HB 25-1149

House Bill 25-1149 requires Colorado's state board of education to develop and adopt standards for teaching Black history and culture in K-12 schools. These standards must be incorporated into school curricula within two years, ensuring that students learn about the struggles and contributions of Black Americans across various fields. The bill also establishes an advisory committee to help create these educational materials and recommends funding for content specialists to support this initiative. Since it has been signed into law, Colorado's schools will now have a mandate to teach comprehensive Black history starting in 2025-26.

Official Summary

The act requires the state board of education (state board) to adopt standards related to Black historical and cultural studies (standards). Local education providers shall incorporate the standards into courses for public elementary and secondary school students in the state no later than 2 years after the state board adopts the standards. The act aligns the timeline for the development, adoption, and integration of the standards with the 6-year cycle that the state board of education currently uses for revising the state academic standards. The act creates the Black historical and cultural studies advisory committee (committee) in the department of education (department) to recommend standards and related materials and to provide technical assistance at the request of local education providers implementing the standards. The committee's recommendations must include updates to the state's history and civics standards and must advance developmentally appropriate but comprehensive instruction that features factual accounts of the struggles and contributions of Black Americans in all fields of endeavor. Using the committee's recommendations, the department will create and maintain a resource bank of research-based, scholarly articles and promising program materials and curricula pertaining to Black historical and cultural studies. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $19,225 from the general fund to the department for costs related to content specialists. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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