School Board Member Disqualifying Convictions

Second Regular Session Seventy-fifth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO REENGROSSED This Version Includes All Amendments Adopted in the House of Introduction SENATE BILL 26-166 LLS NO. 26-0968.01 Lindy Schaible x4215 SENATE SPONSORSHIP Benavidez and Kipp, HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Goldstein, Senate Committees House Committees Education A BILL FOR AN ACT CONCERNING SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DISQUALIFYING CONVICTIONS.

Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.

Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law. Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law.

April 28, 2026 Current law disqualifies a person convicted of committing a sexual offense against a child from being a school director of a school district, commonly known as a school board member. The bill adds convictions for crimes of violence and for felony drug offenses involving distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, or sale of a controlled substance to the list of offenses that disqualify a person from being a school board member. The bill specifies that a person is disqualified only for crimes of violence offenses and felony drug offenses committed when the person was an SENATE (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.) 3rd Reading Unamended Bill Summary SENATE Amended 2nd Reading April 27, 2026 adult.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-31-107, amend (5) as follows: 22-31-107. Candidates for school director - call - qualification - nomination - definitions.

(5) (a) (I) Any A person who has been convicted of commission of a sexual offense against a child shall not be IS NOT eligible for the office of school director of a school district. ADDITIONALLY, A PERSON WHO HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING OFFENSES AND WAS EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD OR OLDER AT THE TIME OF THE OFFENSE IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE OFFICE OF SCHOOL DIRECTOR OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT WHEN FEWER THAN TEN YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE PERSON SATISFIED EVERY ASPECT OF THE SENTENCE IMPOSED FOR THE CONVICTION, INCLUDING INCARCERATION, FINANCIAL PENALTIES, AND PAROLE:

(A) A CRIME OF VIOLENCE; OR (B) A FELONY DRUG OFFENSE INVOLVING DISTRIBUTION, MANUFACTURING, DISPENSING, OR SALE.

(II) If a person becomes ineligible pursuant to the terms of this subsection (5) while serving as a school director, a vacancy shall be IS deemed to exist that shall MUST be filled as provided in section

(b) For purposes of AS USED IN this subsection (5), UNLESS THE CONTEXT OTHERWISE REQUIRES:

(I) "CRIME OF VIOLENCE" MEANS AN OFFENSE DESCRIBED IN

SECTION 18-1.3-406, OR AN OFFENSE WITH SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR ELEMENTS UNDER THE LAWS OF ANOTHER STATE, THE UNITED STATES, OR ANY TERRITORY SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

"CRIME OF VIOLENCE" ALSO MEANS ATTEMPT, SOLICITATION, OR CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT ANY OF THE OFFENSES SPECIFIED IN THIS SUBSECTION (5)(b)(I).

(II) "FELONY DRUG OFFENSE INVOLVING DISTRIBUTION, MANUFACTURING, DISPENSING, OR SALE" MEANS A FELONY DRUG OFFENSE DESCRIBED IN PART DISTRIBUTION, MANUFACTURING, DISPENSING, OR SALE OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE OR A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE ANALOG, OR AN OFFENSE WITH SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR ELEMENTS UNDER THE LAWS OF ANOTHER STATE, THE UNITED STATES, OR ANY TERRITORY SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION OF DISTRIBUTION, MANUFACTURING, DISPENSING, OR SALE" ALSO MEANS ATTEMPT, SOLICITATION, OR CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT ANY OF THE OFFENSES SPECIFIED IN THIS SUBSECTION (5)(b)(II).

THE 4 OF ARTICLE 18 OF TITLE 18 INVOLVING UNITED STATES. "FELONY DRUG OFFENSE INVOLVING

(III) "Sexual offense against a child" means any of the offenses described in sections 18-3-305, 18-3-405, 18-3-405.3, 18-3-504 (2), 18-6-301, 18-6-302, 18-6-403, 18-6-404, and 18-7-402 to 18-7-406, C.R.S., and any of the offenses described in sections 18-3-402 to 18-3-404 and 18-7-302, C.R.S., where the victim is less than eighteen years of age 18-6-404, 18-7-302, 18-7-402, 18-7-403, 18-7-404, 18-7-405, AND 18-7-406 WHEN THE VICTIM IS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD, OR AN OFFENSE WITH SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR ELEMENTS UNDER THE LAWS OF ANOTHER STATE, THE UNITED STATES, OR ANY TERRITORY SUBJECT TO SECTIONS THE JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES. "Sexual offense against a child" also means attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any of the offenses specified in this paragraph (b) SUBSECTION (5)(b)(III).

(c) For purposes of this subsection (5), "convicted" includes having pleaded PLEADING guilty or nolo contendere or having received RECEIVING a deferred judgment and sentence; except that a person shall MUST not be deemed to have been convicted if the person has successfully completed a deferred sentence.

SECTION 2. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 12, 2026, if adjournment sine die is on May 13, 2026); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2026 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.