Bill to Enhance Support for Military-Connected Children with Disabilities Passes Committee

SB25-073 would guarantee equal rights to enrollment and access to appropriate services for children with disabilities of active-duty military members

DENVER, CO – A bipartisan bill sponsored by Senator Janice Marchman, D-Loveland, to support children with disabilities of active duty military members passed the Senate Education Committee today with unanimous support. 

Cosponsored by Senator Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, SB25-073 would clarify that Colorado students with disabilities who are children of active duty military members are entitled to the same rights to open enrollment and guaranteed matriculation as any student who lives in the public school district. It would also require school districts and charter schools to ensure those students receive the appropriate services. 

“Changing schools and hopping from one military base to the next is difficult enough, and a lack of timely access to disability services exacerbates those difficulties tenfold,”said Marchman. “No child should be deprived of access to the educational pathways they need because of their background or ability. This bill would give them the support they need to seize every opportunity available to them and ensure every student has  the potential to succeed.”

In addition to ensuring equal right to enrollment and access to necessary services, the bill clarifies guidelines for providing special education services to students who transfer to a Colorado school from another district or from out-of-state as a result of an active duty military member’s order to change stations. It would also require school districts and charter schools to notify incoming military families of the rights of their children to receive special education services.

SB25-073 now moves to the Senate floor for further consideration. Track the bill’s progress HERE.