Student State Assessment in Social Studies

HOUSE BILL 26-1353

BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Brown and Taggart, Sirota, Goldstein, Story; also SENATOR(S) Amabile and Bridges, Kirkmeyer, Cutter, Exum, Kipp, Kolker, Lindstedt, Marchman, Wallace.

CONCERNING STATE-ADMINISTERED SOCIAL STUDIES ASSESSMENTS, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, REDUCING AN APPROPRIATION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-7-1006.3, amend (l)(a) introductory portion and (l)(a)(III) as follows: 22-7-1006.3. definitions.

State assessments - administration - rules -

(1) (a) Beginning in the 2015-16 school ,ear, The department of education, in collaboration with local education providers, shall administer the state assessments in the instructional areas of English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, as adopted by the state board pursuant to section 22-7-1006, as follows: (III) The department shall administer a state assessment in social

Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of the act.

studies to students enrolled in publie elementary and middle schools thrnughout the state. The department shall seleet the speeifie grades in whieh to administer the state soeial studies assessment, ensuring that students take the state soeial studies assessment onee in elementary sehool and onee in middle sehool. The department shall administer the soeial studies assessment required by this subseetion ( 1)(a)(III) in a repr esentati ve sample ofpublie sehools eaeh sehool year, ensuring that it administers the social studies assessment in eaeh publie sehool at least onee every three years. A sehool distriet, fm one or more of the sehools of the sehool distriet that are not ineluded in the repr esentati v e sample, or a eharter sehool that is not ineluded in the representative sample, may request that the department administer the assessment in the distr iet sehool m eharter sehool. The department shall administer the soeial studies assessment in the requested sehool in the sehool year following the sehool year in whieh it reeeives the request SEVENTH GRADE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

SECTION 2. Appropriation - adjustments to 2026 long bill. (I) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, to implement this act, the cash funds appropriation from the state education fund created in section 17 (4 )(a) of article IX of the state constitution made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2026-27 state fiscal year to the department of education for the statewide assessment program is decreased by $302,835. (2) Subsection (I) of this section does not require a reduction of an appropriation in the annual general appropriation act for the 2026-27 state fiscal year if: (a) The amount of the cash funds appropriation from the state education fund made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2026-27 state fiscal year to the department of education for the statewide assessment program is less than the amount of the adjustment required in subsection (I) of this section; or (b) The annual general appropriation act for the 2026-27 state fiscal year does not include a cash funds appropriation from the state education fund to the department of education for the statewide assessment program.

SECTION 3. Effective date. This act takes effect upon passage;

except that section 2 of this act takes effect only if the annual general appropriation act for the 2026-27 state fiscal year becomes law, in which case section 2 takes effect upon the effective date of this act or of the annual general appropriation act for state fiscal year 2026-27, whichever is later.

SECTION 4. Safety clause. The general assembly finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety or for appropriations for

the support and maintenance of the departments of the state and state institutions.

Julie McCluskie SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

James Rashad Coleman, Sr. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

Vanessa Reilly CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Esther van Mourik SECRETARY OF THE SENATE

APPROVED on Thursday May 28th 2026 at 10:30am (Date and Time)

Jared S. Polis GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO