Colorado governor Jared Polis signed a bill into law on Wednesday allowing children to play outside independently without it being labeled abuse or neglect.
RELATED STORIES: Thieves Steal Box Containing Human Heads From A Truck In Colorado
The state’s previous law caused a spike in complaints towards parents who were accused of neglect whenever their children were seen playing outside or walking to school alone. According to the Independent, the number of complaints contributed to a record of 221,000 calls to the state’s child abuse hotline in 2021 and only 13,239 calls were actually accurate.
The bill states that a “child is not neglected when allowed to participate in certain independent activities that a reasonable and prudent parent, guardian, or legal custodian would consider safe given the child’s maturity, condition, and abilities.”
RELATED STORIES: [WATCH] Colorado lawmaker under fire for calling colleague ‘Buckwheat’ during session
“Just because a kid is playing alone outside doesn’t mean that they are in danger, which I think is obvious, but it’s always good to put that in law because you never know, and we certainly don’t want parents getting in trouble because their kid is playing at the playground,” said Polis during the bill signing.
Colorado’s legislature passed the bill back in February after officials clarified for the law to allow children to play outside based on their level of independence.