By Carolyn Martin (CHEC Director of Government Relations)

When Will the Legislature Convene This Year?

Three hundred and two days. That is how long it has been since the governor of Colorado first declared an emergency. For 9 months and 27 days we have lived under orders that arguably violate the separation of powers. The legislature met in a special session in early December to distribute tax dollars to a minority of those impacted by the governor’s unconstitutional orders. The question remains if those efforts were too little, too late to help. The number of small businesses forced to close through no fault of their own will not be fully known for years as they fight to hold on to their livelihoods. 

Due to the continued emergency declaration and an atmosphere of fear, the legislators will meet only briefly on their regularly scheduled date of January 13th. The main event will be the swearing in of newly elected legislators. During declared emergencies, the legislature is limited in what bills they can address. Most likely we will only see bills that give the governor the ability to distribute more tax dollars. Currently, the plan is for the legislature to recess until February 16th. Could this be a sign that the emergency will be ending soon? I hope so!

Possible Impacts on Homeschooling?

Emergency orders heavily impacted schools, which means education is going to be on the top of the list of priorities for the legislature. Because many schools went to all remote learning, parents wisely began looking for alternatives. Homeschooling was at the forefront. Confusion about exactly what homeschooling is, exploded. It didn’t help that school districts and the media were giving out lots of misinformation. Unfortunately, this leaves our representatives looking to the teacher’s unions for direction, and we know where they stand.

The possibilities of what the majority party will bring to deal with the perceived education crisis abound, and they are holding their cards close to the chest. We need to be prepared for whatever comes our way. Hold onto the following statement and try to incorporate it in any conversation you have with a legislator: We believe in empowering parents to raise and educate the next generation of leaders.

Our best weapons to combat bad legislation are prayer and relationships. 

• Join the Colorado Homeschool Freedom Team’s prayer email list. 
• We still need people to sign up to commit to reach out to their legislators and establish relationships.

Trusting in the mighty power and grace of Jesus,
Carolyn Martin, CHEC Director of Government Relations
carolyn@chec.org

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About the Author: Carolyn Martin

Carolyn Martin serves as CHEC’s Director of Government Relations, working for you and other liberty-loving families to protect homeschool freedom, parental rights, and religious liberty at the state capitol. Subscribe to the CHEC blog for Carolyn’s regular updates here, learn more about legal issues in Colorado here, and donate to support Homeschool Freedom here. Contact Carolyn directly at carolyn@chec.org.