House committee advances School Finance Act, adopts phased implementation and safeguards

The Colorado House Education Committee advanced House Bill 13-20, the 2025 School Finance Act, after hours of testimony and several amendments that change how the new school funding formula will be phased in and monitored.

The bill implements portions of last year’s school finance law (commonly referred to in testimony as 14-48) and directs $256 million of new K‑12 funding for fiscal 2025-26 while shielding some districts from cuts amid a projected statewide budget shortfall. Sponsors said the package ensures no district will receive less funding next year than it did in 2024-25 and that higher-need students will receive proportionally more funding.

Supporters said the bill begins a multi-year transition to a student-centered funding formula that increases weights for students living in poverty, English learners and students with special learning needs. Representative (Speaker) Rachel McCluskey, one of the bill’s prime sponsors, said the proposal preserves four‑year enrollment averaging for 2025-26, phases implementation of the new formula over a longer period (moving from 18% to 15% of new money for year one and extending the ramp to seven years), and adds economic safeguards and reporting triggers to protect the state education fund.

Committee discussion focused on three recurring concerns: the sustainability of the state education fund, protections for small and rural districts facing…