Signed by Governor John Hickenlooper

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes grants to divide $400,000 between schools for suicide-prevention training.

Highlights:

• Establishes the Crisis and Suicide Prevention Training Grant Program (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that the purpose of the grant program is to provide financial assistance for the provision of comprehensive crisis and suicide prevention training annually, provided grant funding is available, for all teachers and staff at public schools and school districts in Colorado who work directly or indirectly with students (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes the grant program to authorize up to $400,000 in grants per year in varying amounts based on the size and need of the public school or school district (Sec. 2).

• Requires the Department to administer the grant program in consultation with the office of Suicide Prevention and the School Safety Resource Center (Sec. 2).

• Requires the Office of Suicide Prevention and the School Safety Resource Center to, on or before November 1, 2018, make recommendations to the Department for the administration of the grant program, and the department shall adopt formal Training guidelines for the grant program, which includes (Sec. 2):

• Application procedures by which public schools and school districts may apply for a grant; and

• Criteria to utilize in selecting public schools and school districts to receive grants and in determining the amount of grant money to be awarded to each grant recipient.

• Specifies that the criteria must, at a minimum, include the following (Sec. 2):

• That the first priority for grant awards is to provide crisis and suicide prevention training to public schools and school districts that have not previously received such training;

• An Emphasis on providing such training to all staff at the public school or school district, not just educators; and

• A requirement that each application, at a minimum, must describe how the applicant public school or school district while use a grant award to provide comprehensive crisis and suicide prevention training to all educators and staff who have not yet received such training.

• Authorizes the Department to award grants to a public school or school district that had previously received such training if there is money remaining in the fund after grants are made to all public schools or schools districts that applied for a grant and that had not previously received crisis and suicide prevention training (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes grants to divide $400,000 between schools for suicide-prevention training.

Highlights:

• Establishes the Crisis and Suicide Prevention Training Grant Program (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that the purpose of the grant program is to provide financial assistance for the provision of comprehensive crisis and suicide prevention training annually, provided grant funding is available, for all teachers and staff at public schools and school districts in Colorado who work directly or indirectly with students (Sec. 2).

• Authorizes the grant program to authorize up to $400,000 in grants per year in varying amounts based on the size and need of the public school or school district (Sec. 2).

• Requires the Department to administer the grant program in consultation with the office of Suicide Prevention and the School Safety Resource Center (Sec. 2).

• Requires the Office of Suicide Prevention and the School Safety Resource Center to, on or before November 1, 2018, make recommendations to the Department for the administration of the grant program, and the department shall adopt formal Training guidelines for the grant program, which includes (Sec. 2):

• Application procedures by which public schools and school districts may apply for a grant; and

• Criteria to utilize in selecting public schools and school districts to receive grants and in determining the amount of grant money to be awarded to each grant recipient.

• Specifies that the criteria must, at a minimum, include the following (Sec. 2):

• That the first priority for grant awards is to provide crisis and suicide prevention training to public schools and school districts that have not previously received such training;

• An Emphasis on providing such training to all staff at the public school or school district, not just educators; and

• A requirement that each application, at a minimum, must describe how the applicant public school or school district while use a grant award to provide comprehensive crisis and suicide prevention training to all educators and staff who have not yet received such training.

• Authorizes the Department to award grants to a public school or school district that had previously received such training if there is money remaining in the fund after grants are made to all public schools or schools districts that applied for a grant and that had not previously received crisis and suicide prevention training (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text