Letter from Heather Tritten: The One Big Beautiful Bill and federal school funding delays will hurt kids' education, health, more

Dear Children’s Campaign community member, 

What’s happening in Washington is affecting Colorado children’s lives. Right now, our team is tracking two recent developments that will create new challenges for kids’ education, health care, access to food, and more.  

Last week, Congress passed a bill that dramatically changes how the federal government is using its resources. Colorado’s children, especially those in low-income families and immigrant households, will bear the brunt of those changes. Kids will lose support for food, health coverage, and other basic needs as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Our team is analyzing what this bill means for Colorado and how we can respond. (Read our blog post highlighting some important provisions in the final bill.) 

Hundreds of you told your representatives about the importance of preserving Medicaid, SNAP, and other services that support children this spring, as Congress debated this bill. THANK YOU.  

As a community, we will need to be vigilant, creative, and forward-looking to make sure that every child in Colorado has what they need to thrive in life – including health care and food – as this bill takes effect. Some of these changes take effect immediately, while others will roll out over the next several years. Our federal, state, and local policymakers still need to hear from you about the importance of putting kids first. 

At the same time, Colorado school districts are confronting an immediate challenge: $70 million in federal funding that had been committed to schools has not yet arrived, just weeks before school starts. We need to do all we can to make sure this promised funding arrives – and to support students’ needs amid delays. (Read more about what funding is missing and how it would affect kids.)

At the Colorado Children’s Campaign, we are working with partners and policymakers to make sure kids have what they need in this uncertain and rapidly changing environment. And we want to hear from you about what you’re seeing. You can complete our survey about the impact of federal policy changes, and make sure you are receiving our emails for advocacy alerts and other ways to get involved. 

Thank you for all you do for Colorado kids.