In 2021, Colorado state and local education appropriations per FTE (excluding federal stimulus funding) declined by 37.6%. However, after including federal stimulus funding, the state saw a 7.8% increase in education appropriations per FTE. This wide difference is due to an unadjusted $404 million (39.1%) decline in Colorado’s state and local education appropriations and an influx of $458 million in federal CARES Act funding allocated to higher education to stimulate the economy by supporting Colorado’s workforce through increasing student retention and completion at state institutions of public higher education. In 2021, 42.1% of Colorado’s education appropriations came from federal stimulus funding.