CASB Serving You!

May 21, 2021
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CASB believes that quality public education is the foundation for our nation’s economic prosperity, community’s quality of life, and every child’s opportunity to live their best life. The following are current events and opportunities for our members:

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

• Save the Date — Start Schools Stronger Summit set for June 14
  Join CASB, CASE, CEA, CDE, PEBC, and the Rural Alliance for an educational summit that will allow school districts to bring together teams of administrators, teachers, and school board members for an in-person convening to learn about the latest in safety & health, mental health & social emotional learning, and accelerating learning.  The event is FREE! See flyer on website for more details
• CASB, in partnership with the Colorado Secretary of State's Office, will provide a school election seminars on Wednesday, June 16:
• School election seminar (Part I) from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
• Provides an overview of the School Director Election process — including the roles and responsibilities for boards, designated election officials (DEOs), and county clerks and recorders, candidate eligibility, the petition process, and more. This webinar is open to all but is designed mainly for DEOs and potential candidates. Register here
• School elections seminar (Part II) from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• Provides an overview of campaign finance — including committees, disclosure reports and filing requirements, contributions, and more. This webinar is open to all but is designed mainly for potential school board candidates. Register here

• Mark your calendars for CASB in-person events this fall: Regional Meetings are taking place in September-October, Fall Delegate Assembly Conference will be in Fort Collins on Oct 22-23, and the CASB Convention will be Dec 2-4.

ADVOCACY

• The May 21 School Board Advocate provides the latest details on the legislative session, including the School Finance Act, which is making its way through the House. Of note:

• Inflation changes increase per-pupil funding by $141.67 for a base per-pupil funding of $7,225.28
• Returns the Budget Stabilization (BS) Factor to pre-COVID pandemic levels at $572 million
• Increases funding for At-Risk students by including students who receive “reduced” school lunch as well as the currently funded students who receive “free” school meals
• Additional funding for English Language Learners (ELL) students is included in the bill

• HB21-1317, Regulating Marijuana Concentrates, passed the House committee after approximately nine hours of testimony. It is now in the Senate and you can learn more about the bill and why CASB testified in support of the bill on our recent webinar, High Potency Marijuana and Colorado Youth. Use CASB’s advocacy tools, to reach out to your legislators to encourage them to support the bill. The webinar recording is available on our website.

• There are more than 100 education-related bills that would influence public education introduced so far this session. You can find all the details on CASB’s interactive bill graphic and bill tracker. Some items worth highlighting include:

• CASB’s Key Legislative Priorities are on the website and available for sharing with members and asking them to connect with their Key Legislators.

POLICY AND LEGAL

• The 2021 Election resources are available to CASB members on our website.

NSBA UPDATES

• Upcoming NSBA Events
• June 8-10. 2021 NSBA Advocacy Institute (virtual)
• July 13-14, 2021 NSBA Equity Symposium (virtual)
• September 16-18, 2021 CUBE 2021 Annual Conference (in-person) REGISTRATION OPENS MAY 12
• October 22-23, 2021 Equity Symposium West (in-person) Oklahoma City

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

• May is Mental Health Month — Mental Health America has released its May is Mental Health Month toolkit. A toolkit is available to help you promote.