House Committee of Reference Report

Committee on Education

All text that will be removed from the bill will be indicated by strikethrough as follows:

This is text that is removed from law.

Text that is added to a bill will be indicated by either all capitals or bold & italic as follows:

  • This all capitals text would be added to law.
  • This is bold & italic text that would be added to law.

April 30, 2026

After consideration on the merits, the Committee recommends the following:

SB26-078     be amended as follows, and as so amended, be referred to the Committee on Appropriations with favorable recommendation:

Page 1, Line 1Amend reengrossed bill, page 3, strike lines 5 through 14 and substitute:

Page 1, Line 2"(3.5) (a)  For institutions of higher education that submit

Page 1, Line 3potential legislative fiscal impacts to the staff of the

Page 1, Line 4legislative council through the department of higher

Page 1, Line 5education, the department of higher education shall grant the

Page 1, Line 6submitting institution of higher education access to the official

Page 1, Line 7responses of the department of higher education and each

Page 1, Line 8submitting institution of higher education at the time that the

Page 1, Line 9fiscal impact information is submitted to the staff of the

Page 1, Line 10legislative council for consideration.".

Page 1, Line 11Page 5, after line 26 insert:

Page 1, Line 12"SECTION 4.  In Colorado Revised Statutes, 23-1-101.1, add

Page 1, Line 13(1.5) as follows:

Page 1, Line 1423-1-101.1.  Definitions.

Page 1, Line 15As used in this article 1, unless the context otherwise requires:

Page 1, Line 16(1.5)  "Data advisory group" means the data advisory

Page 1, Line 17group created in section 23-1-144.".

Page 1, Line 18Renumber succeeding sections accordingly.

Page 1, Line 19Page 6, lines 21 and 22, strike "facilitated by the department".

Page 1, Line 20Page 6, after line 23 insert:

Page 1, Line 21"SECTION 6.  In Colorado Revised Statutes, 23-1-103, amend

Page 2, Line 1(1) introductory portion and (1)(b) as follows:

Page 2, Line 223-1-103.  Advisory committee to the Colorado commission on

Page 2, Line 3higher education.

Page 2, Line 4(1)  There is hereby established an advisory committee to the

Page 2, Line 5commission for the purpose of suggesting solutions for the problems and

Page 2, Line 6needs of higher education and maintaining liaison with the general

Page 2, Line 7assembly and the governing boards for state-supported institutions of

Page 2, Line 8higher education. The advisory committee shall consist consists of not

Page 2, Line 9less than thirteen members, to be designated as follows:

Page 2, Line 10(b)  One member shall be selected and designated by The

Page 2, Line 11commission shall select and designate:

Page 2, Line 12(I)  One member to represent the faculty in the state; and one

Page 2, Line 13member shall be selected and designated by the commission to represent

Page 2, Line 14the students in the state. On and after August 5, 2009, the commission

Page 2, Line 15shall select and designate

Page 2, Line 16(II)  One member who, at the time of designation, is a parent of a

Page 2, Line 17student who is enrolled in a state-supported institution of higher

Page 2, Line 18education in Colorado to represent the parents of students; and

Page 2, Line 19(III)  On and after July 1, 2026, one member who is a current

Page 2, Line 20member of the data advisory group and who works at a public

Page 2, Line 21institution of higher education.".

Page 2, Line 22Renumber succeeding sections accordingly.

Page 2, Line 23Page 8, after line 26 insert:

Page 2, Line 24"SECTION 8.  In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 23-1-144 as

Page 2, Line 25follows:

Page 2, Line 2623-1-144.  Department and commission directives - creation of

Page 2, Line 27data advisory group - development of data policies - definitions.

Page 2, Line 28(1)  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise

Page 2, Line 29requires:

Page 2, Line 30(a)  "Institution of higher education" means:

Page 2, Line 31(I)  A state institution of higher education, as defined in

Page 2, Line 32section 23-18-102 (10);

Page 2, Line 33(II)  A local district college, as defined in section

Page 2, Line 3423-71-102 (1)(a);

Page 2, Line 35(III)  An area technical college, as defined in section

Page 2, Line 3623-60-103 (1); and

Page 2, Line 37(IV)  A participating private institution of higher

Page 2, Line 38education, as defined in section 23-18-102 (7).

Page 2, Line 39(b) (I)  "Statewide institutional and student data" means

Page 2, Line 40data, in any format, provided by an institution of higher

Page 3, Line 1education to the department or another state agency.

Page 3, Line 2(II)  "Statewide institutional and student data" does not

Page 3, Line 3include new data points created through the combination of

Page 3, Line 4institutional and student data with other state administrative

Page 3, Line 5data or publicly available information.

Page 3, Line 6(2) (a)  This subsection (2) codifies the data advisory group

Page 3, Line 7that exists as of the effective date of this section and that is

Page 3, Line 8facilitated by the department. The data advisory group shall

Page 3, Line 9continue to operate to serve in an advisory capacity to the

Page 3, Line 10department and the commission regarding data collection,

Page 3, Line 11reporting, access, and use of statewide institutional and

Page 3, Line 12student data.

Page 3, Line 13(b)  The data advisory group consists of representatives

Page 3, Line 14from institutions of higher education and the department, as

Page 3, Line 15follows:

Page 3, Line 16(I) (A) One representative from each governing board of

Page 3, Line 17a state institution of higher education;

Page 3, Line 18(B)  Governing boards that have a system comprised of

Page 3, Line 19more than one campus may have additional representatives for

Page 3, Line 20each campus and system office;

Page 3, Line 21(II)  At least one representative from the local district

Page 3, Line 22colleges;

Page 3, Line 23(III)  At least one representative from the area technical

Page 3, Line 24colleges;

Page 3, Line 25(IV)  One representative from each participating private

Page 3, Line 26institution of higher education, as defined in section 23-18-102

Page 3, Line 27(7); and

Page 3, Line 28(V)  At least one representative from the department.

Page 3, Line 29(c)  Participation from each institution of higher

Page 3, Line 30education in the data advisory group is voluntary.

Page 3, Line 31(d)  The data advisory group is advisory only and does not

Page 3, Line 32have decision-making or binding authority over the department

Page 3, Line 33or the commission.

Page 3, Line 34(3) (a)  The duties and responsibilities of the data advisory

Page 3, Line 35group include advising on:

Page 3, Line 36(I)  The development and maintenance of policies and

Page 3, Line 37procedures for the collection, storage, and use of statewide

Page 3, Line 38institutional and student data;

Page 3, Line 39(II)  The implementation of new data collection and

Page 3, Line 40reporting requirements resulting from legislation;

Page 3, Line 41(III)  The sharing of statewide institutional and student

Page 3, Line 42data;

Page 3, Line 43(IV)  Legislation that affects institutional data

Page 4, Line 1collection and reporting; and

Page 4, Line 2(V)  The development of guidelines for data aggregation

Page 4, Line 3and suppression within data privacy laws and industry best

Page 4, Line 4practices regarding personally identifying information.

Page 4, Line 5(4) (a)  The commission shall consult with the data

Page 4, Line 6advisory group to establish policies that:

Page 4, Line 7(I)  Include procedures for the data advisory group to

Page 4, Line 8develop and submit recommendations;

Page 4, Line 9(II)  Articulate how the data advisory group will have the

Page 4, Line 10data, reporting, and information necessary to perform their

Page 4, Line 11advisory role;

Page 4, Line 12(III)  Include a process for sharing aggregated statewide

Page 4, Line 13data derived from statewide institutional and student data;

Page 4, Line 14(IV)  Include a process for sharing de-identified statewide

Page 4, Line 15data derived from statewide institutional and student data;

Page 4, Line 16(V)  Include procedures that ensure sufficient time to

Page 4, Line 17review draft reporting and supporting data that is derived from

Page 4, Line 18statewide institutional and student data and that is related to

Page 4, Line 19funding or resource allocation, legislative reports, or

Page 4, Line 20strategic planning; and

Page 4, Line 21(VI)  Ensure that all data and reporting shared between

Page 4, Line 22the department, the data advisory group, and the commission:

Page 4, Line 23(A)  Seeks to maximize data transparency between entities;

Page 4, Line 24(B)  Seeks to minimize the time lapsed between data

Page 4, Line 25submissions and availability of data and reporting;

Page 4, Line 26(C)  Includes data from all participating institutions;

Page 4, Line 27(D)  Provides detail by institution and governing board;

Page 4, Line 28and

Page 4, Line 29(E)  Is sufficient to allow for validation by institutional

Page 4, Line 30staff.

Page 4, Line 31(b)  The commission retains final authority over data

Page 4, Line 32policy and may provide reasoning of final decisions to the data

Page 4, Line 33advisory group.

Page 4, Line 34(c)  To accomplish its duties, the data advisory group shall

Page 4, Line 35meet at least quarterly.".

Page 4, Line 36Renumber succeeding sections accordingly.

Page 4, Line 37Page 10, after line 17 insert:

Page 4, Line 38"SECTION 10.  Effective date. (1)  Except as otherwise provided

Page 4, Line 39in this section, this act takes effect upon passage.

Page 4, Line 40(2)  Section 5 of this act takes effect only if House Bill 26-1029

Page 5, Line 1does not become law, in which case section 4 takes effect upon passage.

Page 5, Line 2(3)  Section 6 of this act takes effect only if House Bill 26-1029

Page 5, Line 3becomes law, in which case section 5 takes effect upon passage or on the

Page 5, Line 4effective date of House Bill 26-1029, whichever is later.".

Page 5, Line 5Renumber succeeding section accordingly.

Page 5, Line 6Strike "part 70 of this article 23," and substitute "article 70 of title

Page 5, Line 723," on: Page 4, line 14; and Page 5, line 13.