Proposition NN
Proposition NN — State Public K-12 Education Funding and TABOR Cap
On the ballot
Colorado · November 2026 general election · Legislative referral · Election day November 3, 2026
Topics: Education, Taxes and revenue
In plain language
Proposition NN was referred to voters by the Legislature in Senate Bill 26-135. It would let the state keep and spend revenue above the limit set by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, in an amount equal to state K-12 education funding, instead of refunding that money to taxpayers. State K-12 funding would rise by up to 2 percent per year for 10 years, and districts could use the added money only for teacher pay, teacher retention, smaller class sizes, and career and technical courses. Remaining retained revenue would go to a new children's account. An annual independent audit would report how the money is spent.
Fiscal impact
The Legislative Council Staff fiscal note for Senate Bill 26-135 (March 10, 2026) shows conditional impacts if voters approve the measure: no change in FY 2026-27, and in FY 2027-28 state expenditures of up to $1.03 billion — $211.9 million General Fund plus up to $817.0 million from a new Excess Revenues Account — and a reduction in TABOR refunds of $817.0 million, made up of $211.9 million in property tax refunds, $319.8 million in income tax rate reductions, and $285.3 million in six-tier sales tax refunds. No change in state FTE is projected.
Summarized from the official fiscal analysis listed in the sources below. Figures are the state's, not this site's.
What supporters and opponents say
These are summaries of arguments made by the named organizations, drawn from the sources listed below. They are their claims, not this site's, and this site takes no position on the measure.
What supporters say
- State Sen. Jeff Bridges (D-26), the lead sponsor, says the measure "guarantees that K-12 is the primary beneficiary" and has "the potential to be one of the most transformative measures for K-12 funding."
- Ken Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, says it gives voters the chance to decide whether Colorado should invest revenue it already collects in public education "without raising taxes or asking Coloradans to pay a dollar more."
- State Rep. Eliza Hamrick (D-61) points to research linking fair teacher pay to student performance and higher graduation rates.
What opponents say
- Your Family's Future Alliance, the group organizing against the measure, calls it "a deceptive power grab that erodes voter-approved fiscal restraints, steals direct refunds from families, and prioritizes government spending over household affordability."
- Nash Herman, a policy analyst at the Independence Institute, notes that Proposition NN directs education funding only for the first ten years while making a permanent increase to the TABOR limit.
- State Rep. Rebecca Keltie (R-16) describes it as a "multi-billion dollar spending spree built on assumptions."
Reproduced verbatim from the state's certified ballot text.
Shall state investment in K-12 public education increase two percent each year for the next ten years, with investments used to increase teacher pay, improve teacher retention, lower class sizes, and increase access to career and technical courses, without raising taxes but instead funded by raising the annual limit on state fiscal year spending only by the amount spent on public K-12 education as a voter-approved revenue change, and requiring an annual publicly released, independent audit to show how the new investments are spent?
Sources
Everything on this page traces to these sources. Follow them to read the original documents.
- Colorado General Assembly — SB26-135 State Public K-12 Education Funding
- Colorado Legislative Council Staff — SB 26-135 Fiscal Note (March 10, 2026)
- Ballotpedia — Colorado Proposition NN, TABOR Revenue Cap Increase for K-12 Education Measure (2026)
- Chalkbeat Colorado — Colorado school funding advocates launch campaign in support of Proposition NN
Last updated . How this page is sourced and corrected is described in the correction policy.