Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Education policy

DOJ Challenges Colorado Law Granting In-State Tuition to Undocumented Students
DENVER7, Approved, State

DOJ Challenges Colorado Law Granting In-State Tuition to Undocumented Students

By: Robert Garrison | Denver7 DENVER — The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Colorado, arguing that the state’s laws granting in-state tuition and certain financial aid benefits to undocumented students violate the Constitution. The complaint was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver. President Donald Trump’s DOJ claims in the suit that federal law prohibits states from giving postsecondary education benefits to people “not lawfully present” based on state residency unless the same benefits are available to all U.S. citizens regardless of where they live. “An alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible based on residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a ...
Colorado’s homeschool freedoms were hard won. The fight isn’t over.
Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s homeschool freedoms were hard won. The fight isn’t over.

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC) Colorado homeschool families fought for liberty and their rights in the 1980s and won. We continue to fight for your homeschool freedom all year long. Homeschool families of today have a dizzying array of curriculum choices. So many, in fact, that it can be overwhelming. However, it was not always this way. In 1980, Colorado homeschool families had three options.     Use a state-approved curriculum.     Get permission from your local school district to use the curriculum you have chosen.     Be a certified teacher to choose your own curriculum. Independent-minded families were not okay with that. They knew that God had called them to disciple and homeschool their children. They rightly be...
Principles over popularity: Lessons from the Declaration of Independence for Douglas County Schools
Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Principles over popularity: Lessons from the Declaration of Independence for Douglas County Schools

By Laureen Boll | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Douglas County School District (DCSD) board members will be deciding later this year whether to resume formal collective bargaining with the Douglas County Federation (a local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers), and a primary deciding factor will be the results of a survey of teachers and staff.  This follows union pressure earlier in 2026 and comes after years of the federation advocating for a return to a contract model. The political composition of the DCSD school board has shifted back and forth over the decades, reflecting the community’s own evolving priorities. In 2012, a reform-minded board allowed the long-standing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to expire, moving the district to operat...
Federal Officials Say Jeffco Must Change Transgender Policies or Lose Federal Funds
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Federal Officials Say Jeffco Must Change Transgender Policies or Lose Federal Funds

By: Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette The U.S. Department of Education on Friday warned Jeffco Public Schools it has 10 days to correct alleged Title IX violations over the Colorado district’s transgender policy or lose federal funding. The Notice of Impending Action is the latest development in an ongoing saga between the district and the federal government that started last year, when the DOE’s Office of Civil Rights started an investigation into Jeffco over alleged Title IX violations relating to the district’s policies regarding transgender students. The results of the investigation, released in March, alleged that the district had 61 “male students” participating in girls’ sports and allowed access to restrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations bas...
Poudre Schools Cut 182 Positions as Enrollment Declines
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Poudre Schools Cut 182 Positions as Enrollment Declines

By: Adria Iraheta | Denver7 District officials say some cuts reflect unfilled vacancies — but parents say fewer educators mean kids pay the price. FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Poudre School District is eliminating 182 educator positions heading into the next school year, citing budget issues as the driving force behind the cuts. The move comes after months of conversations about declining enrollment, forcing Poudre School District to consider how its budget could reshape schools across the district. PSD is projected to have 654 fewer students in its schools next year, citing fewer school-aged children in the area due to declining birth rates and fewer younger families moving into the area due to housing costs. Denver7 was there as parents brought their co...
Enrollment drops but Denver schools keep growing administration
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, Local

Enrollment drops but Denver schools keep growing administration

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Denver Public Schools administrative bloat -- with some interesting counterpoint The Gazette article linked first below touches on a subject that I’ve written about multiple times. It’s administrative bloat in schools. It seems as though DPS has gotten its ranks of administrators while at the same time enrollment has fallen. This pattern also seems to be playing out in school districts around the state. Quoting (with link intact) from the article: “This finding [that DPS is beefing up administration while student numbers fall] mirrors a statewide trend identified in a report by the Common Sense Institute (CSI) that found Colorado school districts continued to grow their administrative staff despite declin...
Colorado lawmakers debated dozens of bills touching faith, family and parental rights
Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado lawmakers debated dozens of bills touching faith, family and parental rights

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado More than 700 bills were introduced in the 2026 Colorado General Assembly, but by God’s grace, none of Colorado’s homeschool freedoms were lost. CHEC was there to stand watch over bills that could affect homeschool freedoms, religious liberty, and parental rights, and sound the alarm when action was needed to engage legislators directly. The 2026 Homeschool Freedom End-of-the-Session Report is published and linked in this post, as well as the Voting Grid chronicling legislators’ votes on 24 of the bills included. Please use these as tools to equip you to take action with your legislators. Still, there were consistent groups and areas that were targeted throughout the 2026 legislative session. F...
Colorado is cutting funding for its poorest students. The tool meant to replace it was suspended.
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado is cutting funding for its poorest students. The tool meant to replace it was suspended.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In Colorado's smallest school districts, the ones tucked into rural towns, two state programs direct extra money each year to districts based on how many students live in poverty. They are not a lot, but they are specific. They are meant for those kids. And they are going away. The state is winding down two programs that have directed about $12 million a year to schools serving Colorado's highest concentrations of low-income students. One program was already repealed when the new fiscal year started. The other drops to half its current level July 1 and is eliminated in FY 2027-28.  The tool the state built to replace how it counts and funds at-risk students was suspended five weeks ago, after two years of data col...
DPS Fires Teacher After Students Report Pressure To Participate In Same Sex Kissing Skits
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

DPS Fires Teacher After Students Report Pressure To Participate In Same Sex Kissing Skits

By: Logan Smith | CBS Colorado Denver Public Schools board members voted unanimously May 20 to dismiss a 50-year-old foreign language teacher following a district investigation and an independent review into student complaints about a class assignment. The board voted 7-0 after meeting in executive session to consider the firing of Jennifer Honka. Honka taught French Language and Culture at Northeast Early College for all of her eight years with the district. Officially, Honka was fired for incompetence and neglect of duty. There was no public debate among the board members prior to the vote. Honka's classroom instruction first came into question during the 2023-24 school year. She had received the highest possible rating in district assessments the prior three years. ...
DU Restructures as Enrollment Falls 19 Percent From Pandemic Peak
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

DU Restructures as Enrollment Falls 19 Percent From Pandemic Peak

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Odifure Udegbe walked the stage Friday to chorus of whoops and hollers as he received his Master’s in Science degree from the University of Denver. Originally from Nigeria, Udegbe said he enrolled at DU to make himself more competitive in a tough job market. “I think whoever is going to take a chance on me has everything to win,” Udegbe said. The new grad was among the more than 3,400 undergrad and graduate students who accepted their diplomas last weekend at DU — marking what Provost Elizabeth Loboa called the end of the university’s pandemic-era enrollment boom. Peaking at 14,130 students in the fall of 2021, DU enrollment has declined for four consecutive years, falling to 11,499 students in 2025, according to...