The 2024 legislative session is wrapped up and we’re happy to report that expanding and protecting school choice, opportunity, and reform remains the popular position in the Colorado General Assembly, thanks to the incredible efforts of our bipartisan advocacy coalition.
- Ready Colorado worked closely with our coalition partners to pass historic and comprehensive changes to Colorado’s 30-year-old school finance formula. The changes outlined in House Bill 24-1448 simplify the formula, put the needs of students first in the “order of operations,” increase the amount of funding going to student factors, and thoughtfully account for district factors that impact economies of scale (e.g. size, remoteness, cost of living).
- The bill also included a substantial investment in school facilities for both district-run schools and charter schools. Critically, that investment will hopefully unlock millions of dollars in federal funding for charter school capital construction.
Another major victory was the passage of House Bill 24-1364, which directs a cost study of college and career pathways programs (e.g. concurrent enrollment, P-TECH) and authorizes the creation of a statewide longitudinal data system.
- Through these efforts, Colorado will be able to better understand the outcomes of state investments in the various programs currently being offered to students.
- This knowledge will drive better decisionmaking about state investments in these programs, and will help students make more informed decisions about what they participate in during high school.
Below is a summary of key bills Ready Colorado supported and opposed, alongside information regarding the impact of each bill and its final status. At the time of publishing, many bills are still awaiting action from Governor Jared Polis.
Bills we Supported
New Public School Finance Formula
SPONSORS: Speaker Julie McCluskie (D), Representative Jennifer Bacon (D), Senator Paul Lundeen (R), Senator Rachel Zenzinger (D)
SUMMARY: This bill prioritizes student needs in the school finance formula by increasing the funding weights for at-risk students, English language learners, and students with special needs, reducing the cost-of-living weight, and eliminating multiplicative indexes. The new formula includes targeted support for small districts and rural districts, and creates a new remoteness factor. The new formula is phased in over the next 6 years. This bill also includes a school-level financial transparency report to ensure funding follows students to the public school of their choice. Additionally, HB1448 increases the state investment in facilities funding for both district-run schools and charter schools.
PRIORITY BILL
Ready Colorado is honored to be a part of an incredible coalition that worked tirelessly to pass House Bill 24-1448 to improve the way we fund public education. For the first time, Colorado’s school finance formula will prioritize STUDENTS and will recognize their unique needs.
Thanks to coalition partners such as the Colorado League of Charter Schools, Transform Education Now Colorado, Teach Plus Colorado, Democrats for Education Reform, Colorado Succeeds, Colorado Children’s Campaign, Stand for Children Colorado, and others.
Education-Based Workforce Readiness
SPONSORS: Speaker Julie McCluskie (D), Representative Jennifer Bacon (D), Senator Jeff Bridges (D), Senator Paul Lundeen (R)
SUMMARY: This bill begins implementation of the HB22-1215 Task Force recommendations by directing a cost study of postsecondary and workforce pathways programs and authorizing the creation of a statewide longitudinal data system to better understand the outcomes of state investments in all of the postsecondary and workforce pathway programs.
PRIORITY BILL
Institute Charter Schools & Bond Indebtedness
SPONSORS: Representative Ron Weinberg (R), Representative Barbara McLachlan (D), Senator Jeff Bridges (D), Senator Paul Lundeen (R)
SUMMARY: This bill allows state-authorized charter schools to partner with their geographic school districts to receive local bond funding.
STATUS: Passed & Signed by Governor Polis
Ninth-Grade Success Grant & Performance Reporting
SPONSORS: Representative Matthew Martinez (D), Representative Rose Pugliese (R), Senator James Coleman (D), Senator Cleave Simpson (R)
SUMMARY: This bill increases funding for the Ninth Grade Success Grant Program to help 9th grade students return to and remain on-track for graduation. The bill also requires that the Colorado Department of Education annually reports how many students are on-track for graduation.
STATUS: Passed & Signed by Governor Polis
Professional Development for Science Teachers
SPONSORS: Representative Barbara McLachlan (D), Representative Anthony Hartsook (R), Senator Janet Buckner (D), Senator Byron Pelton (R)
SUMMARY: This bill requires the Colorado Department of Education to develop and offer a free professional development program for teachers to enhance science instruction.
Adult Education
SPONSORS: Senator Rachel Zenzinger (D), Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer (R), Representative Cathy Kipp (D), Representative Marc Catlin (R)
SUMMARY: This bill is a technical cleanup bill that clarifies the State Board of Community Colleges and Occupational Education and the board of trustees for a local district college can define graduation requirements for receiving high school diplomas. The bill also extends funding for the Adult Education and Literacy Grant Program that funds providers who offer adult education that can lead to postsecondary credentials, employment, or a high school diploma.
STATUS: Passed & Signed by Governor Polis
Remote Testing & Online Education Programs
SPONSORS: Senator Paul Lundeen (R), Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer (R), Representative Barbara McLachlan (D), Representative Rose Pugliese (R)
SUMMARY: This bill allows online schools or programs to offer remote state assessment testing that aligns with students’ educational settings. The goal is to increase test participation rates from students learning in online/remote settings.
School District Open Enrollment Transparency
SPONSORS: Representative Lisa Frizell (R)
SUMMARY: This bill would have required the Colorado Department of Education to adopt a model policy that makes school enrollment options available to parents and to make transparent information about those schools available for consideration.
Digital Education Materials
SPONSORS: Representative Brandi Bradley (R), Representative Ty Winter (R), Senator Jim Smallwood (R), Senator Kevin Van Winkle (R)
SUMMARY: This bill would have required that vendors who provide research database resources to schools ensure there are no harmful advertisements, promotions, or embedded links in those resources.
Social Media Protect Juveniles Disclosures Reports
SPONSORS: Senator Chris Hansen (D), Senator Dafna Michaelson Jenet (D), Representative Meghan Lukens (D), Representative Lisa Frizell (R)
SUMMARY: This bill would have required social media companies to report to the state Attorney General violations of their platform’s policies, required age verification measures, and established parental controls to opt out of certain platform features.
Entity Authorizes Charter Schools Transparency
SPONSORS: Senator Paul Lundeen (R), Senator James Coleman (D)
SUMMARY: This bill would have increased charter authorizer accountability through additional state-level reporting in an effort to expand authorizing pathways.
Empowerment Scholarship Accounts
SPONSORS: Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer (R)
SUMMARY: This bill would have established the Empowerment Scholarship Program for families with students that have special learning needs and provided them with funding applicable for non-public school costs, tutoring, special education services and therapies.
STATUS: Postponed indefinitely in Senate Education Committee
We’re thankful to Senator Kirkmeyer for introducing Senate Bill 24-122, a bill that would have empowered parents of students with disabilities to find a learning environment where their child can thrive.
Bills we Opposed
Charter Schools Accountability
SPONSORS: Representative Lorena García (D), Representative Tammy Story (D), Senator Lisa Cutter (D)
SUMMARY: This bill would have negatively affected how Colorado charter schools operate. The bill would have ended automatic waivers for charter schools, allowed school districts to close – or not approve – new charters if the school district experiences declining enrollment in its traditional district schools, and allowed school districts to keep a greater share of charter schools’ per-pupil funding. This bill was the most threatening legislation to charters we have seen to date.
Pictured from left to right is Stephen Bartholomew, Executive Director of New Legacy Charter School, and students Imani with her son Kayden and Lucero with her son Emilio. All three testified against House Bill 24-1363.
