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SB26-126 • 2026

Licensure for Experienced Out-of-State Teachers

The act allows the state department of education (CDE) to issue a professional teacher license to a teacher with at least 3 years of successful teaching experience in another state or country for whic

Education
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Sen. J. Marchman, Sen. J. Rich, Rep. D. Johnson, Rep. M. Lukens, Sen. J. Amabile, Sen. A. Benavidez, Sen. J. Bridges, Sen. S. Bright, Sen. J. Carson, Sen. M. Catlin, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. L. Cutter, Sen. T. Exum, Sen. L. Frizell, Sen. J. Gonzales, Sen. I. Jodeh, Sen. C. Kipp, Sen. B. Kirkmeyer, Sen. C. Kolker, Sen. K. Mullica, Sen. B. Pelton, Sen. R. Pelton, Sen. M. Snyder, Sen. T. Sullivan, Sen. K. Wallace, Sen. M. Weissman, Rep. A. Boesenecker, Rep. K. Brown, Rep. J. Caldwell, Rep. S. Camacho, Rep. C. Clifford, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. L. Garcia Sander, Rep. L. Goldstein, Rep. R. Gonzalez, Rep. E. Hamrick, Rep. J. Joseph, Rep. R. Keltie, Rep. S. Lieder, Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. B. Marshall, Rep. J. McCluskie, Rep. K. McCormick, Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. J. Phillips, Rep. C. Richardson, Rep. M. Rutinel, Rep. L. Smith, Rep. K. Stewart, Rep. T. Story
Last action
2026-04-20
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Licensure for Experienced Out-of-State Teachers

The act allows the state department of education (CDE) to issue a professional teacher license to a teacher with at least 3 years of successful teaching experience in another state or country for which CDE has granted reciprocity.

What This Bill Does

  • The act allows the state department of education (CDE) to issue a professional teacher license to a teacher with at least 3 years of successful teaching experience in another state or country for which CDE has granted reciprocity.
  • The act eliminates the requirement that an applicant have the successful teaching experience within the previous 7 years.
  • The act creates a temporary licensing process for teachers from states that participate in the 'Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact' (Compact).
  • The process requires that CDE: Issue an initial teacher license within 30 days of receiving a complete teacher license application from a person licensed by a Compact state when the applicant passes a criminal history record check and holds an unencumbered eligible license issued by a Compact state that is equivalent to an eligible license in Colorado; and Publish an annual table showing how out-of-state licenses correspond to Colorado endorsement areas.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

L.003

HOU Education

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB126_L.003 HOUSE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Education.

  • SB126_L.003 HOUSE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Education.
  • SB26-126 be amended as follows: 1 Amend reengrossed bill, page 3, strike lines 3 through 11 and substitute: 2 "(6) (a) PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (6)(c) OF THIS SECTION, THE 3 DEPARTMENT SHALL ISSUE AN INITIAL TEACHER LICENSE WITHIN THIRTY 4 DAYS AFTER RECEIVING A COMPLETE TEACHER LICENSE APPLICATION 5 FROM A PERSON LICENSED BY A STATE THAT PARTICIPATES IN THE 6 "INTERSTATE TEACHER MOBILITY COMPACT" ESTABLISHED IN PART 44 OF 7 ARTICLE 60 OF TITLE 24 WHEN THE APPLICANT FOR THE TEACHER 8 LICENSE:".
  • ** *** ** *** ** LLS: Lindy Schaible x4215
L.001

SEN Education

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB126_L.001 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Education.

  • SB126_L.001 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Education.
  • SB26-126 be amended as follows: 1 Amend printed bill, page 3, strike lines 12 through 20 and substitute: 2 "(I) HOLDS AN UNENCUMBERED ELIGIBLE LICENSE ISSUED BY AN 3 INTERSTATE TEACHER MOBILITY COMPACT STATE THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO 4 AN ELIGIBLE LICENSE IN COLORADO;".
  • ** *** ** *** ** LLS: Lindy Schaible x4215
L.002

SEN Education

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB126_L.002 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Education.

  • SB126_L.002 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Education.
  • SB26-126 be amended as follows: 1 Amend printed bill, page 4, strike lines 12 through 21 and substitute: 2 "(e) THIS SUBSECTION (6) WILL BE REPEALED IF THE DEPARTMENT 3 BEGINS ISSUING LICENSES PURSUANT TO THE "INTERSTATE TEACHER 4 MOBILITY COMPACT", ESTABLISHED IN PART 44 OF ARTICLE 60 OF TITLE 5 24.
  • THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION SHALL NOTIFY THE REVISOR OF 6 STATUTES IN WRITING WHEN THE CONDITION SPECIFIED IN THIS 7 SUBSECTION (6)(e) HAS OCCURRED BY EMAILING THE NOTICE TO 8 REVISOROFSTATUTES.GA@COLEG.GOV.
  • THE REPEAL TAKES EFFECT UPON 9 THE DATE IDENTIFIED IN THE NOTICE OR UPON THE DATE OF THE NOTICE TO 10 THE REVISOR OF STATUTES IF THE NOTICE DOES NOT SPECIFY A DIFFERENT 11 DATE.".

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-20 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-04-07 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  4. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  5. 2026-04-06 Senate

    Senate Considered House Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass

  6. 2026-04-02 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  7. 2026-04-01 House

    House Third Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments

  8. 2026-03-31 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee

  9. 2026-03-26 House

    House Committee on Education Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

  10. 2026-03-19 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Education

  11. 2026-03-17 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  12. 2026-03-16 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee

  13. 2026-03-16 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments

  14. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Senate Committee on Education Refer Amended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole

  15. 2026-02-25 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Education

Official Summary Text

The act allows the state department of education (CDE) to issue a professional teacher license to a teacher with at least 3 years of successful teaching experience in another state or country for which CDE has granted reciprocity. The act eliminates the requirement that an applicant have the successful teaching experience within the previous 7 years.
The act creates a temporary licensing process for teachers from states that participate in the 'Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact' (Compact). The process requires that CDE:
Issue an initial teacher license within 30 days of receiving a complete teacher license application from a person licensed by a Compact state when the applicant passes a criminal history record check and holds an unencumbered eligible license issued by a Compact state that is equivalent to an eligible license in Colorado; and
Publish an annual table showing how out-of-state licenses correspond to Colorado endorsement areas.
The act repeals the temporary licensing process when CDE begins issuing licenses pursuant to the Compact.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)