The Colorado Association of Libraries strongly opposes HB25-1158, as it would significantly hinder students' access to critical digital resources essential for developing their information literacy skills and conducting research. By imposing overly restrictive content limitations on curated digital research collections, this legislation threatens to deprive students of the essential tools they need to succeed academically and become informed, critical thinkers.

Impact on Information Literacy and Research Skills: Online databases and newspapers are fundamental to teaching students how to write research papers, analyze sources, and construct evidence-based arguments. Many high-quality academic and journalistic sources include embedded links, advertisements, and promotions as standard digital features that provide valuable context and further exploration of topics. Prohibiting these elements would force schools to remove essential educational resources, leaving students with fewer tools to develop critical literacy skills.

Unrealistic Compliance Requirements: The bill places an unreasonable burden on digital resource providers, requiring them to remove specified content within three days of notification or face contract termination. This demand disregards the technical and contractual realities of content management, where embedded links and promotions are often integral to digital platforms and cannot be selectively removed without compromising the integrity of the resource. The three-day response mandate is not a feasible time frame for vendors managing vast collections of content.

Reduction in Access to Quality Educational Resources: Requiring vendors to certify that collections are free of advertisements, promotions, or embedded links will likely result in fewer vendors willing to contract with public schools, effectively cutting students off from databases that contain reputable academic journals, historical archives, and primary sources. This restriction will disproportionately impact students in underfunded schools who rely on digital resources for access to high-quality research materials.

Impact on Public Library and Public School Partnerships: Public libraries frequently partner with school districts to provide access to digital education materials at no cost for schools, ensuring equitable access to valuable research tools. The bill’s requirement that public schools must report agreements with public libraries and provide annual notifications about these partnerships adds an unnecessary administrative burden that could discourage schools from collaborating with libraries. This would ultimately limit students' access to essential research materials and reduce the effectiveness of public libraries in supporting K-12 education.

The Colorado Association of Libraries urges lawmakers to reject this bill in its current form. Instead of restricting access to vital digital resources, efforts should focus on enhancing students' ability to navigate online information critically. Removing databases and newspapers from school collections due to embedded links or minor promotional content is an unnecessary and harmful limitation that ultimately deprives students of the educational opportunities they need to succeed in the digital age. We advocate for policies that promote, rather than hinder, access to reliable and comprehensive research materials in our public schools.