Senate Approves FY 24-25 Budget to Support K-12 Schools, Hardworking Families
FY 2024-2025 Budget makes investments to fully fund K-12 education, boost behavioral health care services, support Colorado’s state parks, and deliver for hardworking families
DENVER, CO – Today the Senate approved the FY 2024-2025 state budget, which makes balanced investments to fully fund K-12 education, boost behavioral health care services, support Colorado’s state parks, and deliver for hardworking families.
“Of all the budgets that I have proudly helped to craft over the years, this one will stand out in my memory years from now,” said Joint Budget Committee Vice Chair Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada. “I am pleased to see that we have reached this milestone in the process. Every budget-making process has its challenges, and this one certainly has been no exception. But the hard work has been worthwhile: we eliminated the budget stabilization factor that we inflicted upon our schools a decade ago; and now K-12 is fully funded. What a joy to make that statement.”
“This year’s bipartisan budget is a reflection of our Colorado values of opportunity and responsibility,” Joint Budget Committee member Jeff Bridges, D-Arapahoe County, said.“The investments included in this budget will address our workforce shortages, expand access to behavioral health resources, support public schools, and make our communities safer. With this balanced budget, we’re delivering the support hardworking Coloradans need right now, while setting our state up for success in the years to come.”
The state’s $40.6 billion budget is a 3.7 percent increase over last year’s budget. This year’s budget, HB24-1430, includes a total of $58.6 million to support hardworking families and boost education and workforce efforts. The budget now heads to a conference committee for consideration of amendments made in the Senate and House.
Preparing Students for Success
Fully Funding Colorado’s K-12 Schools: After years of responsible budgeting and planning, this year’s budget eliminates the Budget Stabilization Factor, which has restricted funding for Colorado's K-12 public education funding for more than a decade.
As outlined in the budget, the total funding for public schools will increase by more than $500 million, including an average increase in per-pupil funding of $736 per student, bringing the total per-pupil amount to $11,406 – the largest in state history. Final action on per-pupil funding, and total program funding, is included in this year’s School Finance Act, which passed the Senate today.
Fully Funding Special Education for the First Time: To make it easier for every learner to succeed, the budget increases special education funding for students with disabilities by 10.2 percent, or $34.7 million, bringing the state’s total investment in special education funding for students with disabilities to $375.5 million.
Supporting English Language Learners and New Arrival Students: The budget outlines an increase in funding of 10.6 percent, or $3.3 million, to help students become proficient in the English language. Additionally, to help Colorado school districts across the state support and meet the needs of the influx of new students, the budget includes an appropriation of $24 million from the State Education Fund to be distributed directly to schools as quickly as possible.
Providing Mental Health Resources for Students: To help our learners succeed and access the mental and behavioral health services they need, this budget creates the School-Based Mental Health Support Program. This $2.5 million program will help students enhance their social, emotional or behavioral well-being and support students going through adjustment periods.
Supporting At-Risk Students: To create pathways for each and every student to succeed in school, the budget allocates $1.16 million more for at-risk students to better support those with a higher probability of not graduating K-12 schooling.
Capping Tuition Hikes, Boosting Funding for Higher Education, Supporting College Students: The budget caps tuition hikes at 3 percent for in-state students and 4 percent for non-resident students. The budget also boosts funding by $114.3 million to help higher education institutions streamline services and operational support. Additionally, the budget sets aside $26.6 million in the General Fund for aligned financial aid support and $1.67 million to provide assistance to students experiencing homelessness during high school. Students could use this funding to assist with housing, tuition, fees and textbooks.
Support for Early Childhood and Families
Supporting Universal Preschool: Universal preschool (UPK) has saved families thousands of dollars and helped prepare our youngest learners for success. This year’s budget includes an increase of $65.5 million to the UPK program, specifically for provider payments, quality improvement initiatives, and improvements to the online application process.
Increasing Funding for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program: To help families find childcare options they can afford, the budget includes a $21.1 million increase to the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, which connects low-income families to child care options.
Boosting Pay for Early Childhood Professionals: The budget includes a 2 percent increase, or $4.9 million, to community providers including early childhood mental health service providers, social workers, family resource centers staff and early childhood educators.
New, In-Home Support for New Mothers: To provide all-around services to our state’s new mothers, the budget includes a $2.8 million increase to support a universal home visiting pilot program, which will offer comprehensive in-home evaluations and supportive follow-up visits to new mothers and infants. Funding will support births at certain hospitals in ten counties including Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Eagle, Garfield, Jefferson, Pitkin, Summit, Weld, and Mesa counties.
Streamlining the Child Lead Testing Program: Everyone deserves clean water to drink. To help combat and prevent childhood lead poisoning across the state, the budget invests $1.2 million for testing and outreach to alert families to specific hazards.
Creating Healthier, Stronger Communities
Boosting Pay for Health Care Providers: This year’s budget outlines a 2 percent across-the-board community provider rate increase and $198 million for targeted provider rate increases following recommendations from the Medicaid Provider Rate Review Advisory Committee. This applies to Medicaid providers, preschool and childcare providers, social services providers, independent living centers, local public health agencies, services in the Department of Corrections, and other private and nonprofit organizations that provide various services.
Improving Colorado’s Competency Process: To help improve Colorado’s competency process, the budget allocates $68.2 million to maintain and increase existing resources for inpatient competency restoration services. Funding will be used to address staffing needs and provide additional support.
Increasing Funding for Nutrition Assistance: The budget includes a $16.9 million investment to meet the increased demand for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), so Coloradans can access healthy foods. The budget invests an additional $3 million in food banks and local food pantries to reduce food insecurity.
Funding Healthy School Meals for All: The budget adds $56.1 million to the voter-approved Healthy School Meals for All program, which provides free breakfast and lunch to all public school students.
Maintaining Strong Public Health Infrastructure: To help maintain the strong state public health operations Colorado developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the budget includes an $11 million investment in Local Public Health Agencies, and a $5.6 million investment to maintain the strong state operations in the Division of Disease Control and Public Health to combat existing and new public health threats.
Supporting People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD): To reduce the growing waitlist for services and ensure Coloradans with IDDs can receive the support and services they need when they need it, the budget increases IDD support by $5.6 million. Funding will be directed to an additional 129 treatment placements for residential Adult Comprehensive Services.
Boosting Grant Resources for Coloradans with a Disability: To ensure Coloradans with a disability have the support they need, the budget outlines a $5.1 million increase to help fund grants operated by the Laura Hershey Disability Support Act, which provides education, direct assistance, and advocacy for people with disabilities.
Protecting Critical Health Care Services:
Funding for Popular I Matter Program: The successful I Matter program provides free therapy sessions to our youth under 18-years and younger. The budget includes $6 million to make the program permanent.
Medicaid Support: To ensure that those who need Medicaid coverage can receive it, the budget includes $21.7 million to support and provide additional flexibility in eligibility determinations associated with the end of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirements during the federal public health emergency.
Support for Children and Youth in the Foster Care System: The budget includes $15.3 million to help youth in the foster care system with complex behavioral health care needs get the treatment and services they need to succeed.
Health Centers for Uninsured Coloradans: This year’s budget includes $13 million to support Federally Qualified Health Centers and other primary care providers where at least 50 percent of the patients served are uninsured or medically indigent.
Develop the Office of the Children’s Behavioral Health Statewide System of Care: To create a continuum of care for our youth, the budget sets aside $2.1 million to create a new program within the Behavioral Health Administration to develop and implement a comprehensive children’s behavioral health care system.
Increasing Veteran Support: To support those who have served our nation, the budget includes a $500,000 increase to the Veterans Assistance Grant Program which improves social, health and community services to Colorado’s veteran population.
Safer Communities
Boosting Staffing for Public Defenders: To help Colorado’s public defenders meet the needs of our criminal justice system and reduce caseloads, the budget outlines $11.5 million and a 9 percent increase year-over-year to hire 50 new attorneys, 42 support staff, and 11 social workers.
Combatting Auto Theft and Other Crime Prevention: To help keep communities safe, the budget outlines an $8 million increase for grants to reduce and prevent auto theft. The budget also includes $1.1 million for state forensic resources vital to auto theft cases and $3 million for local crime prevention grants under the Multidisciplinary Crime Prevention and Crisis Intervention program.
Crime Victim Services Funding: Those involved in domestic violence situations or other life-altering crimes often need support. The budget invests $4 million in the Colorado Crime Victim Services Fund to support victims of crime, their families and children.
Improving Emergency Response: To help first responders reach those in need, the budget includes a $1.2 million investment to improve the Colorado Team Awareness Kit. This mobile app allows first responders to track and map their locations and improve the coordination of emergency response.
Enhancing Security at Nonprofits: Nonprofits, such as synagogues and mosques, are facing an increase in threats. The budget includes an increase of more than $906,000 to the Colorado Nonprofit Security Grant Program to help them ramp up physical security at their buildings.
Investments for Parks, Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation, Water Resources and Environment
Strengthening Underfunded Parks & Wildlife Operations: To protect, maintain and make Colorado’s public parks more accessible, the budget includes a $5.7 million investment to fund 45 new staff positions to strengthen several Division of Parks and Wildlife operations, including wildlife management, species conservation, fish hatchery operations, counter-poaching efforts, and the maintenance, management, and services necessary to serve the growing number of visitors to Colorado state parks.
Spearheading Environmental Justice for Impacted Communities: To improve health outcomes for communities disproportionately impacted by pollution, the budget allocates $2.8 million in funding to create the Office of Health Equity and Environmental Justice.
Protecting Water Rights & Resources: To protect our valuable freshwater resources, the budget includes more than $237,000 to monitor and address national or regional developments that may affect our water supply.