2017 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 26 - Human Services Code
Article 6.8 - Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program
§ 26-6.8-105. Colorado student dropout prevention and intervention program

(1) Short title. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Colorado Student Dropout Prevention and Intervention Act".

(2) Legislative declaration. The general assembly hereby finds that:

(a) During the last decade, over one hundred thousand students in Colorado left school without successfully completing a high school program;

(b) In 1996, three million six hundred thousand young adults in the United States were neither enrolled in school nor had they completed a high school program;

(c) In the 1995-1996 academic year, approximately thirteen thousand students withdrew from Colorado schools prior to receiving a diploma, resulting in a four percent dropout rate;

(d) Of those students who withdrew from Colorado schools prior to receiving a diploma, approximately five thousand nine hundred were minority students;

(e) The dropout rate of minority students in Colorado is significantly greater than that of nonminority students;

(f) Numerous factors, including socioeconomic background, lack of adult support, and the inability to communicate well in English, influence a student's decision to drop out of school;

(g) Research has shown that, compared with high school graduates, relatively more dropouts are unemployed, and those dropouts who do succeed in finding work tend to earn less money than high school graduates; and

(h) High school dropouts are more likely to apply for and receive public assistance than high school graduates.

(3) Definitions. For purposes of this section, "at-risk students" means students in secondary schools who are at risk of dropping out of school because of their socioeconomic background, lack of adult support, language barriers, or other identified indicators that cause students to drop out of school.

(4) Colorado student dropout prevention and intervention program. There is created the Colorado student dropout prevention and intervention program in the Tony Grampsas youth services program to provide services to at-risk students and their families in an effort to reduce the dropout rate in secondary schools through an appropriate combination of academic and extracurricular activities designed to enhance the overall education and edification of students in secondary schools.

(5) Administration. (a) The state department shall administer the student dropout prevention and intervention program. Subject to the designation in paragraph (b) of this subsection (5), the board shall select those entities that will receive grants through the student dropout prevention and intervention program and the amount of each grant. In addition, the state department shall monitor the effectiveness of programs that receive funds through the student dropout prevention and intervention program. To be eligible for grants from the board for the provision of student dropout prevention and intervention programs targeting at-risk students, an entity shall apply to the board in accordance with the timelines and guidelines adopted by the board pursuant to section 26-6.8-103.

(b) Any moneys awarded by the board shall be paid from moneys appropriated out of the general fund for the Tony Grampsas youth services program. Each year no less than ten percent of the total appropriation from the general fund shall be designated and used exclusively for programs specifically designed to prevent students from dropping out of secondary schools; except that, commencing in fiscal year 2004-05 and in each fiscal year thereafter, no less than twenty percent of the total appropriation shall be designated and used exclusively for such purpose.

(6) Receipt of moneys. (a) The executive director may accept on behalf of the state any funds, grants, gifts, or donations from any private or public source for the purpose of implementing student dropout prevention and intervention programs pursuant to this section; except that the executive director shall not accept funds, grants, gifts, or donations if the conditions attached thereto require the expenditure thereof in a manner contrary to law.

(b) All private and public moneys received through funds, grants, gifts, or donations pursuant to this subsection (6) shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the student dropout prevention and intervention fund, which fund is hereby created. The moneys in the fund are subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly for the direct and indirect costs associated with the administration of this section. The executive director may expend moneys appropriated to the state department from the fund to provide a grant for implementing and administering a student dropout prevention and intervention program. All investment earnings derived from the deposit and investment of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Any moneys not appropriated shall remain in the fund and shall not be transferred or revert to the general fund of the state at the end of any fiscal year.