Dear School Leaders and Supporters, 

We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that the new year is already shaping up to be a productive and fulfilling one for you. Today is the start of the General Assembly’s 75th session, and to kick things off, we’re excited to share three key updates.

Legislative Agenda:

Thank you for your feedback on our 2025 legislative agenda. With enthusiastic support from our members, the board officially approved the agenda last month. The main topics we will be focused on are the following:

• Defending the Charter Sector
• Autonomy and Flexibility
• Authorizing Fairness and Consistency
• Funding Equity
• Supporting Alternative and Innovative School Options

Your involvement is essential to making this agenda a reality, and there are several ways to stay engaged:

1. Legislative Lunches: Starting January 24th, join us every Friday for a members-only session to discuss education bills at the Capitol and the League’s advocacy efforts. You can RSVP here. 
2. Legislative Updates: Look for regular email updates from us throughout the session until it ends in early May. Past newsletter issues.
3. Direct Contact: Have questions or ideas? Reach out to our advocacy team or contact our VP of Policy, Prateek Dutta ([email protected]). 

Governor’s Budget: 

Colorado lawmakers face the challenging task of cutting $700 million to $1 billion from the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. On November 1st, Governor Polis released his initial budget proposal, but amendments are typically introduced in early January. This year, the Governor’s amendment proposes investing $150 million—$35 million more than the original budget submission—to start phasing in the new funding formula, with full implementation planned over six years.

In addition to advancing our legislative agenda, we will closely monitor this process to ensure our schools receive equitable funding, even in a challenging budget environment. 

Town Hall:

We are excited to host our next Town Hall with legislative leaders from across the aisle, including Senate President James Coleman, on January 17th, between 1-2 PM. We will talk about important bills broadly related to the education sector and specifically about the charter sector. Please RSVP here.  

Sincerely,

The League’s Policy and Advocacy Team