The Colorado Education Association Scorecard highlights the priorities of the education community in the 2019 legislative session. Here, you will find factual, nonpartisan information on bills related to education and how each member of the legislature voted on issues that affect Colorado’s students and educators, as well as CEA’s official position and brief rational for that position for each bill.

Find out how your elected officials voted, and see how well their votes align with your education values. We encourage you to call or write to your legislators and let them know you’re paying attention to their education scores! As we continue to stand together to advocate for public education we know that elections matter and legislators need to hear from actual educators about what is happening in our schools.

Highlighting Cheers and Jeers from the 2019 Legislative Session

Cheer: New Legislative Allies--Senator Julie Gonzales, Senator Robert Rodriguez, Representative Emily Sirota, Representative Monica Duran, and Representative Serena Gutierrez-Gonzales.

This session saw twenty-five new Representatives and fourteen new Senators. New and existing legislators were advocates for CEA’s legislative priorities, for our students and for public education professionals working to improve learning and teaching conditions.

We wanted to highlight Senators Gonzales and Rodriguez along with Representatives Sirota, Duran, and Gutierrez-Gonzales for their efforts, both via bills they sponsored as well as their work for and with CEA, to:

• Reduce the school to prison pipeline
• Increase access to, and content for, culturally relevant curriculum
• Ensure Educator Voice drives legislation
• Support for the Fair and Equitable treatment of All Students
• Respect for teachers and educational support professionals
• Advocate for new and improved ways to address funding failures in Colorado
• Support Classrooms Not Corporations
• Advocate for legislation to promote social and racial justice
  
  

Cheer: Senator Rachel Zenzinger and Community Schools

Senator Rachel Zenzinger sponsored Senate Bill 19-102: Innovation School Operating As A Community School. The law will permit a public school wanting to operate as an Innovation School to include operation as a Community School in its innovation plan. It raises up a clear, evidence-based definition of Community Schools.

This is the second straight legislative session Senator Zenzinger has championed Community Schools as an identical bill was defeated in the Senate during the 2018 legislative session.

Cheer: Senator Tammy Story and Educator Evaluations AND Jeer: Opposition and Bill Failure

CHEER: Senator Tammy Story worked tirelessly and diligently with a variety of stakeholders to introduce Senate Bill 19-247: Educator Performance Evaluation System Requirements to make much-needed improvements to Colorado’s educator evaluation law. CEA worked closely with Senator Story to ensure that the voice of education professionals was a critical part in shaping the proposed changes that were brought forward in SB19-247.

JEER: Unfortunately, this bill did not advance out of the Senate Education Committee. It was “laid-over” twice meaning that no formal votes were cast. The bill had wide opposition from anti-union and anti-public education reform groups as well as some elected officials.

Jeer: Failure by the Legislature to Support Education Support Professionals (ESP) by Ensuring Transparency and Accountability for Districts Considering Outsourcing

CEA members actively engaged in supporting House Bill 19-1249 Safety and Accountability in School Contracts.

This bill would have protected communities against the negative consequences of outsourcing of ESP positions in schools by ensuring a transparent process and accountability before a district could hire outside employees from a third-party contractor. The bill was “killed” by the House Education Committee, it was a particularly disappointing to see legislators who have called for transparency, public input, and support for educators vote to kill this bill.