At-Risk Measure

In 2025, the state legislature adopted HB25-1320 the “improved” at-risk measure, which removed references of the “new” at-risk measure, mandated the collection of Census block data for the 2025/2026 school year, and gave the State Board of Education the authority to pause and restart the collection of Census block data on an annual basis.

In August 2025, the State Board adopted updated rules to reflect the legislature’s adoption of HB25-1320.  

For the 2025/2026 school year, the at-risk measure within the School Finance formula includes per pupil funding eligible students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Additionally, the Census block data will be collected but this data will not be incorporated into the School Finance formula.

SB24-188 extended the implementation of the new at-risk measure to the 2025/2026 budget year.

The At-Risk Interchange was created to collect socioeconomic status index factors, namely Census block data, mandated for collection by HB22-1202. The collection included state, county, tract, and block codes for all students reported for funding in the Student October data collection.

For the 2024/2025 school year, the at-risk measure within the School Finance formula includes per pupil funding eligible students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Additionally, the Census block data will be collected but this data will not be incorporated into the School Finance formula.

In preparation for collecting data representative of students certified as eligible for free lunch, the Free Lunch Eligibility Identification field was created for inclusion into the Student October data collection. This field allowed districts to indicate how they identified free lunch eligible students by providing values corresponding with direct certification, other source categorical, and application, as methods of identification.  

While the new at-risk measure was to be implemented starting with the 2023/2024 school year, SB23-287 as Amended extended the implementation of the new at-risk measure requirement to the 2024/2025 budget year.

For the 2023/2024 school year, the at-risk measure within the School Finance formula includes per pupil funding eligible students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

SB23-287 is also available as a PDF. 

Resource: 

New At-Risk Measure Update (SB23-287) - March 2024

In 2022, the state legislature passed HB22-1414, which gave districts the option to participate in the Healthy School Meals for All program and provide all students free meals. With the passage of Healthy School Meals for All, the state legislature anticipated the need for another mechanism with which to measure at-risk student populations and passed HB22-1202.

HB22-1202 created a new at-risk measure in the school finance formula to identify students who are at risk of below-average academic outcomes due to socioeconomic disadvantage or poverty. The new measure included a district’s percentage of students certified as eligible for free lunch based on receipt of public benefits or categorical eligibility, supplemented by the direct certification of students participating in Medicaid or Children’s Basic Health Plan; and a neighborhood socioeconomic status index that weights students’ needs based on at least five socioeconomic status neighborhood factors, linked to each student’s census block group.

The bill required the Commissioner of Education to convene a working group to prepare for the implementation of the new measure. The working group consisted of representatives from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), and a variety of education-related groups. The working group met from August 8, 2022 through December 12, 2022, and provided a report to the Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance, Joint Budget Committee, and education committees by January 31, 2023.

For the 2022/2023 school year, the at-risk measure within the School Finance formula includes per pupil funding eligible students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Resources: 

EDAC Update on New At-Risk Measure - June 2023

At-Risk Measure for School Finance – May 2023

EDAC Update on New At-Risk Measure - March 2023

Presentation to the State Board of Education – February 2023

Report of the New At-Risk Measure for School Finance Working Group - January 2023

American Community Survey  

Urban Institute Report to the Interim Committee on School Finance (PDF)