News

After losing $1.5 million in federal funding, the Denver-based nonprofit Colorado Youth Matter is closing its doors on December 31 — a decision that could impact our state’s teen pregnancy rates.

Days after the end of a public-comment period about proposed changes in how sexual-misconduct accusations are handled on college campuses, the Department of Education, headed by the controversial Betsy DeVos, has announced that it is retracting two Obama-era documents that provided guidance in this area. A University of Colorado Denver expert in the field tells us this development won’t immediately alter how schools deal with such matters, but it suggests that the future could bring policy changes that will be sweeping and potentially problematic.

Friday, September 22, was a rough day for Denver Public Schools. First, a number of East High School students joined assorted parents at a protest prompted by the de facto ouster of principal Andy Mendelsberg and assistant principal/athletic director Lisa Porter in regard to their handling of videos showing cheer team members being forced into splits. Then, that evening, claims about a Confederate flag at a football game between the Weld Central High School Rebels and the Manual High School Thunderbolts resulted in charges of racism and alleged in-game injuries to three Manual players that may have been related to bad blood stirred by the controversy.

In May, Colorado submitted its state plan to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to the federal government for review and approval. In August, the U.S. Department of Education responded, requesting that Colorado do more to move students towards grade-level proficiency.