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HB 1259 CO
Became Law

Department of Early Childhood Clean-Up

CO · session 2026A · Assembly / House · bill

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Introduced Feb 19, 2026

Latest action (May 5, 2026) Introduced In House - Assigned to Education

Summary

This bill makes multiple updates to Colorado's early childhood programs and regulations administered by the Department of Early Childhood. It eliminates a scheduled repeal of licensing exemptions for certain in-home child care arrangements and updates reimbursement provisions for the child care assistance program. The bill lowers the age limit for the early childhood mental health consultation program from 8 to 6 years old and clarifies funding sources for the universal preschool program. It also requires the department to maintain confidentiality of identifying records about children, clarifies exemptions for tribal government child care facilities, and adjusts governance requirements for early childhood leadership bodies.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill (from the OpenStates abstract — no full text available yet) — neutral, and may be imperfect.

Official abstract

The act makes changes and clarifications in the provisions related to the department of early childhood (department). The act:Eliminates the scheduled repeal of licensing exemptions for certain in-home child care arrangements in which the children are related to the caregiver, are siblings, or number fewer than five;Updates provisions related to early care and education provider reimbursement for services performed before final eligibility determinations in the Colorado child care assistance program;Lowers the age limit for children served by the early childhood mental health consultation program from 8 years old to 6 years old and adjusts that program's reporting requirements;Clarifies the sources of money appropriated to the universal preschool program;Requires the department to keep confidential identifying records and facts regarding children and their relatives;Clarifies that child care facilities approved, certified, or licensed by tribal governments are exempt from the department's licensing rules; andAdjusts the membership requirements and duties of the early childhood leadership commission and subcommittee membership requirements for the rules advisory council.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Sponsors (3)
45 coauthors / cosponsors

Action history (14)
  1. May 5, 2026 Governor Signed · executive
  2. Apr 28, 2026 Sent to the Governor · executive
  3. Apr 28, 2026 Signed by the President of the Senate · upper
  4. Apr 28, 2026 Signed by the Speaker of the House · lower
  5. Apr 2, 2026 House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass · lower
  6. Apr 1, 2026 Senate Third Reading Passed with Amendments - Floor · upper
  7. Mar 31, 2026 Senate Third Reading Laid Over to 04/01/2026 - No Amendments · upper
  8. Mar 30, 2026 Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee · upper
  9. Mar 25, 2026 Senate Committee on Education Refer Amended to Senate Committee of the Whole · upper
  10. Mar 18, 2026 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Education · upper
  11. Mar 13, 2026 House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments · lower
  12. Mar 12, 2026 House Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments · lower
  13. Mar 11, 2026 House Committee on Education Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole · lower
  14. Feb 19, 2026 Introduced In House - Assigned to Education · lower
Subjects
Education & School Finance (Pre & K-12)

Full text

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