The act: Increases the statewide base per pupil funding for the 2023-24 budget year by $598.25, to account for inflation; Sets as the new statewide base per pupil funding amount $8,076.41 for the 2023-24 budget year; and Sets the target number for the 2023-24 budget year at not less than $9,101,600,922. The act repeals the budget stabilization factor, effective July 1, 2024. Current law includes a 5-year averaging provision, which determines a district's pupil count for each budget year by determining the greater of the funded pupil count for the applicable budget year or an average of one to 4 of the prior budget years. The act provides a similar averaging provision for the institute charter schools on a per-school basis. For the 2023-24 budget year, the act appropriates $30 million for distribution to large rural districts and small rural districts, including district charter schools and each institute charter school whose accounting district is a large or small rural district. Large rural districts receive 55% of the appropriation, and small rural districts receive 45% of the appropriation. The act uses the districts' funded pupil count for the 2022-23 budget year. For the 2023-24 budget year, a district's at-risk funding is the greater of the district's at-risk funding amount for the 2022-23 budget year or the 2023-24 budget year. The act amends eligibility criteria for the mill levy override match program to exclude an otherwise eligible school district from receiving a state-funded override mill match if the sum of the district's override mills is equal to or greater than the district's override mill capacity, as defined by statute. For the 2023-24 budget year, the act transfers $23,376,536 from the state education fund to the mill levy override match fund. For the 2023-24 budget year, the act appropriates $300,000 from the state education fund to the department of education (department) for the purpose of reimbursing schools for expenses related to replacing an American Indian mascot. For the 2023-24 budget year, the act appropriates $10 million from the state education fund to be distributed to preschool providers that are a school of a school district, a district charter school, or an institute charter school, subject to requirements. For the 2023-24 budget year, the act appropriates $1,058,115 from the state education fund to support universal screening to identify gifted children through second grade. The act specifies that for the purpose of any law, with certain exceptions, that applies to or exempts a public entity or a public official, a charter school has the same status as a school district, and certain persons affiliated with the charter school have the same status as a complementary counterpart in a school district. Furthermore, the act clarifies the application of certain laws to charter schools. The act permits the department, school districts, and institute charter schools to consider life-cycle costs when contracting for technology. Under current law, every 3 years, the department is required to prepare a report and evaluation on the successes or failures of charter schools, school reform efforts, and suggested changes to laws affecting charter schools. The act makes this an annual requirement starting in the 2023-24 budget year. Under current law, a new at-risk measure in the public school funding formula must be implemented in the 2023-24 budget year. The act extends the implementation of this requirement to the 2024-25 budget year and requires the department to conduct pre-implementation modeling and testing using the new at-risk measure and report modeling and testing findings to the education committees of the senate and house of representatives and the joint budget committee. The act creates a public school finance task force for the purpose of examining and making recommendations concerning school finance. The task force is required to submit a report to the education committees of the senate and house of representatives and the joint budget committee by January 31, 2024. Furthermore, the task force is required to set parameters to examine the adequacy of school finance in Colorado, and the department is required to contract with 2 independent entities to report their findings by January 3, 2025. For the 2023-24 budget year, the act appropriates $408,625 from the state education fund for administration related to the implementation of the task force. The act amends certain requirements for a charter school's application for financial assistance for public school capital construction. The act extends child nutrition school lunch protection program funding to be used to offset the costs incurred by a facility school in providing lunch to students who are placed in the facility and eligible to participate in the program. The act excludes the costs associated with providing for an independent evaluation from the 20% of the money appropriated to the Colorado imagination library program to be used by the contractor for operating costs. Starting in the 2024-25 budget year, the act creates a formula for the funding of mill levy equalization for all institute charter schools. For the 2023-24 budget year, the act appropriates: $2.5 million to the mill levy equalization fund from the general fund; $10 million to the department for state aid for charter school facilities; and $500,000 to the department for the purpose of translating individualized education program documents, contingent upon House Bill 23-1263 becoming law. Makes an appropriation made in section 25 of the act effective only if House Bill 23-1263 becomes law. APPROVED by Governor May 15, 2023 EFFECTIVE May 15, 2023 NOTE: House Bill 23-1263 became law, effective May 25, 2023. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
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The act adds information to the department of higher education's current annual reporting requirement as it relates to Colorado scholars. Current law limits the number of Colorado scholars that each institution counts in an academic year to 8% of the total number of in-state students. The act increases that limit to 15%. The act requires a peace corps volunteer to be classified as an in-state student for tuition purposes if the student was certified by the director of the peace corps as having served satisfactorily as a peace corps volunteer. A peace corps volunteer who is classified as an in-state student must not be counted as a resident student for any purpose other than tuition classification. APPROVED by Governor April 11, 2023 EFFECTIVE April 11, 2023 (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill establishes a parental engagement in schools income tax credit for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2024, that allows a taxpayer who is a parent (taxpayer) to claim a credit when the taxpayer volunteers in the school of the taxpayer's child. Taxpayers are allowed a credit of $20 for each volunteer hour, up to $500. Eligible schools include a school of a school district, a district charter school, an institute charter school, or a board of cooperative services. An eligible school shall issue a credit certificate to any taxpayer who volunteers in the school. The credit certificate allows the taxpayer to claim a credit with respect to the income taxes imposed by the state. To claim a credit, the taxpayer must submit the credit certificate to the department of revenue (department) with the taxpayer's income tax return for the income tax year for which a credit is claimed. The amount of the credit that exceeds the taxpayer's income taxes due is refunded to the taxpayer. The bill encourages eligible schools to promote the credit to parents at the start of each school year and to provide volunteer opportunities throughout the year to accommodate parent schedules and interests. The bill requires the Colorado state advisory council for parent involvement in education (council) to develop marketing materials to promote the credit to parents. The council shall conduct training sessions to instruct eligible schools on how to implement and manage a volunteer program to align with the credit. The training sessions must use best practices for parental engagement. On or before May 1, 2025, the council shall create and distribute a statewide parental engagement feedback survey (survey) to solicit and collect parental engagement feedback from parents. The purpose of the survey is to measure parental engagement participation and to determine whether parental engagement provides support to eligible schools. At the end of each school year through 2029, eligible schools are required to solicit feedback, using the council's survey, from parents concerning volunteer experiences. On or before July 1, 2025, and each July 1 thereafter through July 1, 2029, eligible schools shall submit the survey data to the school districts. On or before October 1, 2025, and each October 1 thereafter through October 1, 2029, school districts shall report the survey data to the department of education. The bill requires the department of education to submit an annual report summarizing the survey data reported by the school districts to the department on February 15, 2026, and each February 15 thereafter through February 15, 2030, to the state auditor, the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or their successor committees, and the finance committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or their successor committees. The bill repeals the income tax credit, effective July 1, 2032. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act amends the "Colorado Liquor Code" to eliminate the requirement that a hotel and restaurant, tavern, and lodging and entertainment licensee register a manager with the liquor enforcement division in the department of revenue. The licensees are required to notify and pay a fee to the state and local licensing authority if the licensee changes its manager. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The Colorado constitution allows a qualifying senior or a veteran who has a service-connected disability rated as a 100% permanent disability to claim a property tax exemption for 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value of the qualifying senior's or veteran's owner-occupied primary residence. The concurrent resolution extends eligibility for the exemption to the surviving spouse of a United States armed forces service member who died in the line of duty or veteran whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease as determined by the United States department of veterans affairs, if the surviving spouse is a recipient of dependency indemnity compensation awarded by the United States department of veterans affairs pursuant to applicable federal law. (Note: This summary applies to this concurrent resolution as adopted.)
The act authorizes the state treasurer to stagger the terms of the state treasurer's 3 appointed members to the public school fund investment board (investment board), commencing with new appointments beginning on and after July 1, 2022, to ensure that no more than 2 members' terms expire in the same year. Beginning in the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the act reorganizes the distribution of interest or income earned on the investment of the money in the public school fund (fund) to: Pay first from the distribution the services of the investment consultant hired by the investment board; Credit next to the state public school fund, for distribution for school finance, all remaining interest and income, not to exceed $21 million dollars; and Credit next to the public school capital construction assistance fund all remaining interest and income, not to exceed $20 million dollars. The act creates a working group, convened by the state treasurer, to consider opportunities to improve the growth of the public school fund and its distributions for the intergenerational benefit of public schools. The act authorizes the state treasurer, after consulting with the investment board, to select the members of the working group, and the act specifies the issues the working group must study. Not later than February 28, 2023, the state treasurer shall report the findings and recommendations of the working group to the joint budget committee and to the education committees of the house of representatives and of the senate. The act modifies the time frame and clarifies the circumstances in which a realized investment loss to the fund may be offset by realized gains before the general assembly is required to appropriate money to cover losses to the fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act finds that current economic conditions have increased the amount of revenue available to the state for the 2022-23 budget year, allowing the state to increase the amount of appropriation for the state's share of total program funding for school districts and institute charter schools, thereby mitigating the impact of the budget stabilization factor. Additionally, it finds there is uncertainty concerning the continuity and longevity of these current economic conditions and whether high property values and increased revenue will continue. The act: Increases the statewide base per pupil funding for the 2022-23 budget year by $252.88, to account for inflation of 3.5%, to a new statewide base per pupil funding amount of $7,478.16; and Sets the total program funding for the 2022-23 budget year for all school districts and institute charter schools after application of the budget stabilization factor to not less than $8,422,216,159. The act permits a public school one year to discontinue the prohibited use of an American Indian mascot if the public school was first notified of the prohibited use on or after May 1, 2022. The act extends by six months the requirement for a board of cooperative services (BOCES) to obtain written permission from the school district in which a school operates or is located if the BOCES intends to authorize the school and the school is physically located within the geographic boundaries of a school district that is not a member of the BOCES. The act extends by one year the ability for local education providers to carry forward more than 15% of per-pupil intervention money received pursuant to the "Colorado READ Act". The act extends by one year the local accountability system grant program and the requirement that the department of education (department) contract with an external evaluator to evaluate the implementation of the local accountability systems. The act makes an appropriation of $100,000 for this evaluation. The act extends by one year the completion of the pilot program to develop and use screening and identification processes and intervention strategies for early identification of and support for students enrolled in kindergarten through third grade who may have dyslexia. The act states that, if a school district permits a student whose parent or guardian is a resident of the state but not a resident of the district to attend school in the district, the school district shall not require the parent, guardian, or student to pay tuition to attend school in the district, regardless of when during the school year, or under what circumstances, the student enrolls in or attends school in the district. The act allows contingency reserve fund payments for rural or small rural school districts for the 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 budget years if an unusual financial burden would be caused by the withholding of local property taxes due to a delay in filing a required audit report due to extraordinary problems that could not have been reasonably foreseen or prevented by the district. The act requires the department to issue a separate school code for certain programs. The act act expands authorization for financial assistance through the educator recruitment and retention program to include applicants agreeing to teach for 3 years in educator shortage areas in the state. The act permits a vendor that contracts with the department to develop a quality teacher recruitment program, and commits to satisfying the requirement to match 100% of the money paid by the department for the contract through gifts, grants, or donations from private donors, to also accept gifts, grants, donations, or other pledges of money from school districts or local governments. The act removes the department's authority to reallocate money among participating schools under the school food purchasing program. The act extends by one year the K-5 social and emotional health pilot program and amend the requirements for school mental health professionals participating in the pilot program. The act permits 20% of the money appropriated for the Colorado imagination library program to be used by the contractor for operating costs. The act: Removes the limit on the number of accelerating students through concurrent enrollment (ASCENT) program participants, and allows each qualified student selected to participate in the program; Reduces the number of postsecondary credits a qualified student must have completed to be eligible to participate in the ASCENT program; and Repeals the requirement that a student who fails to complete a concurrent enrollment course must repay the amount of tuition to the local education provider and repeals a provision permitting a local education provider to require a student who receives a failing grade to repay the tuition amount of a concurrent enrollment. The act, as amended by S.B. 22-202, transfers $290 million from the general fund to the state education fund. The act clarifies the state assessments that a local education provider may decide whether students will use pencil and paper rather than a computer. The act makes an appropriation of: $184,125,900 to the department, consisting of $2,101,985 from the general fund and $182,023,915 from the state education fund; $1 million to the department for charter school institute mill levy equalization fund; $127,973 for the dyslexia markers pilot program; $43,113 to the department for college and career readiness; and $25,000 for information technology services.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act establishes the regional talent development initiative grant program (grant program) in the office of economic development (office) to fund talent development initiatives across the state that meet regional labor market needs and specified grant program goals, including initiatives that meet workforce development needs in regions as they recover from the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The office, a state agency designated by the office, or a third party with whom the office contracts is to serve as the administrator of the grant program (program administrator). The office is directed to appoint a steering committee of 5 to 8 business, civic, education, and nonprofit professionals (steering committee), including at least one member representing a rural area of the state, one member representing a 2-year institution of higher education, and one member representing a 4-year institution of higher education. The steering committee will support the program administrator in: Developing a grant application process; Establishing grant application selection and prioritization criteria; and Appointing a selection committee to review grant applications and make grant award recommendations. The office, in collaboration with the departments of labor and employment, higher education, and education and the steering committee, is to identify regions throughout the state to inform the selection of grant applications. The office is to publish a report on the grant program by November 1, 2023, and by each November 1 through November 1, 2027. The act creates the regional talent development initiative grant program fund (grant program fund) and directs the state treasurer to transfer $91 million from the workers, employers, and workforce centers cash fund (cash fund) to the grant program fund as follows: $89,123,184 from federal money in the cash fund that the state received pursuant to the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021"; and $1,876,816 from money in the cash fund that originated from the general fund. The money in the grant program fund is continuously appropriated to the office for the grant program and related costs. The grant program repeals on July 1, 2028. The act also directs the state treasurer to transfer $32,373,184 from the money in the cash fund that originated from the general fund back to the general fund. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates the math achievement accelerator grant program (grant program) in the department of education (department). A school district, board of cooperative services that operates a school that serves kindergarten or any of grades one through 8, or a charter school that serves kindergarten or any of grades one through 8 may apply to the department to participate in the grant program. The department, with the assistance of a grant review committee convened by the commissioner of education, shall review the grant applications and recommend to the state board of education (state board) grant recipients and the grant amounts. The state board shall select the applicants that will receive 3-year grants to implement research-based, school-based plans to improve student achievement in mathematics in the elementary and middle school grades. The bill specifies the required contents of the application and the criteria the department and the state board shall apply in recommending and selecting grant recipients. Distribution of grant money in the second and third years of a grant is conditioned on the department finding that the grant recipient is meeting specified requirements. The department shall pay grants out of the math achievement accelerator grant fund created in the bill. The bill directs the department to contract with an independent evaluator to annually evaluate the school-based plans implemented using the grant money, their effectiveness in improving student achievement in mathematics, and the overall implementation of the grant program. The department shall submit the evaluation reports prepared by the independent evaluator to the state board and the education committees of the general assembly. The bill makes an appropriation. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)