Colorado prohibits any person from knowingly and unlawfully and without legal authority carrying, bringing, or having in his or her possession a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded,¹ in or on the property of any public or private elementary, middle, junior high, high or vocational school, or any public or private college, university or seminary.² Exceptions to this prohibition include:

• Presenting an authorized public demonstration or exhibition pursuant to instruction in conjunction with an organized school or class;
• Carrying out the necessary duties of an employee of an educational institution that require the use of a deadly weapon;
• Participating in an authorized extracurricular activity or on an athletic team;
• Possession of a firearm in the lawful possessor’s dwelling or place of business, or on property owned or under that person’s control at the time of possession;
• Possession in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance for protection of that person, another person, or their property while traveling;
• Possession of a handgun pursuant to a valid permit to carry a concealed handgun or a temporary emergency permit, except if the person was carrying a concealed handgun in violation of the state law described below that prohibits possession of a concealed handgun onto the property of a elementary, middle, junior high, or high school;
• Possession of a firearm by a school resource officer when carrying a weapon in conformance with the policy of the employing agency; or
• Possession of a firearm for use in an educational program approved by a school that includes, but is not limited to, any course designed for the repair or maintenance of weapons.³

A concealed handgun permittee may only carry a handgun on the property of a public elementary, middle, junior high or high school if he or she is: 1) on duty as a security guard for the school; 2) within his or her private vehicle (if the permittee is not with the vehicle, the handgun must be within a closed compartment within the locked vehicle); or 3) upon undeveloped property owned by a school district used for hunting or shooting sports.⁴ This provision does not apply to colleges, universities, and seminaries. Colorado requires the expulsion of any student who is determined to have brought a firearm to a school, or to have possessed a firearm at a school, for a period of not less than one year, except that the superintendent of the school district may modify this requirement for a student on a case-by-case basis if such modification is in writing.⁵

In 2021, the Colorado General Assembly expressly granted K-12 school districts and institutions of higher education the authority to enact a rule or other regulation that prohibits a permittee from carrying a concealed handgun in a building or specific area within the local government’s or governing board’s jurisdiction, or for a special district, in a building or specific area under the direct control or management of the district, including a building or facility managed pursuant to an agreement between the district and a contractor.”⁶

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1. As defined under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-1-901(3)(e).[↩]
2. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-12-105.5(1). [↩]
3. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-12-105.5(1), (3).[↩]
4. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-12-214(3).[↩]
5. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 22-33-106(1.5).[↩]
6. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-12-214(c)(I).[↩]