Although not directly a  juvenile justice issue, we tracked HB 84 School Safety Amendments which passed with a large fiscal note. This bill enacts requirements for schools, including implementing safety design changes and the implementation of a guardianship program which would allow school employees to volunteer as armed guards for the school.

HB 259 Juvenile Interrogation Modifications passed. This bill increased protections for young people who are taken into custody and interrogated by requiring an interpreter for non-English speakers, allowing a parent/friendly adult to attend the interrogation virtually, and requiring all interrogation be recorded. This bill also clarified that violation of this section could result in statements being suppressed. We helped draft this bill and made amendments to accommodate law enforcement concerns. We also added language for a remedy for exclusion, and added to statute the requirement that all interrogations be videotaped.

HB 362 Juvenile Justice Revisions makes possession of a handgun by a minor a third degree felony; clarifies that a minor under 14 is only permitted to possess a dangerous weapon if they have permission and are accompanied by a parent, guardian, or responsible adult; youth over 14 and under 18 may possess if they have permission; rewrites and provides penalties for adult and juvenile criminal solicitation; reduces two previous occasions down to one previous occasion for referring class c misdemeanors, infraction, or status offenses to Juvenile Court that happen on school property; and expands reintegration plans to include serious offenses which would include a violent felony (76-3-203.5), theft of a firearm offense (76-6-4), or a weapons offense (76-10-5). We are only tolerant of this bill, and worked to limit truancy referrals to the juvenile court. We also worked to remove language requiring secure care on the second possession of a dangerous weapon. This version of the bill passed.

HB 418 Student Offender Reintegration Amendments passed. This bill is very problematic for young people and school success. It creates a new definition of “sexual crime” and “sexual misconduct” to include any conduct described in: Title 76, Chapter 5, Part 4, Sexual Offenses; Title 76, Chapter 5b, Sexual Exploitation Act; Section 76-7-102, incest; Section 76-9-702, lewdness; and Section 76-9-702.1, sexual battery. It requires an LEA to adopt a policy regarding a student who commits a violent or sexual crime. If a student has committed a violent felony or sexual crime, it provides a process for a school resource officer to provide input for the LEA to consider regarding the safety risks a student may pose upon reintegration. Establish a process to inform a school resource officer of any student who is on probation. Creates procedures for determining an alternative placement for a student if the student attends the same school as the victim of the student's crime and an individual who has a protective order against the student. This bill also adds the actual use of violence or sexual misconduct to the list where a LEA shall suspend or expel a student and clarifies reintegration plan requirements. This bill DID NOT connect to the statute on what would trigger a reintegration plan. So with HB 362, it expands to include serious offenses which would be violent felony (76-3-203.5), theft of a firearm offense (76-6-4), or a weapons offense (76-10-5). The bill did add to the list of what is required in a reintegration plan: if the violent felony was directed at a school employee or another student within the school, notification of the reintegration plan to that school employee or student and the student's parent. A school district may not reintegrate a student into a school where: a student or staff member has a protective order against the student being reintegrated; or a student or staff member is the victim of a sexual crime committed by the student being reintegrated unless the victim consents. We also worked with the sponsor of SB 246 Juvenile Justice Modifications, which requires an LEA to transfer a youth's reintegration plan to their new school for one year following the notification from the court's to the school.

HB 459 Blended Plea Amendments passed. This bill prohibits blended plea agreements, which are plea agreements that combine juvenile disposition and adult sentencing provisions arising from a single criminal episode. Prosecution was opposed to the original bill’s retroactive clause, which created a second chance look and would have allowed youth to be released before transferring to an adult prison or to be released early from prison.  Ultimately, the final version of the bill removed the retroactive clause altogether. However, we are hopeful this conversation is helping in moving the Board of Pardon to make rule amendments where young people with lengthy prison sentences are concerned and to open dialogue around second chance legislation.

SB 88 Juvenile Justice Amendments passed. This bill was initiated by us, we worked with the sponsor and legislative counsel to draft the language. Prohibits jail from being used as an alternative to detention. It allows the Division of Juvenile Justice Services to manage accounts and finances for minors in the custody of the Division of Juvenile Justice Services. Prohibits DNA from being ordered on a plea in abeyance unless the youth’s admission is entered for failure to successfully complete. Clarifies the applicability of the DNA statute depends on the age of the youth at the time of offense and not the age at adjudication.

SB 180 Court Jurisdiction Modifications cleans up statutory language regarding the juvenile court and the justice court’s jurisdiction over offenses committed by 18 year-olds. This bill gives the juvenile court jurisdiction over misdemeanors, infractions, and ordinance violations committed on school property if committed by an 18-year-old enrolled in the high school where the offense occurred. The bill passed.