Coaching Kids? The New CPR and Background Check Rules You Need to Know

What This Bill Actually Does

Currently, youth sports leagues in Colorado operate under a patchwork of safety standards. Some require extensive medical training; others just need a willing parent with a bag of soccer balls. Senate Bill 26-100 changes that by setting a strict statewide baseline. It requires at least one adult with current CPR, First Aid, and AED certification to be physically present at every single youth athletic activity. That means every game, every competition, and every training program. The training isn't generic, either—the bill specifically mandates education on treating heat and cold-related conditions, external bleeding, skeletal injuries, and head, neck, and spinal injuries. The only exemption is for activities run entirely by volunteers for training purposes, though certification is still strongly encouraged.

Second, the bill massively expands the net for background checks. Under current law, coaches who work directly with youth must pass a check. This bill adds chaperones to that list. If someone is officially accompanying a youth sports organization on a trip with an overnight stay, they must pass a seven-year criminal history record check that includes a social security number trace, alias tracking, and a Colorado judicial search. Furthermore, if a coach or chaperone has lived outside the U.S. for more than 180 days in the past decade (or since their last check), they are now required to get an international background check, unless they are in the U.S. on a work visa. The bill also updates the disqualifying criteria, ensuring that anyone convicted of a violent crime cannot be hired or approved.

Here is the part that will make lawyers and league directors sit up straight: the bill tackles the "casual volunteer" problem and introduces real legal liability. Any volunteer who hasn't passed a background check must be supervised at all times by someone who has. And if a youth sports organization or local government fails to conduct these required background checks out of "deliberate indifference or reckless disregard," and a child is harmed by a sexual or violent offense, the bill creates a specific civil cause of action. While ordinary negligence won't trigger this, leagues can now be directly sued for administrative oversight.

What It Means for You

If you are a parent with kids in club sports, rec leagues, or travel teams, this bill is designed to give you serious peace of mind. Knowing there is a mandated, medically trained adult equipped to handle everything from heat stroke to spinal injuries at every practice is a big deal. You will also know that the parents chaperoning those out-of-state travel tournaments have passed the same rigorous seven-year background checks as the head coach.

But if you are the parent who volunteers to coach, manage, or chaperone, prepare for some new administrative hurdles. If you have lived abroad for more than six months in the last ten years, you will need an international background check before you can step on the field or book that team hotel room. If you just like to jump in occasionally to help run drills or manage the clock, you won't necessarily need a background check, but you will have to be strictly supervised by an approved, background-checked coach at all times. You can no longer just take a group of kids to the far side of the park by yourself to run passing drills.

If this bill passes, existing coaches and chaperones will have a six-month grace period from the effective date (expected around August 2026) to get fully compliant, and background checks must be renewed every three years.

Action items for parents and volunteers:

• Check your certifications: If you volunteer or get paid to coach, check when your CPR/AED certification expires. Getting ahead of this now saves a headache later.
• Talk to your league director: Ask your local club or rec center how they plan to handle the logistics and cost of chaperone background checks for overnight trips.
• Prepare for fee increases: Understand that the cost of these background checks and medical certifications will likely trickle down to your seasonal registration fees.

What It Means for Your Business

For those running youth sports organizations—whether you are a private travel club, a local government rec department, or a sports facility—SB26-100 is a major compliance event. The logistical lift of ensuring a CPR/AED-certified adult is present at every single activity is substantial, especially for sprawling clubs that run dozens of simultaneous practices across different municipal parks. You cannot just rely on the facility having an AED on the wall; you need a certified human on-site, specifically trained in treating head, neck, and spinal injuries.

The background check expansion is where your legal exposure really spikes. You are now required to run seven-year checks that include alias searches and SSN traces on every single overnight chaperone. You also need to track international residency—if a coach or chaperone lived abroad for over 180 days recently, you need an international check. Most importantly, you need a rigid, documented system to track volunteers. The bill explicitly states that any unchecked volunteer must be supervised at all times by an approved adult.

If you fail to run these checks out of "reckless disregard" and a child is harmed, the bill creates a direct civil cause of action against your organization. You need to talk to your insurance broker immediately about how this new statutory liability might affect your premiums.

What you should do this week:

• Audit your current roster: Identify which coaches and frequent parent-volunteers have lived abroad recently, and who typically chaperones your overnight travel tournaments.
• Review your HR tech stack: Make sure the background check vendor you use (which must be a regulated consumer reporting agency under 15 U.S.C. sec. 1681) actually offers international checks and alias tracking.
• Draft a "casual volunteer" policy: You need a written protocol ensuring that parents who jump in to help shag balls or run the clock are never left unsupervised with youth participants.

Follow the Money

While the official fiscal note hasn't been published yet, the financial ripple effects of this bill are easy to trace. For state and local governments, the primary cost will hit municipal parks and recreation departments. They will need to fund additional background checks for chaperones and potentially pay for CPR, AED, and First Aid certification courses for their paid staff. Since comprehensive background checks typically run between $20 and $75 each—and international checks can cost significantly more—large local leagues could easily see thousands in new administrative costs annually.

For private youth sports organizations and parents, these costs will almost certainly be passed down through higher registration fees or travel club dues. Private clubs will have to either absorb the costs of the mandated background checks, international screening, and medical training, or require coaches and chaperones to pay out of pocket before they can volunteer. Additionally, the newly established civil liability for failing to perform required background checks could lead to increased liability insurance premiums for youth sports leagues across Colorado.

Where This Bill Stands

SB26-100 was introduced in the Senate on February 11, 2026, and assigned to the Health & Human Services Committee. It is sponsored by Senators Jessie Danielson and James Coleman, alongside Representatives Jenny Willford and Katie Stewart.

This is the very beginning of its legislative journey. Its next step will be a hearing in the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, where we can expect to hear testimony from youth sports advocates, insurance providers, and local government representatives. Because it touches on child safety, it will likely see strong bipartisan support in theory. However, expect heavy debate and potential amendments regarding the logistical costs, the strict "at all times" supervision rules for casual volunteers, and the liability provisions for local rec leagues. Keep an eye on the committee calendar if you want to testify on how this impacts your organization.