Remember the wide-ranging endeavor by Colorado lawmakers to get to the bottom of the state’s chronic teacher shortage?  House Bill 1003, recently signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper, tasks the Department of Higher Education, the Colorado Department of Education, school districts and teachers unions with studying teacher shortages statewide, identifying root causes, and recommending strategies for improving the recruitment and retention of teachers in all areas of the state.

All in the hope that, someday, the legislature and perhaps other education policy-making bodies might be able to enact a solution. Or, maybe it’ll be more like a series of small fixes.

In other words, there’s a long road ahead, but the state already is moving into action by taking the first step, announcing on the State Department of Higher Education’s website:

The Colorado Department of Higher Education and Colorado Department of Education are hosting a series of town hall meetings this summer to inform a statewide educator shortage action plan. Educators, students, parents and concerned members of the public are encouraged to share their experiences and ideas for recruiting and retaining educators.

The first meeting was in Ridgway earlier this week, the next one is in Parachute on June 23; the full, summer-long schedule, including specific times and locations, are at the link immediately above. Here’s the link again just in case.