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

• Register for the 2022 Winter Legislative Conference — February 24 and 25 at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver. Learn more on our website.

• All school board presidents are invited to gather together virtually on Thursday, Jan 13, at 11:30 a.m. to participate in the first Board President’s Cafe in 2022.

• Register for the FREE January 18 CASB Conversations Webinar – Maximizing Your Leadership: Best Practices for Board Members.

• Rural board members are invited to join the Rural Board Members Roundtable sessions on January 27, 2022, at either noon or 6:00 p.m.

• Whether you attended the 81st Annual CASB Convention or not, members want to be sure to access many of the presentations and resources on our website. (member login is required)

• CASB Connections Podcasts: Onboarding New Board Members 

ADVOCACY

• January is School Board Recognition Month! Given the challenges of governing school districts over the past couple of years, we are thrilled to honor these special individuals who consistently exemplify being Resilient, Ready, and Relentless for all Colorado schools and their students. 

• The Second Regular Session of the seventy-third General Assembly will convene on January 12, 2022. Use CASB’s interactive graphics on its website to find your key legislators, education committee members, and all general assembly members.

• The NSBA Advocacy Institute in Washington DC is open to any CASB member and is scheduled for January 23 to 25, 2022. Registration is now open. 

• All CASB members received their own district’s “Tell Your Story — Money Matters” ESSER document. Learn more about the campaign and reach out to [email protected] if you have questions.

POLICY AND LEGAL

• Colorado Minimum Wage: $12.56/hour (eff. 1/1/22).

• A public health emergency (PHE) is still in effect. As such, employers must continue to provide the supplemental COVID-related leave to employees under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA). The COVID-related 80-hour leave supplement does not renew (on the first of the year or any other time). If an employer has already provided all COVID-related PHE leave an employee is entitled to, it need not provide that employee additional COVID-related PHE leave for the duration of the PHE. But employees continue to have access to any unused, supplemental PHE leave they were provided on or after January 1, 2021. See CASB’s Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (Paid Sick Leave) Overview and FAQ for more information.

• Special Policy Updates are released on a regular basis and are available on our website. Our next SPU will be released in February and may include updates to our sample bullying policy documents to align with CDE’s Model Bullying Prevention and Education Policy, in accordance with HB21-1221. 

NSBA UPDATES

• Upcoming NSBA Events

• January 22, 2022—NSBA Equity Symposium in Washington, DC

• January 23-25, 2022—NSBA Advocacy Institute in Washington, DC 

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) is now accepting applications for its Educator Loan Forgiveness Program, which will grant up to $5,000 annually to educators currently serving rural districts or teaching in hard-to-fill positions. Learn more. 

• Apply for the grant from the University of Colorado Boulder that, as part of a research study, covers all costs to implement the Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) High School program, an evidence-informed social-emotional learning and substance abuse prevention curriculum. Applications are due by January 31, 2022.

• The 2022 Teaching and Learning Conditions Colorado (TLCC) survey launches Wednesday, Jan. 19, and will now include Educational Support Professionals. 

• Colorado Department of Human Services launches program to promote youth mental health. Young people can take a confidential survey to be matched up with a mental health professional who can best support them. Every youth is then eligible for three free counseling sessions.

• CDE is creating a Learning and Transparency Technical Assistance Program to provide support to ensure that local education agencies (LEA) have the capacity to meet this need for transparency regarding the use of COVID relief funding with their families and communities. The deadline for the Intent to Apply (optional but encouraged) is January 7, 2022, with the deadline for applications being January 28, 2022. The program website has additional details and links to the intent to apply, application, budget template, and other resources.

• CDC provides updated guidance about quarantining and isolating – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently clarified that updated guidance about quarantining and isolating applies in the K-12 school setting. However, it has not yet updated its school-specific guidance page. CDC has indicated it will provide detailed, school-specific guidance before the end of this week, and CDPHE is prepared to update its guidance to align immediately after CDC releases its renewed school-specific guidance.