Young entrepreneurs battle teen suicide

An innovative program in 10 local schools pairs entrepreneurship with social advocacy to battle teen suicide. Organizers hope to expand to 60 schools

What if there’s no money?

The prospect of no state funding for higher education hung over a day-long hearing on college and university budgets Monday.

Despite R2T loss, optimism for early learning

This article was submitted by William Browning, who was the project manager for the Early Learning Challenge Grant application process.

Once again, Colorado was denied Race to the Top funds – this time for vital funding for the implementation of a plan to improve early childhood learning and development capabilities for high-needs children. While people may spend time debating this loss, there are reasons to be optimistic about Colorado’s ability to dramatically improve early childhood learning capabilities.

Working with the most capable early childhood learning and development leaders across the state, a highly collaborative process was followed to build a realistic and authentic plan. Before sharing some reasons to be optimistic, it’s important to have a basic grasp of the application.

It was aimed at addressing the needs of children and families with high needs. Essentially the plan included activities to improve the quality of the early childhood learning workforce, programs, and facilities with a specific intention of improving both kindergarten academic readiness as well as health and wellness outcomes.

Monday Churn: Presidents’ parade

Colorado colleges and universities get the Joint Budget Committee’s full attention today.

Education angst bared at JBC hearing

Hopes, fears and frustrations about schools and state finances were at the boiling point Friday during a legislative hearing.

Third time no Race to the Top charm

Colorado has lost a third bid for federal Race to the Top funds, this time for $60 million that would have supported early learning initiatives.

A legal take on Lobato’s future

Richard B. Collins is a member of the University of Colorado Law School and teaches a course called Colorado Government.

Lobato v. State hit the headlines when the Denver District Court held all the state’s school funding laws to be unconstitutional. The lawsuit claims that Colorado’s public school funding system violates the state constitution’s requirement that the General Assembly establish and maintain “a thorough and uniform system of free public schools.” This extraordinarily broad claim engages most of the major issues of constitutional jurisprudence, so our seminar is extensive.

We first consider separation of powers. The U. S. Supreme Court finds some legal claims to be beyond the courts’ powers, or “nonjusticiable,” because the Constitution commits them to final determination by Congress or the President. Opinions of the Colorado Supreme Court have said that this is a doctrine of our state Constitution, but the Court has never found an occasion to find any claim to be nonjusticiable. Lobato was a near miss.

In 2006 the Denver District Court held its claims to be committed to final resolution by the General Assembly, and the Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed in 2008. But in 2009 the Supreme Court reversed in an opinion that came close to deciding that all claims are justiciable in Colorado. However, the court’s vote was 4-3, and two members of the majority have been replaced, so it is difficult to conclude that the issue is finally settled. Whether the decision will be followed as precedent is discussed below in another part of our seminar.

Friday Churn: Bad news again

Updated – Colorado has lost another Race to the Top contest. See how states stacked up and read reviewers’ comments on the state’s application

Innovation law doesn’t spark major change

An initial report in a three-year study of innovation schools finds little change in curriculum and instruction as principals move slowly

Thursday Churn: New CSI interim chief

Updated – Ethan Hemming, a former DPS administrator, has been named interim director of the state Charter School Institute.