Support for Youth Engaged in the Juvenile Justice System

During the 2024 legislative session, the Colorado legislature passed new legislation focused on the educational supports for youth who have been involved in the juvenile justice system.  

• CDE Summary 
• Full legislation 

CDE will be working to implement the requirements of the new legislation over the 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27 school years.   

While additional guidance and resources will be forthcoming, in the meantime CDE encourages districts to familiarize themselves with the components of the legislation and to make contact information available on their website. 

 Per the legislation, each local education provider has a responsibility to:  

• Designate a point of contact who can support justice-engaged students and their families or caregivers.  This support at a minimum should include understanding the enrollment or transfer process for new students and connecting them to resources as needed. 
• Post the contact information for the point of contact on the district’s website. 

The point of contact will receive additional information from CDE to support their work as it is developed, and CDE will engage with stakeholders in this development process.  In addition, the legislation requires the establishment of a hotline for families, which will be available in the fall of 2026. 

Interagency Workgroup 

CDE is charged with convening an Interagency group to better understand data available on justice engaged youth and make recommendations for reporting.  The group will meet between July 1, 2024 and December 1, 2024.   

Additional information about the workgroup is available at this webpage. 

For questions, contact Johann Liljengren at liljengren_j@cde.state.co.us