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Committee debates, then rejects school seclusion bill after amendments clarify monitored seclusion
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Summary
The House Education Committee amended House Bill 11-78 to define “monitored seclusion” and tighten reporting but voted 2-11 to send the bill to the Committee of the Whole; the bill was then postponed indefinitely by reverse roll call.
Representative English brought a strike‑below version of House Bill 11‑78 to the House Education Committee and led the amendment phase that reworked the bill’s definitions and reporting requirements for seclusion in schools.
The committee adopted two amendments on the floor of the committee: L6, which struck a definition passage, and L7, which added a statutory definition of “monitored seclusion” as “an adult’s observation of a student in a space or room through a window or via live video.” Representative English said those changes were intended to reflect stakeholder conversations and to tighten reporting and notification timelines so parents would be informed “by the end of the school day” if monitored seclusion had been used.
During committee discussion members pressed for clarity on the text that requires spaces used for monitored seclusion to be “free of any item with the potential to inflict injury” and on whether doorways or objects could be construed to block egress. Representative English and other members explained the draft mirrors existing CDE administrative rules on seclusion and restraint and that the strike‑below moves some of those rule elements into statute to create clearer obligations for districts.
Committee members also asked about stakeholder outreach. English said she had circulated the strike‑below to groups including CASE and CASB; she reported that several stayed in opposition to an earlier full ban but that the strike‑below represented a narrowed proposal. Members noted the Colorado Education Association wanted an additional employee‑protections amendment (discussed during the hearing) to protect staff who refuse directives to seclude students; Representative English said she planned to amend that language back in if the bill advanced.
The committee voted on a motion to recommend House Bill 11‑78, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The roll call vote failed 2 to 11. Committee staff then announced a motion to postpone the bill indefinitely by reversing the prior roll call; members indicated no objection and the bill was postponed indefinitely.
The debate threaded two clear strands: sponsors and some members sought tighter statutory definitions and reporting to prevent the kind of underreporting families and witnesses described in prior testimony; other members said they supported the policy goals but needed more stakeholder consensus and time to agree on statutory text. Several members urged a broader, longer study of the practice and its alternatives before moving a statutory change into law.
Votes at a glance: L6 (amendment to strike a definition) — adopted by voice; L7 (definition of monitored seclusion) — adopted by voice; L5 as amended (strike‑below) — adopted by voice in committee; Motion to recommend bill to Committee of the Whole — failed 2 to 11; Motion to postpone indefinitely by reversing the roll call — adopted (no objection reported).
