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HB 25-1061

Community Schoolyards Grant Program

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Judy Amabile and 36 co-sponsors

The bill creates the Community Schoolyards Grant Program to fund planning, design, and construction of park-like outdoor learning environments at schools, prioritizing severance-ta

Governor Signed
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Bill Summary · HB 25-1061

HB 25‑1061 — Community Schoolyards Grant Program (Governor Signed)

Status: Governor signed (June 4, 2025). Introduced January 8, 2025.

Main purpose

Create a state grant program to fund planning, design, and construction of “community schoolyards” — park‑like, outdoor learning and recreation environments located at elementary or secondary schools — with priority for underserved communities socially or economically affected by mineral and mineral‑fuels activity (severance‑tax impacted communities).

Key provisions

  • Establishes the Community Schoolyards Grant Program in the Division of Local Government (DOLA).
  • Two grant streams:
    • Planning & Design grants — up to $150,000 per recipient.
    • Capital Construction & Improvement grants — up to $850,000 per recipient.
  • Eligible applicants: local governments and school districts (and in some versions, local education providers, BOCES, tribal organizations — see statutory text).
  • Application materials and preferences:
    • Community‑use agreement showing how the site will be available to the broader community outside school hours, including roles/responsibilities, liability considerations, hours of operation, and documentation of community use.
    • Partnership with a community‑based organization experienced in outdoor learning.
    • Documentation of matching funds or in‑kind contributions.
    • Demonstration of need that uses a nationally recognized interactive map to identify priority locations.
  • Program administration:
    • DOLA to adopt application/selection criteria, issue timelines for planning and construction phases by January 15, 2026, and report to the General Assembly by January 15, 2028 summarizing awarded grants and recipient reports.
    • DOLA may consult with GOCO, Outdoor Equity Board, Environmental Justice Advisory Board, and Public School Capital Construction Assistance Board.
    • Sponsor amendment limits DOLA administrative use to up to 5% of program funds (technical concerns raised that this cap may be exceeded under staffing estimates).

Funding and fiscal impact

  • The program is funded with $4.0 million targeted to serve FY2025‑26 through FY2028‑29 (assumed to be spent over four years).
  • Funding source in different versions:
    • Initial bill: a transfer of $4.0 million from the Local Government Severance Tax Fund to a new Community Schoolyards Grant Fund (Sept. 1, 2025).
    • Later/revised notes: implementation assumed using the Local Government Mineral Impact Fund / Local Government Severance Tax Fund (up to $2.0 million in each of FY2025‑26 and FY2026‑27).
  • Administrative/implementation costs: DOLA staffing estimated at ~2.0 FTE; Legislative/JBC action resulted in an FY2025‑26 appropriation of approximately $119,798 (reappropriated funds) for administrative costs and 1.6 FTE in the JBC analysis; other LCS estimates showed larger appropriations in some versions. After admin costs, roughly $3.5M is expected available for grants.
  • Local impact: shifts some funding availability away from existing Energy/Mineral Impact Assistance Fund (EIAF) projects; increased application and project management workload for local governments and school districts.

Duration, reporting, and effective date

  • DOLA must set program timelines by Jan 15, 2026 and submit a program report to legislative committees by Jan 15, 2028.
  • The bill includes an appropriation clause and took effect per the act’s effective date language (typically 90 days after adjournment sine die unless otherwise specified).
  • (Earlier drafts included a statutory repeal and fund reversion timeline; readers should consult the enrolled statute, 24‑32‑135 CRS, for current repeal/reversion language if any.)

Who is affected

  • Primary: local governments, school districts, local education providers, tribal organizations in severance‑tax impacted or mineral‑affected communities.
  • Secondary: state agencies/boards (GOCO, DNR Outdoor Equity Board, CDPHE Environmental Justice Advisory Board, CDE Public School Capital Construction Assistance Board) — increased review/technical assistance workload, manageable within existing appropriations per fiscal analyses.

For full statutory language and current appropriation details, see Colorado Revised Statutes §24‑32‑135 (added by HB25‑1061) and the Legislative Council staff fiscal notes and JBC analyses.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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