Forward Together — at the Capitol and Beyond

By Dan Schaller, League President

As the 2026 Colorado Legislative Session kicked off this week, so too did a familiar mix of anticipation and uncertainty. Each new session brings important questions about the state budget, shifting political dynamics, and how Capitol decisions on education policy will shape the daily realities of our schools. 

Working side by side with our longtime lobbying partners, we are closely tracking developments at the Capitol, building relationships with lawmakers, and navigating the key factors and dynamics likely to prove decisive over the coming months.

Our approach is both strategic and grounded in the realities schools face every day.

This session, we have identified five core policy priorities in our Legislative Agenda. You can read more in the document as well as in the latest issue of our Legislative Matters newsletter.

Very intentionally, the themes throughout our agenda align with what’s most important to you. Funding, facilities, and flexibility are always at the center. We know that the quality of student learning and outcomes comes first, but to make that happen, the conditions of equitable funding, facilities fairness, and the economics of running a nonprofit are always at the forefront of your mind.

Pairing advocacy with insight

These policy priorities continue to be complemented by data and insight. One of the primary factors of your success is your staff. This fall, the League commissioned a statewide charter school compensation study, providing a comparative look at staff salary data across the sector. The results provide important context for school leaders as they consider recruitment, retention, and long-term sustainability. They also underscore how policy decisions, funding structures, and operational realities intersect.

At our Jan. 16 Town Hall, we discussed these findings, along with our ongoing work on the funding formula and what we expect to see from the legislative session that has just begun. 

Taken as a whole, this work around advocacy, financial realities, funding, staffing, and student success reflects our commitment to advocating for you and your families.

It is strategic, intentional, and rooted in a simple goal: empowering schools to better support student outcomes and continue offering high-quality public school options for families.

As we look ahead to the coming months—and to our Annual Conference with its theme of Forward Together—that goal remains our North Star. When we engage collectively, speak clearly, and act strategically, we move not just the sector, but Colorado’s students, forward together.

Dan currently serves as President of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, a position he assumed in 2020 after having led the League’s policy and advocacy work since 2014. During that time, he oversaw a number of significant improvements for Colorado’s charter schools, including the successful passage of House Bill 1375, which brought mill levy equalization to Colorado’s charters in 2017, and the advancement of Colorado’s charter school law to #2 in the nation in 2018.