HB 24-1170 Summary

• Establishes a bill of rights for youth detained or committed to Colorado Division of Youth Services facilities, applying to approximately 622 youth served annually across 15 secure youth centers.

• Guarantees fundamental rights including treatment with dignity, freedom from discrimination and corporal punishment, religious practice, reasonable accommodations for disabilities, and voting rights if legally eligible.

• Provides rights related to media access, phone calls to family and legal counsel, daily physical exercise, facility rule notification within 24 hours, and trauma-responsive care environments.

• Ensures comprehensive medical and behavioral health access within 72 hours of request, including reproductive health care, medication-assisted treatment, and gender-affirming care, plus the right to refuse pharmaceutical products.

• Mandates education access including grade-level work with transferable credits, post-secondary education opportunities for committed youth with high school diplomas, and protections for transgender and non-binary youth regarding housing, searches, preferred names/pronouns, and facility access.