colorado legislature

Report: Assessing Reading Ability Gaps in Colorado 3rd Graders

Children who are not proficient in third grade are less likely to be so in high school and less likely than their proficient counterparts to graduate from high school.

Wooden signposts depicting a metaphor for Colorado's economic status with arrows pointing in opposite directions labeled "boom" and "bust," under the title "Colorado Budget Explanation in Plain Talk.

Colorado’s Budget: In Plain Talk

Learn the basics about Colorado's budget.

paid sick leave

Costs & Benefits of Paid Sick Leave

Workers who lack paid sick leave are more likely to come to work sick, send their children to school while sick, recover more slowly from illnesses, and rely on expensive visits to emergency rooms than are workers with sick leave.

Scrabble tiles spelling 'tax' on a background of US dollar bills and a map of Colorado.

Undocumented Immigrants in Colorado: What They Cost, What They Pay

"This analysis clearly shows claims that undocumented immigrants are the cause of our budget problems are way off base," said Rich Jones, director of policy and research.

Report cover highlighting issues facing Colorado families in 2010 with the title 'Opportunity Lost Report'.

2010 Opportunity Lost Report

In an update to our 2004 report, Opportunity Lost: When Hard Work Isn't Enough for Colorado's Families, the Bell's 2010 study finds working poor and low-income families now fare worse on many of the same indicators examined in the previous report.

Architectural blueprints with the text "Blueprint for Opportunity - Executive Summary of Issues That Matter, Ideas That Work".

Blueprint for Opportunity: Executive Summary

Coloradans deserve a state government that will confront these challenges and help keep the American Dream alive for hardworking families.

Two-Generation

Understanding Referendum C

Due to the "ratchet effect" caused by the TABOR amendment, a bipartisan compromise was created, called Referenda C and D. This is what to know about Referendum C, which Colorado voters approved.

A row of similar doors against a patterned wall with one door painted yellow, standing out from the rest, highlighted in the 2005 Opportunity Report.

2005 Opportunity Report

What is opportunity? How is it generated and sustained in the 21st century? In this 2005 iteration of "Colorado: The State of Opportunity," the Bell seeks to answer these questions and more.

Silhouette of a person standing between curtains with a cycle of opportunity backlighting effect.

Cycle of Opportunity

The Bell Policy Center first introduced the Cycle of Opportunity concept in 2002 to illustrate how we believe opportunity is created and sustained in the 21st century.

Assorted metal gears of various sizes and shapes interlocked on a surface, coinciding with the 2002 Opportunity Report.

2002 Opportunity Report

In the first edition of "Colorado: The State of Opportunity," we introduce the Cycle of Opportunity and show how, for most Americans, success requires a series of steps that build on one another and accumulate over a lifetime of effort.

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