9/11/25 ECEA Members ONLY Update
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Today, I write with a heart full of gratitude for another day to serve you and the families and communities in your programs. I invite you to pause and reflect on the opportunity we have to make a meaningful difference, to give our very best to those who rely on us. Yet, I am also mindful of the challenges we face. Freedom, a cornerstone of our nation, feels increasingly fragile. Across our state, policies are being shaped that raise concerns for many—regulations, taxes, and fees that weigh heavily on individuals and businesses alike. Recent proposals, like the graduated tax rate affecting a small percentage of Coloradoans, aim to fund state initiatives but spark debate about fairness and intent. The special session’s decision to decouple Colorado from the federal no-tax-on-tips policy, for instance, has stirred frustration, as it seems to prioritize state revenue over individual benefits. These actions prompt questions about whether they align with the principles of opportunity and fairness we hold dear. It’s easy to feel divided when policies pit us against one another, casting innovators and entrepreneurs as adversaries rather than contributors to our shared prosperity. The balance between funding essential services and preserving personal and economic freedom is delicate. When government competes with private sectors—whether in education, services, or beyond—without the same constraints, it risks shifting our collective values away from self-determination and responsibility. This is not about one side or another; it’s about recognizing the tension between collective needs and individual rights. We see it in the heated debates, in the protests, and in the growing sense of unease. Some feel the state’s actions encroach on personal freedoms, while others argue they’re necessary for the greater good. Both perspectives carry weight, and both deserve a voice. The solutions however, can only be found somewhere central to the founding principles of our nation. Their battlecry of taxation without representation resonates with me today. Truthfully, mourning for our nation for a multitude of reasons threatens my joy today. Our history reminds us that freedom requires vigilance, not just opposition. It asks us to engage thoughtfully, to question policies without demonizing those who propose them, and to seek solutions that honor both our shared responsibilities and our individual aspirations. As a community, we face a choice: to let division fracture us or to come together in pursuit of a Colorado that reflects the best of who we are. For my family, these changes weigh heavily. Like many, we’re reflecting on our future here, cherishing the state we love while grappling with its evolving landscape. I encourage you to join me in this reflection—not in anger, but with a commitment to understanding and action. Let’s serve our communities with purpose, advocate for balance, and work toward a future where freedom and fairness stand side by side. --Dawn Alexander
Did You Know....?Business owners can use the Augusta Rule as a tax strategy by renting their personal home back to their business. The business deducts the rental expense, while the owner receives the payment as tax-free income. To do this, the following additional requirements must be met: The Augusta Rule, or IRS Section 280A(g), allows homeowners to rent their residence for up to 14 days per year without having to report the rental income. For business owners, this provides a way to pay themselves tax-free income by having their company rent their home for legitimate business purposes. Requirements for all rentals whether renting to a business or a third party, must meet the following conditions:
Fair market value: The rent charged must be comparable to what similar properties in your area would rent for. An unreasonably high rental rate could lead to an IRS audit. No rental deductions: Since the income is not reported, no rental-related expenses—such as utilities, cleaning fees, or maintenance—can be deducted against it. You can still deduct personal expenses like mortgage interest and property taxes on Schedule A if you itemize. Business owners can use the Augusta Rule as a tax strategy by renting their personal home back to their business. The business deducts the rental expense, while the owner receives the payment as tax-free income. To do this, the following additional requirements must be met:
**ECEA is not a tax advisor or a legal advisor. We are simply sharing information with you that we've been made aware of that may benefit you and your business. We are not liable for the outcomes so do your due diligence in confirming that this approach will work for you.
More funding for CO Schools: Coalition of liberal groups proposing new tax measure (In case you missed it above: pay attention...this affects you if you have 29 kids or more.) Ballot Measure to create more affordable, accessible early childhood care and education for our kids from Parachute to Aspen!Families could see bigger tax breaks for child care soon. How much will they get? Banana phones and cozy corners: Colorado’s third year of universal preschool gets off the groundSolving our child care crisis: Real estate's next frontier New Mexico will offer free universal childcare Is universal childcare sustainable? Day care owners and parents weigh-in Public school is a right. Should child care be considered one too?Operation Education: Less funding for Pre-K in Indiana this year worries education expertsIndiana cuts child care voucher reimbursement rates, no new families added through 2025Summit County Partners share Plan to Boost Kindergarten Readiness, Support Child Care Centers 5 Trends Reshaping K-12 Education Across the U.S. Minnesota bets big on free public preschool; private child care operators watch, worry OK daycare providers outraged after audit finds OKDHS mismanaged pandemic relief funds Colorado has a new child abuse reporting law. Here’s a guide for educators on the new requirements.
Go to the ECEA Members only website store to find:
https://eceaco.mykajabi.com/
Did you get our email today?? ECEA is at a critical juncture and could use your help. If you haven't already, please read it here. (See blog for today on members only website.) Once you've done that please take action. If not you....then who? A look at the regulatory burden on Colorado childcare providersColorado has a shortage of day care and preschool facilities. This is particularly the case for infant and toddler care, along with (due to Biden-era rule changes) childcare assistance programs for low-income parents. This is a problem that needs fixing. Without childcare options, many parents simply cannot work. We want people working. In researching this issue, I’ve spoken with people on both the regulatory and business side of the industry. Interestingly, there was a recurring theme I heard from both. First, that there are problems with how we check providers for regulatory compliance, and, second, that these problems predate the current state agency regulating providers, the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC). Something to be aware of in reading the below, but which I won’t go into depth on here, is that multiple state entities have a say in Colorado’s child care regulatory regime. The same school might be subject to regulations and inspections by CDEC, but also fall under the Colorado Department of Pubic Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) purview (as well as possibly others). Take what you read below and compound accordingly. What you see will be an example of a larger problem, not its entirety. Top that off, too by remembering that sometimes regulations from one agency conflict with regulations from another. The regulatory regimeWhile the problem childcare operators face might not be new, I can tell you something that is: regulatory bloat. Since CDEC officially began in 2022, the agency added 27 new rules and regulations to the state’s already voluminous rulebook. By this point, the page count is up in the 500’s. From a purely pragmatic point of view, who can manage this complexity? How on earth are they supposed to do so fairly? As things stand now, CDEC contracts with several agencies and nonprofits around the state to do their regulatory compliance and licensing checks. Per a CDEC spokesperson, this list has included Goodwill of Colorado, The Institute for Racial Equity and Excellence, Mesa County Public Health, and Red Rocks Community College. Dawn Alexander of the Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado, a trade group, used to work for Red Rocks Community College as one of their inspectors. She told me that her training was partially done by the state, but Red Rocks did the bulk of it, with a few months of job shadowing (with her first following, then leading). Another contractor, who didn’t want to go on record, told me of a similar process; the state providing some training, with additional in-house training/mentoring prior to hitting the field alone. Ms. Alexander, as well as the other contractor, also told me about meetings designed to make sure rules were consistently applied across the state and within an organization. This varied from a monthly in-house meeting in one case to a giant, virtual free for all in another. In the grand tradition of rulemaking bodies, CDEC also puts out what they term administrative guides which don’t hold the legal force of rules, but they are intended to help inspectors and providers to understand and apply the rules in a consistent manner. I pawed through them too quickly to count pages, but I doubt they’d be much less than the rules themselves. Set up for failureAfter multiple discussions, it is clear that there is a concerted effort by contractors and inspectors to fairly and consistently apply the rules. I get the sense from everyone I spoke to on that side of the fence that they genuinely want to be fair and have the children’s safety in mind. Still, none of that seems to fix the problem providers are having with the rules. Despite providers saying they liked the individuals that came to do compliance, their frustration at the process was easy to pick up on. I spoke with a provider who didn’t want to go on record (but who did share documentation of her claims with me) who runs a series of childcare facilities in Colorado. From her I got story after story of inspection problems. One instance that stood out was a report noting that a particular piece of playground equipment had bolts where more than 3 threads were showing on the hardware. Besides the impractability of counting threads on every fence bolt, a natural question about how rules mentioning sturdiness and safety can be narrowed down by an inspector to “showing 3 threads” arises. Whose rule is this? Is it this particular inspector or the state? From the inspection contractor who didn’t want to be quoted, I heard a story of a banister out of compliance for years, but which had gone unnoticed by any previous inspector. Unnoticed, that is, until a new inspector caught it. The provider, understandably frustrated at the problem, suddenly had a big (and expensive) safety violation in need of repair in order to stay open. Any game where the players all operate in good faith, yet everyone loses is a poorly designed one. That is what is going on with Colorado’s regulatory apparatus for child care: despite good intentions and actions by all, problems are coming up. These problems are making things so difficult for providers that they don’t expand despite a built in demand for their services. I heard many solutions and attempted patches in my conversations, but I didn’t hear the one that may ultimately work best: scaling back the number of rules and regulations to human size. It’s a stretch to say that 500 pages of rules, with an inspection “guide” that’s probably about as long, is actually helping us be any safer. I believe we could lighten that load and encourage more entrants into the market to solve our childcare supply problem. Cory Gaines teaches college physics and is a regular contributor to Complete Colorado. He lives in Sterling on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. He also writes at the Colorado Accountability Project substack link: https://completecolorado.com/
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Proposed Permanent Rules 