Standards Review and Revision - Comprehensive Health

On May 29, 2025, Colorado Legislators and the Governor signed into law House Bill (HB) 25-1293: Drug Overdose Education & Opioid Antagonists in Schools. This legislation requires the State Board of Education to ensure that Colorado’s high school health standards (grades 9–12) include skills that a student should acquire relating to drug overdoses, including fentanyl and other opioid-related drugs. The standards must include evidence-based knowledge and skills regarding drug overdose risks, identification of a drug overdose event, drug overdose prevention and response, and must promote positive social norms concerning knowledge and skills.  

This draft of the high school mathematics standards is available for public review.

This represents the committee's final recommendations to the State Board of Education. If adopted by the board in May 2026, that draft would replace the high school portion of Colorado's current mathematics standards.

Read the Draft

A crosswalk document is available that compares the current standards, adopted in 2018, to those being proposed in the draft revisions.

The State Board of Education is seeking feedback on the draft recommendations.

Choose to provide feedback by:

• Completing a survey
• participating in a focus group
• sending an email to costandardsrevision@cde.state.co.us

Option A: Complete a Survey

Coloradoans can provide feedback by completing a survey. Following a series of demographic questions, the survey will ask you about:

• The clarity and organization of the standards

• Knowledge and skills needed for overdose, identification, prevention, and response

• The alignment with drug prevention best practices

• The alignment with community needs

Option B: Attend a Focus Group

Coloradoans can provide feedback by participation in a focus group. These focus groups will place participants together with ither stakeholders from around the state, with questions asked by a facilitator from CDE. Most focus groups will be conducted online via Zoom and should not last more that one hour. A notetaker will capture participants' feedback and the sessions will not be recorded. 

• Thursday, September 3, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Monday, September 14, 6 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Register here for the High School Health Education Drug Prevention Standards Feedback Standards Revision Focus Groups.

Option C: Email us

People may also submit feedback about the draft revisions by emailing CDE at costandardsrevision@cde.state.co.us.

The expected process for review follows this timeline:

Committee Chairs

Jennifer Vidal
District Coordinator/Administrator
Cherry Creek 5 School District

Lindsey Simbeye
Simbeye Consulting
Community Based Organization

Committee Members

Sukhmeet Sandhu, MD
University of Colorado Anschutz
Addiction Medicine Physician at Children's Hospital Colorado and faculty of CU Anschutz Dept of Psychiatry

David Berg
Health Educator
St Vrain Valley RE1J School District

Haley Figueroa
District Drug Prevention Coordinator
Denver County School District

Jordan Goto
District Coordinator/ Administrator
Boulder Valley Re 2 School District

Andrea Thomas
Facing Fentanyl/Armour, Families
Community Based Organization

Mugsy Seldeen
High Rockies Harm Reduction
Community Based Organization

Cristina Kuhl
Health Educator
Harrison 2 School District

Don Stader
The Naloxone Project
Community Based Organization

Youth Involvement in Standards: By statute, CDE is required to involve students in the review and revision of the Colorado Academic Standards. For the Group 3 revisions, CDE Commissioner Susana Córdova has selected Sarah Elmore of Campo High School (Campo School District RE-6) to be the Colorado Youth Advisor to the Academic Standards Review and Regional Educator Meetings for 2025-26.

• Committee Meeting #1: Thursday, March 5, 2026, 4:30-5:45
  • Agenda: (1) Committee Introductions; (2) Understand the committee's charge; and (3) Begin to conceptualize the revision process.
  • Summary: The committee met to focus on the expectations and set a timeline for the revision process.
     
• Committee Meeting #2: Thursday, March 16, 2026, 4:30-5:45 Committee reviews standards and develops criteria for revisions.
  • Agenda: (1) Committee reviews current standards; (2) Identifies criteria for revisions; and (3) Begin to conceptualize the revision process.
  • Summary: The committee familiarized themselves with existing standards. Brainstormed key additions to the standards.
     
• Committee Meeting #3: Thursday, April 2, 2026, 4:30-6:00
  • Agenda: (1) Define standards; (2) sort brainstorm into existing standards; (3) Identify next steps for creating revisions.
  • Summary: Committee members sorted the brainstorm ideas into standards and began to draft standards revisions. 
     
• Committee Meeting #4: Thursday, April 23, 2026, 4:30-6:00
  • Agenda: (1) Review and revise draft standards; (2) Update rationales; (3) Define and begin drafting Academic Context and Connections (Colorado Essential Skills and Real-world Application, Inquiry Questions, and Health Skills).
  • Summary: TBD
     
• Committee Meeting in-person meeting: Friday May 1, 2026, 8:30-6:00
  • Agenda: (1) Finalize draft standards; (2) Finalize draft rationales; (3) Develop Academic Context and Connections (Colorado Essential Skills and Real-world Application, Inquiry Questions, and Health Skills) (4) Prepare documents for board presentation.
  • Summary: TBD
     
• Committee Meetings #5 and #6: August 2026 Committee finalizes recommendations for revisions
  • Agenda: TBD
  • Summary: TBD

Standards revision committee meetings are open to the public and the press. While visitors are welcome, they are not allowed to insert themselves as participants.

To avoid interrupting the work of the committee, we ask that visitors:

For online meetings:

• Register in advance of the meeting
• Arrive before the work time begins to minimize disruptions
• Leave their cameras and microphones off
• Don't engage with the chat
• Ask questions outside of the meeting

For in-person meetings:

• Arrive before the work time begins to minimize disruptions
• Sign in when entering the meeting room
• Sit in the area designated for visitors
• Avoid interrupting the meeting
• Wait until after the meeting to ask any questions

If you are a journalist, introduce yourself to the CDE facilitator and let them help you get any information you are looking for.

For more information, contact Jamie Hurley at hurley_j@cde.state.co.us