2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 22 - EDUCATION (§§ 22-1-101 — 22-108-109) › GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE (§§ 22-1-101 — 22-16-112) › Article 2 - DEPARTMENT - COMMISSIONER (§§ 22-2-101 — 22-2-505) › Part 1 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION - COMMISSIONER (§§ 22-2-101 — 22-2-150) › Section 22-2-127.8 - [Effective 8/7/2024] Social media impacts on mental health education literacy - resource bank - technical assistance - reporting

(1)
(a)
The department shall create and maintain a resource bank of existing evidence-based, research-based scholarly articles and promising program materials and curricula pertaining to the mental and physical health impacts of social media use by youth, internet safety, and cybersecurity. The department shall convene a temporary stakeholder group to assist with the creation and development of a plan for ongoing maintenance of the resource bank by the department. The stakeholder group shall also identify avenues for informing local education providers, parents, youth, and the public about the resource bank. The materials and curricula may be used in elementary and secondary schools in the state. To the extent possible, the resource bank materials, scholarly articles, and curricula must be youth-friendly, culturally sensitive, and available in both English and Spanish, and may include internet links to scholarly articles, resources, and materials about the mental and physical health impacts of social media use, internet safety, and cybersecurity from entities that the department finds reliable.
(b)
To create the resource bank described in subsection (1)(a) of this section, the department shall convene a temporary stakeholder group to identify the scholarly articles, materials, and curricula that will be a part of the resource bank.
(c)
The stakeholder group must consist of no more than fifteen members, including a department representative and, when possible, a person or people representing each of the following: Educators; school mental health professionals; parents; youth between the ages of eighteen to twenty-five; public health advocacy non-profits; an expert in technology such as a cybersecurity expert, a representative from a technology industry association, or a technology engineer; and youth mental health professions such as a social worker, child adolescent psychiatrist, or other professional specializing in youth mental health.
(d)
when possible, as part of the resource bank, the department, with assistance from the stakeholder group, shall identify what grade or age-group materials are appropriate for, and when possible, when a material could be used for a standard within the comprehensive health education standards.
(2)
On and after July 1, 2025, the department shall make the materials in the resource bank available without charge to local education providers, professional educators, parents or guardians of youth, students, and community providers. A local education provider is not required to adopt or implement any material or curricula from the resource bank. At the request of a local education provider, the department shall provide technical assistance to the local education provider in designing age-appropriate curricula pertaining to mental health.
(3)
The materials and resources in the resource bank that are available to youth must be developed and updated with input from youth.
(4)
Local education providers are encouraged to report to the department on the effectiveness of the resource bank materials and curricula and to recommend changes to improve the materials and curricula. The department is encouraged to update the resource bank materials and curricula based on recommendations from local education providers, professional educators, parents or guardians of youth, students, and community providers.
(5)
The department shall collect disaggregated data on how often the materials and curricula are accessed and include that information at the department's annual "SMART Act" hearing held pursuant to part 2 of article 7 of title 2.
(6)
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "local education provider" means a school district, a charter school authorized by a school district pursuant to part 1 of article 30.5 of this title 22, a charter school authorized by the state charter school institute pursuant to part 5 of article 30.5 of this title 22, the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind authorized pursuant to section 22-80-102, an approved facility school as defined in section 22-2-402, or a board of cooperative services created and operating pursuant to article 5 of this title 22 that operates one or more public schools.
Added by 2024 Ch. 460,§ 2, eff. 8/7/2024.
2024 Ch. 460, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).