Greetings,

As the General Assembly rounds out the first half of the legislative session, activity at the Capitol is beginning to intensify. While the early weeks of the session have focused largely on less controversial proposals, the coming weeks will bring some of the most consequential policy debates of the year. 

This year’s policy discussions are also unfolding within an extremely difficult fiscal environment. Structural budget deficits are forcing lawmakers to make difficult decisions about which programs to cut and which programs to save.

With that as the backdrop, here are three important updates we want to share: 

Pro-Active Policy: Reducing Regulatory Burdens & Increasing Access to Bond Funding

The League is pursuing a robust policy agenda for the 2026 legislative session, and despite a challenging political and fiscal environment, we remain focused on advancing several of our key priorities.

One major focus continues to be reducing unnecessary regulatory burden on schools. Charter schools across Colorado face an ever-growing web of rules, reports, and bureaucratic requirements that consume valuable time without meaningfully improving student outcomes. School leaders often describe this burden as “death by a thousand cuts.”

Last year, our efforts led to the passage of HB25-1210, which began addressing some of these inefficiencies. This year, we are building on that progress with HB26-1299, which passed unanimously out of committee last week. The goal is simple: when reporting requirements add burden without improving student outcomes, they should be revisited.

At the same time, the League is pursuing legislation to address one of the most persistent challenges facing charter schools: equitable access to facilities funding. Over the past decade, Colorado school districts have collected approximately $15.5 billion in bond revenue for school facilities. Despite serving more than 15% of Colorado’s public school students, charter schools have received only about 3.5% of those funds.

To address this disparity, legislation will be introduced later this week to create clearer processes for charter inclusion in bond initiatives and greater transparency for voters. The League will be working closely with lawmakers and stakeholders to advance this proposal and ensure that charter school students have a fair opportunity to benefit from local facility investments.

Defense: Protecting Charter School Funding

While we continue to aggressively pursue a proactive policy agenda, we are equally focused on protecting the hard-earned victories of past legislative sessions, particularly when it comes to school funding. In an extremely challenging fiscal environment, this work is more important than ever.

The League remains steadfast in defending key investments that support charter school students, including CSI mill levy equalization, charter facilities funding, and part-time enrichment funding. As difficult budget decisions are debated at the Capitol, our team is working to ensure that any potential cuts do not disproportionately impact charter schools.

We are also working to ensure that the transition to the state’s new school funding formula is implemented fairly and responsibly for charter schools. While we continue to support the new formula and its appropriate emphasis on student-based, “backpack” funding, we also recognize that the transition to that in the charter context needs to be handled in the right way. That’s why we’re advocating for similar transition mechanisms to what districts negotiated for themselves as part of last year’s HB25-1320 debate (greater of either new formula or a transitional hold harmless). Attend this Friday’s town hall (registration details below) to hear and learn more. 

Additionally, the League has worked to amend or defeat several proposals that would negatively impact charter schools (i.e. 26-1094, 26-103). We will continue closely monitoring legislation that could create new regulatory burdens or have financial implications for the charter sector.

Budget: Forecast and Implications

The Joint Budget Committee will receive the March Revenue Forecast this Thursday, March 19th. As the final revenue update of the session, it will play a major role in shaping potential budget cuts. The League will provide an update shortly after the forecast is released on some of its implications.

Town Hall This Friday

The League will host a Town Hall this Friday, March 20th, to discuss the forecast, financial implications, the legislative developments above, and more. Please sign up here. 

Stay Engaged: Over 400 bills have been introduced this session, and new bills are introduced daily. To keep you informed, we continue to provide regular updates to the Bill Tracker. 

Legislative Lunches & Updates: In addition to the Bill Tracker, please sign up for our Legislative Lunches from 12:00 to 12:30 each Friday during the session, an informal conversation where members get to hear the latest news from the Capitol. Or sign up for our Legislative Matters newsletters to stay informed with regular email updates throughout the legislative session. 

Direct Contact: Have questions, ideas, or feedback? Reach out to our advocacy team or contact Prateek at [email protected] or text Prateek at (720) 440-1160.

Thank you for all you do for charter schools in Colorado! We will be in touch soon with more updates. 

The League Advocacy Team
Anne, Kyle, and Prateek