When a House speaker, especially in a first session, carries a computer education bill, you can bet it’s a priority for the caucus.

Crisanta Duran, the Denver Democrat set to become the state’s first Latina speaker of the House on Jan. 11, said the road through Colorado’s middle class and beyond starts with a good job.

With boxes still unpacked around the perimeter of her new office last week, Duran was considering putting her name and clout behind a high-tech resource bank in the Department of Education. Sponsoring a bill is a time-consuming task, involving a series of committee hearings, making a case for it on the House floor and fending off lobbyists.

The bill would allow schools across the state to access curricula on computer science and digital literacy. Teachers also could get a state grant to get up-to-date training. Those are prizes Duran is willing to work for.

“It’s only 1 in 4 Colorado students who have access to computer science and digital literacy classes,” Duran said.

Colorado will need thousands of workers with those skills, with starting wages north of $50,000 a year in an industry rich in the potential to earn six figures.

“There’s a lot of opportunity there, and we always have to be thinking about, in a changing economy, how do we adjust so that people have the tools and skills they need to advance themselves in their lives?” Duran said.

Last year, the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry said there were at least 15,000 high-tech jobs in the state waiting on qualified applicants.

In the past two sessions, Duran has helped guide through two “Ready to Work” packages that hinged on job training for high-tech jobs.

“In the 21st century computer literacy is a ticket to success,” she said during last year’s session. “Let’s make sure every Colorado student has a chance to punch that ticket.”