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In Colorado, three types of online educational choices are available for students: online schools and programs; supplemental online education; and blended learning. This issue brief covers each type of online education, as well as recently passed legislation related to supplemental online and blended learning.

This issue brief outlines federal and state school nutrition programs, including eligibility, funding, and reimbursement.

This memo discusses the scope of bullying in Colorado schools; summarizes the provisions and programs in Colorado state law related to bullying prevention, including safe school plans and criminal penalties; and provides information on training resources and best practices for preventing bullying.

Colorado law provides distinct roles for the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and the State Board of Education (state board) in overseeing charter schools. Colorado's charter schools are authorized through a local school district or the state Charter School Institute (CSI). The CSI was created in 2004 as an independent agency within CDE. It currently authorizes 35 charter schools, and is the only statewide, non-district authorizer.

The General Assembly is required by the Colorado Constitution to establish and maintain a thorough and uniform system of free public schools, where any person between the ages of 6 and 21 may be educated. At the same time, the constitution places control of public school instruction in locally elected boards of education. Under this system, the legislature provides financial support and establishes statutory guidelines applicable to all school districts, and local school boards determine curricula and instruction.

Academic standards provide a broad outline for what students are expected to know and be able to do at the end of each grade level, and for what students should know in order to be prepared to enter college or the workforce by the time they graduate from high school. In Colorado, academic standards are also the basis of the annual statewide assessment.

During the 2008 session, the General Assembly enacted House Bill 08-1335, the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) act. The act replaced existing law concerning state financial assistance for public school capital construction and established a grant program in order to accelerate funding for K-12 capital construction. This issue brief discusses the origins and administration of the BEST program and funding for BEST projects.

This memorandum responds to your request for information on school discipline policies.  Specifically, you were contacted by a constituent expressing concern about several incidents at her granddaughter’s elementary school in School District 27J.  Please note that because Legislative Council Staff is unable to analyze whether there is a conflict between state law and the district's policies related to the circumstances the constituent describes, the memorandum provides background information on school discipline laws and regulations.

Watch the video to learn about Property Taxes and the Gallagher Amendment.

The final Residential Assessment Rate Study released by the Division of Property Taxation on April 17, 2017 estimates a residential assessment rate of 7.20 percent for 2017 and 2018.  The General Assembly must pass a bill before this rate becomes law.  Compared with the baseline forecast which was predicated on the December 2016 Legislative Council Staff assessed values forecast, the local share for school finance with a residential assessment rate of 7.20 percent will increase by between $48.7 million and $214.2 million in FY 2017-18.

Public K-12 eduction in Colorado is financed in part by local governments and in part by state government.  The school finance formula establishes a statewide total funding level.  The difference between this amount and the local share determines the state’s obligation to school finance.  The local share is paid primarily from local property taxes.  When property taxes are not collected from a specific property, the funding formula requires the state to augment its share of K-12 education funding by the amount of foregone local tax revenue.  This issue brief discuss

Legislative Council Staff conducts a study of the cost of living in each school district every two years to update the cost-of-living factors used in the state's school finance funding formula as required by state law.  The first study was conducted in 1993, and a study has been conducted during the summer and fall of each odd-numbered year since.  The 2017 study results are used to determine school district cost-of-living factors for fiscal years 2018-19 and 2019-20.  The results of the 2017 study indicate that the cost of living, adjusted by where employees live,

Senate Bill 17-296 amends the Public School Finance Act of 1994 to provide funding for school districts in FY 2017-18. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 2, 2017, and became effective on that date. Senate Bill 17-254, the "Long Bill," appropriates most of the state aid distributed to school districts. The following summarizes the primary funding changes contained in these bills.

Final Report to the Colorado General Assembly by the School Safety and Youth in Crisis Interim Committee.

The financing of K-12 public education in Colorado over the past three decades has been affected by three constitutional amendments: the Gallagher Amendment, the TABOR Amendment, and Amendment 23.  Combined with the results of key court cases, these amendments have created a complex educational funding system for the General Assembly to negotiate.  Diminished tax revenue during recessionary periods has also contributed to the struggle for state and local governments to maintain consistent K-12 public education funding levels

Where are we?

• 11.5% lower than the formula
• Local share falling or slowing
• State Education Fund close to depleted
• General Fund budget in cutting mode

How did we get here?

• Business cycle, demographic changes, and constitutional requirements

Where are we going?

• Slower revenue growth
• Greater pressure on expenditures

    Pursuant to Section 22-55-104 C.R.S., Legislative Council Staff, in consultation with the State Auditor, the State Treasurer, the Department of Education, the Office of State Planning and Budgeting, and the Joint Budget Committee, is required to conduct a review of the model used to forecast revenue to and expenditures from the State Education Fund and the spending requirements for the Public School Finance Act of 1994 by February 1 of each year.

2019 Colorado School District Cost of Living Analysis

Final Report to the Colorado General Assembly by the Interim Committee on School Finance.

Vaccinations offer protection from common infectious diseases.  The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends specific vaccines for all infants, children, and adults during their lifetime to provide immunity from preventable illness.  A recent analysis estimated that for children born in a single year in the United States, vaccination prevented nearly 20 million cases of disease and over 40,000 deaths.

Senate Bill 09-256 amends the Public School Finance Act of 1994 to provide funding for school districts for the 2009-10 budget year. Senate Bill 09-259, the "Long Bill," appropriates most of the money distributed to school districts. Highlights of funding provided to school districts by the two bills follows. This memorandum also contains a more detailed summary of Senate Bill 09-256 and a printout with estimates of school district funding for the upcoming school year. Senate Bill 09-256 was signed by the Governor on May 21, 2009.