# Colorado Legislature Enacts Two Early-Childhood Education Bills on Reading Evaluation and Vision Screening

- **Publisher:** FoCo Observer — independent local news for Fort Collins and Northern Colorado
- **Published:** Jul 23, 2026, 10:32 AM MDT (2026-07-23T10:32:39.091859-06:00)
- **Section:** Local-government
- **Canonical URL:** https://foco-observer.com/fort-collins/colorado-legislature-enacts-two-early-childhood/

The Colorado General Assembly has enacted two education measures aimed at early childhood development: House Bill 26-1352, which revises how the state evaluates its early-literacy program under the READ Act, and House Bill 26-1193, which extends vision screening to pre-kindergarten students[^1].

HB26-1352 changes the required independent evaluation of READ Act spending from an annual to a biennial requirement[^1]. It also directs the Colorado Department of Education to post an annual online report summarizing local education providers' reading curricula; their programs, services, and supports; and student progress[^1]. The act further reduces the appropriation for the early-literacy program's external evaluation by $750,000 for the 2026-27 state fiscal year[^1].

State lobbying disclosures record organized interest in the measure: Stand for Children, Inc. and AFT Colorado registered positions supporting the bill, while the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance registered a position monitoring it[^3].

HB26-1193 requires school districts to test the vision of pre-kindergarten students, in addition to the existing requirement to test students in kindergarten and the first, second, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth grades[^2]. The act also updates statutory terminology, replacing the word "sight" with "vision"[^2].

[^1]: [co_legislative_event](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1352)
[^2]: [co_legislative_event](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1193)
[^3]: [co_state_lobby_filing — Professional Lobbyist Bills in Colorado](https://data.colorado.gov/resource/sche-yqzf.json)

## Sources

- [https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1352](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1352)
- [https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1193](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1193)
- [https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb26-193](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb26-193)
- [https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1431](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1431)
- [https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1433](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1433)
- [https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1432](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb26-1432)
- [https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb26-192](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb26-192)

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