(1) Those courts having jurisdiction over
juvenile matters in a judicial district shall have original jurisdiction over all matters
arising out of the provisions of this article.
(1.5) (a) All proceedings brought under this article shall be commenced in the
judicial district in which the child resides or is present.
(b) When proceedings commence under this article in a judicial district other
than that of the child's residence or when the child changes his or her judicial
district of residence after a proceeding under this article commences, the court in
which proceedings commenced may, on its own motion or on the motion of any
interested party, transfer the case to the court in the judicial district where the
child resides.
(c) When a court transfers venue pursuant to paragraph (b) of this
subsection (1.5), the court shall transmit all documents and reports, or certified
copies thereof, to the receiving court, which court shall proceed with the case as if
the petition had been originally filed in that court.
(2) Within five business days after a board of education's determination to
uphold an expulsion or denial of admission, the board of education shall issue a
written order providing notice of the decision. If a student or the student's parent,
guardian, or legal custodian desires court review of an order of the board of
education issued pursuant to this article 33, the student or the student's parent,
guardian, or legal custodian must notify the board of education in writing within five
business days after receiving official notice of the board of education's action. The
board of education shall issue, or cause to be issued, to the student or the student's
parent, guardian, or legal custodian a statement of the reasons for the board of
education's action within five business days. Upon receiving the notice from the
student or the student's parent, guardian, or legal custodian, the board of education
shall provide a complete and accurate copy of the expulsion record to the student
or the student's parent, guardian, or legal custodian within five business days.
Within ten business days after receiving the board of education's expulsion record,
the student or the student's parent, guardian, or legal custodian may file with the
court a petition requesting that the order of the board of education be set aside, to
which must be appended the statement of the board of education. No docket or
other fees are collected by the court in connection with this proceeding.
(3) After the petition is filed, the court shall notify the board of education
and shall hold a hearing on the matter within twenty-one calendar days. The court
shall conduct judicial review of a hearing decision pursuant to rule 106 (a)(4) of the
Colorado rules of civil procedure and rule 3.8 of the Colorado rules of juvenile
procedure.
(4) It is the duty of the attorney for the school district, an employee
authorized by the local board of education pursuant to section 13-1-127 (7), C.R.S.,
to represent the school district in truancy proceedings, the attendance officer
designated by the local board of education, or the local board of education to
initiate, when appropriate, proceedings for the enforcement of the compulsory
attendance provisions of this article upon request by the attendance officer of the
district or of the state.
(5) (a) It is the intent of the general assembly that, in enforcing the
compulsory school attendance requirements of this article, a school district shall
employ best practices and research-based strategies to minimize the need for court
action and the risk that a court will issue detention orders against a child or parent.
(b) A school district shall initiate court proceedings to compel a child and the
child's parent to comply with the attendance requirements specified in this article
but only as a last-resort approach to address the child's truancy and only if a child
continues to be habitually truant after school or school district personnel have
created and implemented a plan pursuant to section 22-33-107 (3) to improve the
child's school attendance.
(c) Before initiating court proceedings to compel compliance with the
attendance requirements specified in this article, the school district shall give the
child and the child's parent written notice that the school district will initiate
proceedings if the child does not comply with the attendance requirements of this
article. The school district may combine the notice and summons. If combined, the
petition must state the date on which the school district will initiate proceedings,
which date must not be less than five days after the date of the notice and
summons. The notice must state the provisions of this article with which compliance
is required and must state that the school district will not initiate proceedings if the
child complies with the identified provisions before the proceedings are filed.
(d) If a school district initiates court proceedings pursuant to this subsection
(5), the school district, at a minimum, must submit to the court evidence of:
(I) The child's attendance record prior to and after the point at which the
child was identified as habitually truant;
(II) Whether the child was identified as chronically absent and, if so, the
strategies the school district used to improve the child's attendance;
(III) The interventions and strategies used to improve the child's attendance
before school or school district personnel created the child's plan described in
section 22-33-107 (3); and
(IV) The child's plan and the efforts of the child, the child's parent, and
school or school district personnel to implement the plan.
(6) The court before which a proceeding to compel attendance is brought
may issue, in its discretion, an order against the child or the child's parent or both
compelling the child to attend school as provided by this article or compelling the
parent to take reasonable steps to assure the child's attendance. The order must
require the child and parent to cooperate with the school district in complying with
the plan created for the child pursuant to section 22-33-107 (3).
(7) (a) If the child or youth does not comply with the valid court order issued
against the child or youth or against both the parent and the child or youth, the
court may order that an assessment for neglect as described in section 19-3-102 (1)
be conducted as provided in section 19-3-501. In addition, the court may order the
child or youth to show cause why he or she should not be held in contempt of court.
When instituting contempt of court proceedings pursuant to this subsection (7), the
court shall provide all procedural protections mandated in rule 107 of the Colorado
rules of civil procedure, or any successor rule, concerning punitive sanctions for
contempt.
(a.5) A judge or magistrate of any court may issue a warrant that authorizes
the taking into temporary custody of a child or youth who has failed to appear for a
court hearing for a truancy or contempt action; except that any such warrant must
provide for release of the child or youth from temporary custody on an unsecured
personal recognizance bond that is cosigned by the child's or youth's parent or
legal guardian or, if the child or youth is in the custody of the department of human
services, cosigning may be accomplished by a representative of the department of
human services. In the alternative, the warrant may direct that the child or youth
must only be arrested while court is in session and that he or she be taken directly
to court for an appearance rather than booked into secure confinement.
(b) The court may impose sanctions after a finding of contempt that may
include, but need not be limited to, community service to be performed by the child
or youth, supervised activities, participation in services for at-risk students, as
described by section 22-33-204, and other activities having the goal of ensuring
that the child or youth has an opportunity to obtain a quality education.
(c) (I) If the court finds that the child or youth has refused to comply with the
plan created for the child or youth pursuant to section 22-33-107 (3), the court may
impose on the child or youth, as a sanction for contempt of court, a sentence of
detention for no more than forty-eight hours in a juvenile detention facility operated
by or under contract with the department of human services pursuant to section 19-2.5-1511 and any rules promulgated by the Colorado supreme court. The court shall
not sentence a child or youth to detention as a sanction for contempt of court
unless the court finds that detention is in the best interest of the child or youth as
well as the public. In making such a finding, the court shall consider the following
factors, including that:
(A) The child or youth has violated a valid court order;
(B) National and Colorado-specific evidence shows that detaining children
and youth for truancy alone is counterproductive and harmful to children and youth;
(C) The legislative intent is that a child or youth who is truant must not be
placed in secure confinement for truancy alone;
(D) Detention is likely to have a detrimental effect on the child's or youth's
school attendance; and
(E) Detention is likely to have an effect on the child's or youth's future
involvement with the criminal justice system.
(II) There is a rebuttable presumption that a child or youth must receive
credit for time served if he or she is sentenced to detention pursuant to subsection
(7)(c)(I) of this section for violating a valid court order to attend school. If the court
rebuts this presumption, it shall explain its reasoning on the record.
(8) If the parent refuses or neglects to obey the order issued against the
parent or against both the parent and the child, the court may order the parent to
show cause why he or she should not be held in contempt of court, and, if the
parent fails to show cause, the court may impose a fine of up to but not more than
twenty-five dollars per day or confine the parent in the county jail until the order is
complied with.