Safer Youth Sports

The bill requires each public and private middle school, junior high school, and high school (school) and youth sports organization that operates a youth athletic activity to have each coach of a youth athletic activity complete an abuse prevention training program that includes:

• Prohibited conduct by coaches;
• Appropriate one-on-one interactions between players and coaches;
• Mandatory reporting requirements;
• How to recognize and appropriately respond to and prevent behaviors that violate the prohibited conduct policy; and
• How to respond to disclosures of sexual abuse, child abuse, or reports of behaviors violating the prohibited conduct policy in a supportive and appropriate manner that meets the mandated reporting requirements pursuant to Colorado statutes.

Each youth sports organization shall develop a prohibited conduct policy that its coaches must comply with and that must include:

• A list of prohibited conduct by parents, spectators, coaches, and athletes and a mandatory reporting policy for adults who have knowledge of an act of prohibited conduct;
• A code of conduct for parents, spectators, coaches, and athletes to follow;
• A system for reporting violations of the prohibited conduct policy or code of conduct to the youth sports organization; and
• A process for investigations, due process requirements, and sanctions for violations of the prohibited conduct policy or code of conduct.

Each youth sports organization shall create an online reporting portal for violations by a coach of the prohibited conduct policy. Upon receipt of a reported violation, the youth sports organization shall investigate the report. If, after investigation, the youth sports organization determines there was a violation of the prohibited conduct policy, the youth sports organization shall ban the coach from the organization.

The bill requires all youth sports organization employees and volunteers who work directly with youth members, and any employee or volunteer who accompanies the youth sports organization on any trip that includes one or more overnight stays, to obtain a criminal history record check. A volunteer who is not acting in the capacity of a coach or manager, who only occasionally assists with the team, and who has an immediate family member participating in the youth sports organization is not required to obtain a criminal history record check. The bill requires the attorney general to draft a notice that explains the requirements of the bill and make it available to all youth sports organizations. The youth sports organization shall post the notice on its website or it if does not have a website provide the notice to parents and legal guardians. The bill appropriates $113,033 from the general fund to the department of law for consumer protection and antitrust.

The bill requires the office of school safety (office) to develop a code of conduct for coaches, parents, spectators, and athletes, and requires coaches to comply with the code. A person may report a violation of the code by a coach to the office, and the office will forward the report to the appropriate school or organization. If a violation is established, the school or organization must forward the found violation to the office and the office shall determine whether the violator received adequate due process. If the office makes that determination, the office must include the found violation on the statewide list of found violations on its website.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)