El Paso County lawmakers file bill to jail teachers who strike

In the midst of walkouts and strikes by education professionals across the country — including Colorado — two state lawmakers from El Paso County have filed a bill that could possibly land teachers in jail if they strike.

On Friday, state Sen. Bob Gardner (R-Colorado Springs) and state Rep. Paul Lundeen (R-Monument) introduced SB18-264 , which would prohibit teachers or teacher organizations from participating in or encouraging a strike “against any public school employer.” Public school employers would also be prohibited from consenting to a strike or paying teachers for time missed due to participating in a strike.

The bill says that if teachers strike, or “in the imminent threat of a strike in violation of the bill,” public school employers are authorized to get a court order to end the strike. If the teachers or teacher organizations still strike, the bill says it would constitute “contempt of court and may be punished with fines or up to six months in county jail, or both.”

The bill also directs public school employers to terminate any teacher’s employment without hearing if found in contempt of court — any teacher organization would have its collective bargaining agreement voided.

Teachers have been striking due to concerns over low pay — District 60 teachers in Pueblo voted in favor of striking after the district failed to pass a cost-of-living adjustment. That strike is pending intervention by the state labor department.

It’s unlikely that the bill will pass, seeing as it faces an uphill battle in a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.