the next two years from gifts, grants, donations, and 'other agreements for resources,' including through contracts with third parties or other state agencies. CDE estimates they will need over $650,000 to operationalize the enforcement program and more than $500,000 annually for on-going staffing to enforce this law."
In the same statement, the governor went on to say that no such funding has been identified. Additionally, he will work with the Colorado Department of Education to submit a FY26-27 supplemental budget request and an FY27-28 budget request to adequately fund this law.
Email Senior Reporter Meghan Glova at meghan.glova@koaa.com.
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