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Colorado

Verified against current sources (2026-05-10) Cite this page ↓

Colorado offers Bilingual Education as an add-on endorsement; ELD/ESL is an add-on endorsement. SEI training is not mandated for all teachers. As of 2023, 13.0% of public-school students are classified English Learners (NCES). Re-verified against current SEA sources on 2026-05-10.

13.0%
classified ELs (2023-10-01)
view trend →
Bil + ELD
credential types offered

Credentials

CLD Bilingual Education Specialist

  • Add-on endorsement
Approved program
Required
Coursework
Required
Practicum
Required
Subject test
Unknown
Language proficiency
Required

Branded 'Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Bilingual Education' (Grades K-12). 'Added endorsement only' per CDE — applicants must first hold a Colorado initial or professional teacher license. Two pathways: (A) completion of a Colorado-State-Board-approved CLD Bilingual program (8.23), or (B) completion of the CLDE endorsement (8.22) coursework PLUS three CLD Bilingual competencies (Bilingualism and Biliteracy; Bilingual Methods, ≥15 clock hours; Ability to Teach in the Additional Language, ≥30 clock hours). Language proficiency in the partner language is required and is typically demonstrated via Praxis + ACTFL OPI in the chosen language or a degree in the language; the worksheet allows test scores OR equivalent coursework, so 'test' is coded null rather than true.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education

  • Add-on endorsement
Approved program
Required
Coursework
Required
Practicum
Required
Subject test
Not required

Branded 'Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education' endorsement (Grades K-12). 'Added endorsement only.' Two pathways: (A) Colorado-State-Board-approved CLD program, or (B) 24 semester hours of coursework (B- or higher in each) across First/Second Language Acquisition, Literacy Development for CLD Students, Knowledge of English and Linguistics, Assessment of Language Proficiency, Foundations in CLD Education, Teaching Strategies for CLD Learners, CLD Field Experience (3 SH practicum), and Knowledge of Other Languages. Up to 6 of the 24 SH may come from documented professional development or work experience. No exam gate. The 'Knowledge of Other Languages' category does not require a language-proficiency exam — it can be satisfied by coursework, study abroad, a major/minor, or three additional hours in any other CLD category — so languageProficiency is coded false.

Sheltered English Instruction (SEI)

Not mandated for all teachers.

No general SEI mandate for all teachers. However, effective 2025-09-01, educators renewing a professional teaching license with an elementary, English language arts, math, science, or social studies endorsement must complete 45 clock hours (or 3 semester hours) of EL-focused professional learning aligned to the CLD standards. Holders of CLDE, CLD Bilingual, LDE, or LDE Bilingual endorsements are exempt. Districts with ≤2% EL enrollment over three years can request waivers. This is a renewal-gated PD rule for selected endorsements rather than a universal pre-service SEI mandate of the AZ/CA/MA type, so mandatedForAllTeachers remains false.

State policy signals

Seal of Biliteracy

Recognition for graduating students proficient in English plus another language.

Adopted in 2017.

Source: sealofbiliteracy.org (opens in a new tab)

ELP assessment

Annual English Language Proficiency test used for EL identification and reclassification.

ACCESS for ELLs · WIDA Consortium member.

Source: wida.wisc.edu (opens in a new tab)

History of licensure

Dated policy and verification events shaping this state's EL teacher credentials.

  1. Colorado English Language Proficiency Act enacted (HB 1166)

    The Colorado English Language Proficiency Act (ELPA), codified at C.R.S. §§ 22-24-101 to -106, established state funding for districts to provide language-acquisition services to EL students. Unlike the bilingual mandates in Massachusetts (1971), New Mexico (1973), or Illinois (1973), Colorado's ELPA is permissive in program model — districts may operate transitional bilingual, dual-language, or English-as-a-second-language programs — but it commits state funds (administered by CDE) to support whichever model the district chooses. ELPA remains the funding backbone for Colorado EL services and underpins the modern CLDE office at CDE.

    ed.cde.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)

  2. Voters reject Amendment 31 — Colorado declines to adopt an English-only mandate

    Funded by Ron Unz, Amendment 31 sought to replicate California's Proposition 227 (1998) and Arizona's Proposition 203 (2000) by requiring Sheltered English Immersion in Colorado public schools. Voters defeated it roughly 56%–44%, the first state-level rejection of the Unz English-only model. The vote preserved Colorado's permissive English Language Proficiency Act framework and is why Colorado today has no statutory SEI mandate (the comparable column on the map for CO codes false), in contrast to its three immediate neighbors that adopted the model.

    ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)

  3. Colorado joins WIDA Consortium

    Colorado joined the WIDA Consortium in 2012 and adopted ACCESS for ELLs as the state's annual English language proficiency assessment, replacing legacy state-specific instruments.

    wida.wisc.edu (opens in a new tab)

  4. Diploma Endorsement for Biliteracy enacted (SB17-123)

    Governor signed SB17-123 establishing Colorado's High School Diploma Endorsement for Biliteracy (Seal of Biliteracy), recognizing graduates proficient in English and one or more world languages.

    ed.cde.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)

  5. EPAA 29(100) document analysis (Leider, Colombo & Nerlino, 2021)

    Leider, Colombo & Nerlino published in Education Policy Analysis Archives 29(100) a comprehensive document analysis of every state and DC's bilingual, ELD/ESL, and SEI teacher-credentialing requirements, professional teaching standards mentions, and EL-percentage figures, based on primary SEA sources collected October–December 2019. The 2019 coding of Colorado's EL-credentialing landscape is preserved as a temporally-anchored research baseline against which the catalog's later verifications are framed.

    doi.org (opens in a new tab)

  6. 45-hour EL professional-development requirement takes effect

    Effective 2025-09-01, educators renewing a Colorado professional teaching license with an elementary, ELA, math, science, or social-studies endorsement must complete 45 clock hours (or 3 semester hours) of EL-focused professional learning aligned to the CLD standards. CLDE / CLD Bilingual / LDE / LDE Bilingual endorsement holders are exempt; districts at ≤2% EL enrollment over three years can request waivers.

    ed.cde.state.co.us (opens in a new tab) · ed.cde.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)

Sources

  1. [1] Colorado Department of Education (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2019-11-15 (via Leider et al. 2021)
  2. [2] Leider, Colombo & Nerlino (2021), EPAA 29(100). Tables 2-5 + Appendix A. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2019-11-15 (via Leider et al. 2021)
  3. [3] CDE — Teacher Endorsement Requirements (CLDE and CLD Bilingual classified as 'added endorsements only') (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  4. [4] CDE — Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education added endorsement worksheet (rev. 2023-08-01) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  5. [5] CDE — Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Bilingual Education added endorsement worksheet (rev. 2021-12-17) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  6. [6] CDE — English Learner PD Requirements: Information for Educators (45-hour rule effective 2025-09-01) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  7. [7] CDE — English Learner Educator Professional Development Requirements (pathways) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  8. [8] Colorado Teacher Quality Standards (State Council for Educator Effectiveness, 2011, current governing standards) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  9. [9] CDE — Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) landing page (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  10. [10] CDE — Seal of Biliteracy / Diploma Endorsement for Biliteracy (SB17-123) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  11. [11] WIDA Consortium — Colorado member page (joined 2012; uses WIDA ACCESS for ELLs) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  12. [12] NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 204.20 — English learners enrolled in public schools by state, fall 2021 (Colorado: 91,907 / 10.4%) (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  13. [13] Colorado Department of Education, October 2023 Pupil Membership and Multilingual Learner data (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-10

Cite this page

Site content is published under CC BY 4.0. When citing a fact from this page, please cite both projectcert and the original Leider et al. (2021) paper the dataset extends.

APA
projectcert. (2026, May 10). Colorado EL teacher certification. https://projectcert.org/states/co/
Leider, C. M., Colombo, M. W., & Nerlino, E. (2021). Decentralization, teacher quality, and the education of English learners: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of ELs? Education Policy Analysis Archives, 29(100). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.29.5279
BibTeX
@misc{projectcert_co_2026,
  author  = {{projectcert}},
  title   = {{Colorado EL teacher certification}},
  year    = {2026},
  url     = {https://projectcert.org/states/co/},
  urldate = {2026-05-10},
  note    = {Last verified 2026-05-10}
}
@article{leider2021decentralization,
  author  = {Leider, Christine M. and Colombo, Michaela W. and Nerlino, Erika},
  title   = {{Decentralization, teacher quality, and the education of English learners: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of ELs?}},
  journal = {Education Policy Analysis Archives},
  volume  = {29},
  number  = {100},
  year    = {2021},
  doi     = {10.14507/epaa.29.5279}
}

See the methodology for how these data were collected, or the glossary for term definitions.