House Education

Thursday, February 19, 2026·36m·▶ Watch / Listen

The House Education Committee advanced a bill letting Colorado's approved facility schools opt into the state pension system on an 11-1 vote, while a second measure aimed at unlocking college tuition aid for incarcerated students was laid over after a state board action overtook it.

Key Actions

·Allow Approved Facility Schools Participate in Public Employees' Retirement AssociationPassed

+ 1 more action

Notable Quotes

“The problem is that in these facility schools, turnover for teachers is very high and this bill addresses that problem by allowing facility schools to opt in to para benefits for their teachers. So this is a method for recruiting and retaining so that teachers don't leave facility schools to go somewhere where they can get para benefits or where they can get retirement benefits.”
Jacque Phillips — The sponsor's central rationale — using PERA eligibility as a tool to stem staff turnover at schools serving students with disabilities.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Referred to Committee of the WholeAction

Yes (11)Jennifer Bacon, Mary Bradfield, Lori Garcia Sander, Lindsay Gilchrist, Eliza Hamrick, Dusty Johnson, Jacque Phillips, Katie Stewart, Tammy Story, Matthew Martinez, Meghan Lukens

No (1)Ron Weinberg

Excused (1)Ava Flanell

Unlock the full summary

Subscribe to see every key action, the full discussion, amendments, and notable quotes.

TranscriptPreview

The Education Committee will come to order. Mr. Beck, please call the roll. Representatives Bacon. Excused. Bradfield. Here. Lanell. Present. Garcia Sander. Present. Gilchrist. Excused. Amrick. Here. Johnson. Here. Phillips? Yes. Stuart K. Here. Story. Here. Weinberg. Excused. Martinez. Here. Madam Chair. Here. Okay. Hello everyone. We apologize that we are starting late. We had to wait for finance committee to end today. We are starting with House Bill 1146 and our bill sponsors are here. Who would like to start? Rep. Phillips thank you, Madam Chair. Members HB 261146 the question is what is the problem that we are trying to fix in Colorado, Students can be placed by school districts, either on their own or through a legal process into a facility school. This is a CDE approved facility school. We have about 30 facility schools in Colorado. And they serve students with disabilities. It could be autism, emotional disabilities, intellectual disabilities, etc. The regular schools are unable to meet the needs of students with disabilities and this is why they would send them to a facility school because they have teachers there and they have specialists specifically to address the individual needs of students with disabilities. The…

Subscribe to unlock the full transcript, summary, and the assistant across all Colorado committee hearings.