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House Bill 24B-1001 created a property tax limit for school districts beginning with the 2025 property tax year. The bill’s provisions limit statewide qualified local share property tax revenue, or local share total program revenue excluding certain sources or uses, by adjusting the residential assessment rate applied to school district mill levies temporarily downward if needed. 

This memorandum summarizes the primary funding changes to school finance for FY 2025-26. Two bills during the 2025 legislative session substantively affected the financing of public schools in Colorado.

This memorandum provides an overview on the federal immigration system, Colorado’s role in immigration, and patterns of immigration in the state and nationally. It then discusses the impact of immigration on different sectors of the economy and state government programs and services, and highlights recent state legislation to address these issues.

Passed in August 2024, House Bill 24B-1001 created a property tax limit for school districts beginning with the 2025 property tax year (PTY), for which taxes are payable in 2026. The bill’s provisions limit statewide qualified local share property tax revenue, or local share total program revenue excluding certain sources or uses, by adjusting the residential assessment rate applied to school district mill levies temporarily downward if qualified revenue is expected to exceed the limit. Section 29-1-1702.5 (4)(c) C.R.S.

House Bill 24-1448 enacted a new school finance formula, to begin in FY 2025-26 and be phased in over a 6-year period. This memorandum provides an overview of the new formula, the six‑year phase‑in period, and the parameters that would result in pausing implementation of the new formula. It does not include provisions of HB24-1448 that are not directly related to the new formula, including changes to mill levy override limits, the mill levy override match program, and capital construction funding.

This memorandum summarizes the primary funding changes to school finance for FY 2024-25. Several enacted bills during the 2024 legislative session and August 2024 special session substantively impact the financing of public schools in Colorado.

This memorandum discusses the Mill Levy Override Match Program, as well as concerns about the current framework and potential solutions and alternatives that have been discussed. The MLO Match Program Task Force created in House Bill 24-1448 is charged with recommending changes to the program, which may include any number of additional changes not contemplated by this memorandum.

The purpose of this publication is to help readers understand how Colorado finances its public elementary and secondary schools.  The major focus is an explanation of the funding formula included in the Public School Finance Act of 1994, including amendments made to the act in 2019.  Several illustrations are provided to help readers calculate funding under the formula.  The booklet also describes several other provisions of law that relate to school district funding.  These provisions include a description of revenue that is earmarked for specific functions, other local

This memorandum summarizes the primary funding changes for school finance that were enacted during the 2023 legislative sessions.

This memorandum summarizes the primary funding changes for school finance that were enacted during the 2023 legislative sessions.

This memorandum summarizes the primary funding changes for school finance that were enacted during the 2022 legislative session.  Several bills enacted substantively impacted the financing of public schools in Colorado.

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. 1 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 2019 study results are used to determine school district cost-of-living factors for FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22.

Three bills were enacted during the 2021 legislative session that substantively impacted the financing of public schools in Colorado:

House Bill 20-1418 amended the Public School Finance Act of 1994 to provide funding for school districts in FY 2020-21.  The bill was signed by the Governor on June 30, 2020, and took effect on that date.  This memorandum summarizes the primary funding changes for school finance contained in this bill.  Estimates in this memorandum will be adjusted during the 2021 legislative session based on actual pupil counts and local property tax collections.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted almost every facet of the education system, including standardized tests and college entrance examinations. This memorandum provides scheduling updates on some of the country’s most relied upon placement and college entrance examinations and will be updated as more information becomes available.

In the midst of school closures across the state due to the COVID-19 outbreak, schools and state agencies are working to ensure that K-12 students continue to receive academic support.  Legislative Council Staff is committed to providing members of the Colorado General Assembly and other stakeholders with resources on K-12 education matters that are essential to guiding and understanding state action, and supporting parents in ensuring their children’s educational success during this time.  This memorandum has been published to share resources created by state and national organiz

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 (CDE), the Office of State Planning and Budgeting, and the Joint Budget Committee (JBC), 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.  This report provides a forecast of the State Education Fund revenue and expenditures within the budgetary framework for school f

Summary Report for the School Safety Committee to the Legislative Council.

Three bills that were enacted during the 2019 legislative session significantly affected the financing of public schools in Colorado:

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

House Bill 18-1379 amends the Public School Finance Act of 1994 to provide funding for school districts in FY 2018‑19.  The bill was signed by the Governor on May 24, 2018, and became effective on that date.  House Bill 18-1322, the "Long Bill," appropriates most of the state aid distributed to school districts.  The following summarizes the primary funding changes contained in these bills.

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,