Jefferson County authorities jailed State Rep. Tim Leonard, R-Evergreen, Friday afternoon on contempt-of-court charges stemming from a longstanding series of disputes between the lawmaker and his ex-wife over education decisions for two of their minor children.

Leonard was sentenced to serve 14 days behind bars at the Jefferson County Detention Center in Golden by District Court Magistrate Marianne Tims, who had found him in contempt in late September for trying to opt one child out of a standardized test and refusing to let another child use an iPad for studies.

The lawmaker’s allies told The Colorado Statesman that Leonard, who was appointed a week ago to serve on the House Education Committee in the upcoming legislative session, plans to work on legislation to clarify the kind of decisions divorced parents can make for their children.

Leonard was appointed to fill the House District 25 seat in late January by a Republican vacancy committee after former state Rep. Jon Keyser, R-Evergreen, stepped down to run for a U.S. Senate seat. He won election to a full term representing the foothills of Jefferson County last month, defeating Democratic challenger Tammy Story 51.83 percent to 48.17 percent.

It’s the first time in more than 40 years that a sitting lawmaker has been sentenced to jail time, Capitol observers said.

“This must be a very difficult time for Representative Leonard and his family,” said Minority Leader Patrick Neville, R-Castle Rock, in a statement after Leonard’s sentencing. “I know he cares deeply for his children and my thoughts and prayers are with the Leonard family.”

While the sentence is subject to appeal, Leonard’s attorney noted that her client would be free before a judge could hear an appeal.

“He’s not going to appeal it,” family law and “men’s rights” attorney Sharon D. Liko told The Colorado Statesman. “He’s going to take it like a man and do it and be done with it and then try to make some changes legislatively.”

Leonard and his ex-wife, Monica Leonard, divorced in 2013 after 20 years of marriage, and she was granted sole decision-making authority on matters involving education, among other topics, for their four minor children, but the two have been in court regularly arguing disputes over the issue. The most recent cases involved Tim Leonard’s decision to opt his son out from PARCC testing – as every other parent in his son’s class had done, he noted – and his refusal to sign a form allowing his first-grade daughter to use a tablet computer. When the magistrate found Leonard in contempt on the two charges on Sept. 29, Tims told him she would have jailed him at the time if the hearing hadn’t run late and sheriff’s personnel had been available.

“This is another example of the government interfering with parents’ ability to raise and find the best education for their kids,” Leonard told The Statesman in October after the contempt charges were first reported by The Colorado Independent. “We fight these battles every day in the Legislature.”

State Rep. Justin Everett, R-Littleton, who accompanied Leonard to Friday’s hearing, pulled no punches in his assessment.

“Jail time for not signing two forms was egregious,” he said. “That’s a major judicial over-reach. From my perspective, the magistrate just wanted, for whatever reason, to throw the book at him.”

Everett, who will sit on the House Education Committee along with Leonard, said he agrees the statute needs fixing.

“It is undefined by law what educational decision-making authority is,” he said. “This is private family matter. This was judicial over-reach. It’s clearly something we need to look to address in the Legislature this year.”

Leonard’s attorney made a similar point in an interview with The Statesman after the sentencing.

“There’s some vagueness in the statute,” said Liko, who pointed out that she wasn’t representing Leonard prior to the sentencing hearing. “The statute clarifies decision-making in terms of major decisions pertaining to medical, education, religious matters, but doesn’t say ‘this is a major issue, but this is only a minor issue.'”

“(Leonard) is working on a bill in the Legislature to clarify and provide some parameters surrounding that,” she added. “He’ll have first-hand knowledge, maybe, about what some of the issues are.”

“Every judge is different, so judges have a lot of discretion. What might upset one judge doesn’t upset another as much, but you don’t get to choose who gets to decide your fate,” Liko observed, noting that her client could have been sentenced to as long as six months for the contempt charges.

“But he’ll be out by Christmas,” she added.

Leonard’s incarceration is scheduled to conclude on Dec. 23.

House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Gunbarrel, issued a statement lambasting Leonard on Friday.

“It is my duty to protect the integrity of the House of Representatives, and it is troubling when a member does not uphold the law,” Hullinghorst said. “It is absurd to imagine Rep. Leonard taking a seat on the House Education Committee, to which he was appointed just last week by Minority Leader Neville, and making important decisions for Colorado’s students when a judge has prohibited Rep. Leonard from making educational decisions regarding his own children.”

Jefferson County Republican Party Chairman Don Ytterberg, a longtime friend of the Leonards, lamented that a family dispute has garnered headlines.

“My heart goes out to the family with hope that they can resolve this dispute. Tim and Monica are a good mom and dad, and I’m always saddened when personal circumstances become a matter of public scrutiny,” he said.