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‘Free Full Day Kindergarten by Fall 2019’, Gov. Polis outlines goals in State of the State

Posted at 2:37 PM, Jan 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-01 13:28:17-05

DENVER- In his first State of the State address, Governor Jared Polis outlined his plans and promises for his first year in office.

Among them, his campaign promises including free full day kindergarten, universal affordable health care, and laying the groundwork for his plan to get Colorado to full renewable energy by 2040.

In his opening part of the speech, Gov. Polis mentioned his plan to work across the aisle ‘to deliver not to grand stand.’

The early portions of his speech talked about education in the state, where Gov. Polis said the state is 3,000 below the number of teachers needed in the state.

One of the ways the Governor hopes to address the teacher shortage is by offering student loan relief for teachers, especially in under-served areas.

A bill that died in committee last year brought by Sen. Rachel Zenzinger (D- Aurora) has returned this year to address offering student loan relief to educators.

Additionally, Polis added that more needs to be done when it comes to lessening the burden of student loan debt by adding transparency to the loan process.

Although his campaign promise of free full-day Kindergarten became a focal point in his speech, saying ‘let’s get it done.’

In October, Gov. Jared Polis told News 5 in an interview he would like to work with Republican Rep.Jim Wilson from Salida, who’s sponsored legislation of full day Kindergarten in the past.

The Governor also promised to make a request, as lawmakers draft the budget, to make money for every state employee to take parental leave.

To see the full speech visit the following link: WATCH: Governor Polis’ first State of the State address