DFER Colorado is a leading organization in the effort to ensure that electoral successes and majorities lead to meaningful legislative action. This organization has been a driving force behind the passage of the Great Teachers and Leaders Act, Breakfast After the Bell, equitable access to factory tax credits for all students, funding for full-day kindergarten, the automatic enrollment scholarship program, the elimination of districts' ability to withhold transcripts, grades or diplomas due to non-payment of fees or fines, increased completion rates for the FAFSA, the scholarship program for successful ninth grade students, universal preschool and Early Education and Early Childhood Education funding, and increased funding for multilingual teaching. The Colorado Democratic Party recently asked an influential group of school reformers to back off and even requested they stop using the word “Democrats” in their name. This dynamic was evident at the party's state convention this spring, when delegates booed the director of the Colorado section of Democrats for Education Reform and voted to expel them from the tent.
As Chalkbeat reported: “The advisory committee of the Colorado section of Democrats for Education Reform reads like a “who's who” of prominent members of the party and includes former state House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, who now works for Denver's public schools, and the former state senator. DFER Colorado is also leading current legislative attempts to review Colorado's outdated K-12 school funding formula so that students who need more resources can get them. New Era will spearhead organizing efforts for the first five key issues, while partners such as the Colorado Organization for Reproductive Rights and Opportunities of Latinas and the Colorado Tax Institute will help each other's promotion efforts.
