republic-os/legislation/us/states/co/2021a/sb-21-053.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Adjustments To School Funding Fiscal Year 2020-21"
description: "The actual funded pupil count and the actual at-risk pupil count for the 2020-21 budget year were lower than anticipated when the appropriation amount was established during the 2020 legislative session, resulting in a decrease in total program funding for the 2020-21 budget year. In addition, local property tax revenue and specific ownership tax revenue were less than anticipated, resulting in a decrease in the local share of total program funding.The act declares the general assembly's intent to maintain total program funding at the dollar amount of the original appropriation made during the 2020 legislative session, thereby reducing the budget stabilization factor.The act appropriates additional funding for the 2020-21 budget year for districts that experienced a percentage decrease in total program funding from that estimated during the 2020 legislative session that was greater than the district's percentage decrease in funded pupil count from that estimated during the 2020 legislative session. In addition, the act includes additional funding for districts that have an overall reduction in total program funding that is more than 2% below the districts' estimated total program funding during the 2020 legislative session.Charter schools in districts that qualify for additional funding receive a per-pupil share of the additional funding. If an institute charter school experiences a reduction in total program funding from that estimated during the 2020 legislative session and is in an accounting district that receives additional funding, the institute charter school receives a per-pupil amount of additional funding.Additionally, the act includes an appropriation for rural school funding pursuant to section 22-54-142.For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the act appropriates to the department of education:$14,710,777 and $4,578,464 from the general fund for additional state funding for school districts and district charter schools;"
jurisdiction: "us/states/co"
legislature: "Colorado General Assembly"
session: "2021A"
identifier: "SB 21-053"
citation: "Colorado SB 21-053 (2021A)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Barbara McLachlan", "Dominick Moreno", "Julie McCluskie", "Rachel Zenzinger"]
version_count: 10
action_count: 13
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2021-02-16T07:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2021-03-15T06:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/366fcb55-8bfe-4612-ae04-5d0108b290b9"
source_url: "http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb21-053"
source_hash: "4eda2aeeac17127dce0ce54e8858546dc107351ad103f9dcd82a4eefeeafe909"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-co"]
---

# Colorado SB 21-053 (2021A) — Adjustments To School Funding Fiscal Year 2020-21

The actual funded pupil count and the actual at-risk pupil count for the 2020-21 budget year were lower than anticipated when the appropriation amount was established during the 2020 legislative session, resulting in a decrease in total program funding for the 2020-21 budget year. In addition, local property tax revenue and specific ownership tax revenue were less than anticipated, resulting in a decrease in the local share of total program funding.The act declares the general assembly's intent to maintain total program funding at the dollar amount of the original appropriation made during the 2020 legislative session, thereby reducing the budget stabilization factor.The act appropriates additional funding for the 2020-21 budget year for districts that experienced a percentage decrease in total program funding from that estimated during the 2020 legislative session that was greater than the district's percentage decrease in funded pupil count from that estimated during the 2020 legislative session. In addition, the act includes additional funding for districts that have an overall reduction in total program funding that is more than 2% below the districts' estimated total program funding during the 2020 legislative session.Charter schools in districts that qualify for additional funding receive a per-pupil share of the additional funding. If an institute charter school experiences a reduction in total program funding from that estimated during the 2020 legislative session and is in an accounting district that receives additional funding, the institute charter school receives a per-pupil amount of additional funding.Additionally, the act includes an appropriation for rural school funding pursuant to section 22-54-142.For the 2020-21 state fiscal year, the act appropriates to the department of education:$14,710,777 and $4,578,464 from the general fund for additional state funding for school districts and district charter schools;

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Committee Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2021a_sb053_h_app_004.pdf)
2. **Engrossed (02/25/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_053_eng.pdf)
3. **Final Act (03/12/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_053_enr.pdf)
4. **Introduced (02/16/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_053_01.pdf)
5. **PA1 (02/23/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_053sapp_01.pdf)
6. **PA2 (03/02/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_053app_01.pdf)
7. **Reengrossed (02/26/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_053_ren.pdf)
8. **Rerevised (03/05/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_053_rer.pdf)
9. **Revised (03/04/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021A/bills/2021a_053_rev.pdf)
10. **Signed Act (03/15/2021)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/2021a_053_signed.pdf)

## Votes

- BILL — **34–0** (pass) · upper
- REPASS — **35–0** (pass) · upper
- BILL — **52–11** (pass) · lower
- CONCUR — **35–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Barbara McLachlan — primary (person)
- Dominick Moreno — primary (person)
- Julie McCluskie — primary (person)
- Rachel Zenzinger — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-03-15T06:00:00+00:00** Governor Signed `executive-signature`
- **2021-03-12T07:00:00+00:00** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-03-12T07:00:00+00:00** Signed by the Speaker of the House
- **2021-03-12T07:00:00+00:00** Signed by the President of the Senate
- **2021-03-09T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Considered House Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass
- **2021-03-05T07:00:00+00:00** House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-04T07:00:00+00:00** House Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee `reading-2`
- **2021-03-02T07:00:00+00:00** House Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole `committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2021-02-26T07:00:00+00:00** Introduced In House - Assigned to Appropriations `introduction`
- **2021-02-26T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-02-25T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee `reading-2`
- **2021-02-23T07:00:00+00:00** Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-16T07:00:00+00:00** Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Appropriations `introduction`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/366fcb55-8bfe-4612-ae04-5d0108b290b9`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Colorado legislature records).