HB 25-1158

HB 25-1158, also known as the Digital Education Materials bill, aims to ensure that digital research collections used in Colorado public schools are free from advertisements and promotional content. The law requires vendors to remove any ads or links within three days of being notified by school officials, students, parents, or community members if such content is found. Schools must inform these groups about how to report issues and will face penalties if a vendor fails to comply with the removal requirements. Since the bill has been signed into law, it will take effect starting July 1, 2026, for any new contracts made after that date.

Official Summary

A public school contracting entity (entity) that executes a contract on or after July 1, 2026, with a vendor or provider of a curated digital research collection (collection) shall include in the terms of the contract a termination clause stating that the contract is materially breached and that grounds for termination exist if the collection contains advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or uniform resource locators (URLs) and when notified of the advertisement, promotion, or URLs the vendor does not remove the items within 3 days after receiving the notice. All vendors must certify that collections are free of advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or URLs. If a vendor violates the terms of the contract, the entity is entitled to reimbursement and may pursue remedies for breach of contract. A public school employee, contractor, or volunteer shall report, and students, parents, guardians, legal custodians, or community members (interested parties) may report if a collection is found to contain advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or URLs. The report must include the name of the digital collection and the title of the document, the reference number, or keywords used to access the collection. The entity shall notify the vendor or provider and the department of education (department) of each reported incident. The vendor or provider shall remove the advertisements, promotions, or embedded links or URLs within 3 business days after receiving notice. The bill requires public schools to annually notify interested parties of the reporting procedures. Public schools shall include the annual notification on their websites. Public schools may include information on their websites regarding how to make a report. If a public school contracts or enters into an agreement with a public library that promotes a collection, the public school shall annually disclose the details of the contract or agreement by email to the local school district board of education and parents, guardians, or legal custodians of students enrolled in the public school. If any material changes to the contract or agreement occur, the public school shall send an email notification to the local school district board of education, parents, guardians, or legal custodians of students enrolled in the school. The department is required to annually report to the general assembly on the number of reports that occur each year. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

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