SB 145: Charter School Involvement in Local Ballot Questions - Colorado

Final Act → Signed Act · 4 edits · May 30, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates the formatting of Senate Bill 145 from a draft version to a final signed act, officially enacting the legislation. It clarifies that charter schools must have representation on district planning committees and must be solicited for their capital construction needs before bond measures are submitted to voters. The bill also adds a requirement for districts to estimate the time needed to complete proposed construction projects.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on charter school involvement in local ballot questions regarding capital construction, with no change in applicability.

TECHNICAL

Converted the document from a draft legislative text to a final signed act format.

REQUIREMENT

Formalized the requirement for school districts to include charter school representatives on long-range planning and capital construction committees.

Added a new requirement for districts to estimate the time needed to complete proposed capital construction projects in their plans.

Strengthened the solicitation process by setting a specific deadline (120 days before the ballot question) for districts to request charter school input.

Rerevised → Final Act · 5 edits · May 20, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates the rules for how Colorado school districts must involve charter schools in the planning and funding of local bond measures. It ensures charter schools have a guaranteed seat on district planning committees and mandates a specific, written timeline for districts to solicit and consider charter school funding proposals before submitting ballot questions to voters.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of charter school involvement from voluntary encouragement to mandatory procedural requirements for districts considering bond measures.

REQUIREMENT

Districts must maintain at least one membership seat on their long-range planning committee specifically for a charter school representative.

Districts must invite charter schools to participate in bond discussions by June 1 of the election year.

Charter school proposals must include specific details such as reasons for the need, architectural standards, and a cost breakdown.

TIMELINE

Districts must solicit charter school proposals in writing at least 120 days before submitting a ballot question, with a minimum 45-day deadline for schools to respond.

ELIGIBILITY

The bill clarifies that if a district voluntarily submits a ballot question and mutually agrees with a charter school on the proposal, the formal submission process is not required.

Revised → Rerevised · 4 edits · May 9, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was re-revised to include additional House sponsors and updated the legislative history to reflect amendments adopted in the Second House. Substantively, the text of the bill was expanded to require school committees to explicitly notify charter schools of meeting schedules and to solicit and give equitable consideration to charter schools' capital construction needs when developing ballot questions.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include charter schools in the capital construction planning process for school districts.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for committees to clearly notify charter schools of their meeting schedules.

Added a requirement for committees to solicit and give equitable consideration to charter schools' capital construction needs when preparing ballot questions.

ELIGIBILITY

Extended the capital construction planning requirements to explicitly include charter schools.

TECHNICAL

Updated the list of House sponsors to include additional legislators and changed the legislative status header from 'Revised' to 'Rerevised'.

Reengrossed → Revised · 3 edits · May 8, 2026

MINOR

The bill version was updated from 'Reengrossed' to 'Revised' to reflect amendments adopted during the second reading in the second house. The document now includes a specific timestamp indicating the bill was unamended on May 8, 2026, during the House's second reading. No substantive policy changes, such as new definitions, funding amounts, or eligibility criteria, were identified in the provided text.

TECHNICAL

Added a header indicating the bill is 'Revised' rather than 'Reengrossed'.

Added a timestamp noting the bill was '2nd Reading Unamended' on May 8, 2026.

Inserted blank lines between the title and the bill number.

Engrossed → Reengrossed · 3 edits · Apr 17, 2026

MINOR

The bill's title was updated from 'Engrossed' to 'Reengrossed' to reflect that all amendments have been adopted. The list of Senate sponsors was expanded to include Carson and Frizell. A new notice was added stating that a summary for the reengrossed version will be available after the third reading, dated April 17, 2026.

TECHNICAL

The bill status was changed from 'Engrossed' to 'Reengrossed' to indicate the inclusion of all amendments.

New Senate sponsors Carson and Frizell were added to the sponsorship list.

A notice was added indicating a future summary for the reengrossed version will be available on April 17, 2026.

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Apr 16, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was retitled from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed' to reflect that it has passed the House and includes all amendments. Substantively, the bill was amended to remove a voluntary provision encouraging districts to include charter school funding in ballot questions, replacing it with a mandatory requirement for districts to solicit and give equitable consideration to charter school capital construction needs when developing ballot questions. The bill also removed a specific deadline for inviting charter schools to participate in discussions.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding charter school participation in bond elections shifted from a mix of mandatory and voluntary requirements to a more strictly mandatory framework for soliciting charter school input on capital construction needs.

REQUIREMENT

Removed a voluntary provision encouraging districts to include charter school funding in ballot questions without requiring compliance with the full capital construction plan submission process.

Changed the requirement for including charter school needs in ballot questions from a voluntary encouragement to a mandatory obligation to solicit and give equitable consideration to those needs.

TIMELINE

Removed the specific deadline of June 1 for districts to invite charter schools to participate in discussions regarding bond questions.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill version header from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed' to reflect its current legislative status.

Charter School Involvement in Local Ballot Questions

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