Senate Education

Monday, April 13, 2026·1h 3m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Senate Education Committee unanimously advanced SB26-145, which requires school districts to solicit capital construction proposals from charter schools when developing bond measures and notify charter schools whether their needs will be included. The bill passed 7-0 after adopting seven amendments addressing legal liability, process clarity, and local board authority, with no opposition testimony offered.

Key Actions

·SB26-145 – Charter School Involvement in Local Ballot QuestionsPassed

Controversies

Risk of legal challenges arising from the bill's exclusion notification requirement

Senator Marchman raised concern that requiring boards to provide written reasons for excluding charter school projects could expose school boards to lawsuits, asking 'Do you see anything in this bill that would allow a charter school to legally take this next step to sue the school board for a denial?' She noted her concern as a former school board member that 'why would a school board ever say no if they thought they were going to get sued every time?' Amendment L003 was introduced in direct response, clarifying that the board's reasons for exclusion are for informational purposes only and cannot serve as the basis for a lawsuit. No witness or sponsor disputed the underlying concern.

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“This bill does not mandate outcomes, does not require districts to fund any particular project. Rather, it simply ensures that when districts are developing bond proposals, they engage in a transparent and inclusive process that considers the needs of all public school students, including those attending charter schools.”
Senator Scott Bright — Bright, the bill's sponsor, was addressing concerns that SB26-145 would compel districts to fund charter school capital projects when explaining the bill's scope and limits.

+ 4 more quotes

Votes

Move SB26-145 to Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendation, as amendedPassed

Yes (7)Jeff Bridges, Scott Bright, Lisa Frizell, Cathy Kipp, Janice Rich, Janice Marchman, Chris Kolker

Amendment L001 – Strike reference to encouraged solicitation of proposals from CSI schoolsPassed

Amendment L002 – Clarify solicitation applies to capital construction projects; adjust timeline from 150 to 120 days; replace 'possible' with 'practicable'Passed

Amendment L004 – Allow districts to direct charter school capital construction presentations to a long range planning committee or another district-established capital construction committeePassed

Amendment L005 – Eliminate language requiring districts to explain capital project selections in plain and easy to understand languagePassed

Amendment L007 – Strike reference to CDE facility assessmentPassed

Amendment L008 – Add language that if the school district and charter schools agree on a different process, that also aligns with the intent of the statutePassed

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TranscriptPreview

All right, ready? Senate Education Committee will convene, please. Ms. Kirsten, please call the roll. Senators Bridges. Excused. Right here. Frizzell. Excused. Kip. Here. Rich. Here. Marchman. Here. Bridges. Here. Mr. Chair. Here. And we do have a quorum. We'll begin. We just have one bill today, Senate Bill 145. Our sponsors are ready to go. We'll start off with Senator bright. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Members of the committee, thank you for hearing Senate Bill 145. It's about fairness, transparency, and trust. Across Colorado, voters have approved more than 15 billion in school bond funding over the last decade to improve public school facilities. And that's a good thing. Yet while charter schools serve roughly 15% of our public school students, they've received only a fraction of those dollars. These are Colorado school students, no different, no less deserving. Yet too often, we tend to overlook those needs in the process. This bill does not mandate outcomes, does not require districts to fund any particular project. Rather, it simply ensures that when districts are developing bond proposals, they engage in a transparent and inclusive process that considers the needs of all public school students, including those attending charter schools.…

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