Dear Subscribers to the League’s Legislative Update,

HB1363 and Its Impacts on Colorado's Charter Schools

The League has been leading the charge on opposing and raising awareness about HB1363 since well before its introduction. Amongst other efforts, this has involved: 

• Galvanizing the Colorado charter school community to submit over 50,000 emails to legislators in opposition to the bill,
• Meeting with the bill sponsors on multiple occasions to give direct voice to our concerns and those of the collective charter school sector,
• Rallying our bipartisan partners to join us in writing this letter to bill sponsors before the bill was introduced and this joint statement two weeks ago,
• Engaging with multiple media outlets to clarify the record on charters and make sure the damaging aspects of HB1363 were clear,
• Developing this thorough legal analysis and this memo to push back on the bill’s numerous misrepresentations and needless redundancies,
• Creating this fact sheet for us and our partners to use in advocating against the bill at the Capitol, and
• Lobbying key legislators to ensure the facts are straight heading into Thursday’s committee hearing.

As a result of these actions, we feel optimistic about our ability to defeat this bill in House Education this Thursday, but we need your help to keep up the pressure until then. If you haven’t already done so, please use this form to contact legislators TODAY and use this message to ensure your school communities are reaching out as well. 

We need to make sure the strong voice of the Colorado charter school community is coming through loud and clear in these last days leading up to the hearing. Thank you for your continued support, and stay tuned later this week for outcomes coming out of Thursday.

The State Budget & School Finance Act

On Friday, Colorado's 2024-25 budget proposal received Senate approval, securing endorsement from both legislative chambers and setting the stage for substantial investments in K-12 for the next year. The bill allocates funds to assist districts facing an influx of migrants, increases funding for special education, and allocates half a billion dollars for K-12 education across the state, raising total program expenditure to approximately $9.7 billion for the next year. The budget will now be reviewed by a select group of legislators tasked with reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions.

Last week, the Senate approved the School Finance Act (Senate Bill 188). For the first time since 2009, the Act aims to "fully fund" K-12 schools by discontinuing the practice of diverting education funds to finance other state priorities. The elimination of this so-called “budget stabilization factor” is an important milestone for the state and its public schools and translates into a 6.6% increase in PPR next year. The bill is now under consideration in the House.

Angelina Sierra-Sandoval, MPA
Director of Government Affairs
Colorado League of Charter Schools 
[email protected]

Advocacy Resources 

• Weekly State and Federal Policy Update calls, exclusively for members—next meeting April 12, 2024. Register now.
• For members, our Bill Tracker provides regularly updated summaries of Colorado legislative bills impacting charter schools, including bill numbers, titles, descriptions, last actions, fiscal notes, and color codes indicating their status. Log in to view the latest bill tracker.
• Join our ACT Advocacy Network to mobilize charter school families, parents, students, and staff, working together to strengthen and support charter schools statewide. Sign up now for easy and impactful advocacy!