New charter schools authorized by the Colorado Charter School Institute would be allowed to open in communities with low-performing schools — possibly without approval from local school boards — under legislation that Colorado Senate President James Coleman is considering introducing at the Capitol this year.
Coleman, a Denver Democrat, is also exploring the prospect of giving Colorado school districts “the option to solicit proposals from their communities for new quality schools,” including traditional public schools, charter schools, magnet schools, innovation schools or “other innovative education models.”
The key factor in opening new schools in areas with struggling schools, Coleman said, would be “demonstrated community demand from across students, families and teachers.”
Those solutions, still in the works, are Coleman’s attempt to help about 123,000 students who live in what he calls “education deserts” — parts of Colorado where fewer than 1 in 3 students attend a school designated by the state education department as “meets expectations.” Last year, 46 ZIP codes contained education deserts, Coleman said, adding that students of color are twice as likely to attend schools in education deserts.
“It’s part of why I ran for office because I wanted to make sure that kids got better academic opportunities than I did in the initial years of my education career in elementary and middle school,” Coleman, who was born and raised in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood, told ֱ. “And so what we’re trying to figure out is what the solutions are to address that 123,000 students.”
Coleman said he has been working on drafting legislation focused on “ending education deserts,” but any bill he introduces will likely face an uphill battle at the Capitol as lawmakers try to balance a $1.2 billion budget deficit this year with cuts to public schools looking unavoidable.
And should Coleman introduce legislation that would pave the way for charter schools to open in districts without needing a greenlight from local school boards, it would almost certainly ignite a new round of fiery school choice debates over the extent of flexibilities and freedoms that should be granted to Colorado charter schools.
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, a longtime supporter of charter schools and a founder of charter schools before he became governor, including The New America School, has signaled support for Coleman’s potential legislation.
“The status quo is inexcusable,” Polis said during a news conference Thursday morning. “There are kids that simply by nature of their neighborhood and their ZIP code for generations haven’t had access to a good school and there’s entire schools where 20 (or) 30% of kids are able to read and do math at grade level.
Polis added: “We need the moral courage to say enough is enough and, of course, that includes the ability for successful charter operators to be able to offer high-quality education in the neighborhoods that need it the most. And I’d be supportive of any efforts that allow that to happen.”
Polis’ remarks echo comments he made during his annual State of the State address in January, when he referenced Coleman and his concern about “education deserts,” saying Colorado has a responsibility to provide Colorado students access to quality education and must consider innovative approaches to make it happen.
When asked how Colorado would fund his proposal, particularly in such a tight budget year, Coleman said the details are still being worked out.
“I’m meeting with a diverse group of stakeholders to address the issue of education deserts and the funding mechanisms,” he wrote in a text to The Sun. “Funding education is of the utmost importance. What I am convinced of, however, is that any costs of having high quality school options pale in comparison to the long term cost of not educating our students.”
Coleman said he has been meeting with Colorado education advocacy organizations and other lawmakers in the Senate and the House.
Coleman also had a conversation with House Speaker Julie McCluskie, a Dillon Democrat, about how to help the 123,000 students in areas of low-performing schools.
A spokesperson for McCluskie wrote in a text message to The Sun that she will not comment on Coleman’s initiative — “for the moment.”
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The Colorado Charter School Institute, which under Coleman’s proposal would authorize charter schools opening near underperforming schools, currently oversees 45 schools across the state educating about 20,000 students, according to its website.
CSI Executive Director Terry Croy Lewis did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Sun.
Coleman said to help schools falling below state benchmarks, lawmakers could try to find state funding for traditional public schools to develop an improvement plan with help from turnaround specialists at the state education department. He acknowledged that that’s not a new idea but rather “a fix” that he could also incorporate into his potential legislation.
Coleman added that he is open to other ideas to help students in pockets with low-performing schools access a quality education.
“We want to help every single student in the state,” he said, “And that 123,000 that we’ve identified in these ZIP codes, we’re just having the conversation because we can’t not have the conversation.”
Public school proponents fear the proposal would further destabilize public education
Colorado public school advocacy organizations say Coleman’s policy could inflict greater pain on the state’s public education system and pull resources from community schools that are already underfunded — one of the central points of tension in school choice debates.
Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, said he worries that Coleman’s proposal could “lay the groundwork” for a voucher program. The controversial programs, which exist in other states, give families public funds to use toward private school education, including schools with a religious affiliation. Vick said some of Coleman’s language, including his focus on “education deserts” and struggling schools in ZIP codes, resembles language used by school choice proponents and even voucher program advocates, citing .
“Instead of trying to improve schools in these areas, we are going to give up on them and allow people an avenue to circumvent the entire district process to take money out of the system to create their own school,” he said. “If you designate the schools in that area beyond saving, then it makes it more palatable to give people a coupon to go find another avenue.”
Schools whose students are not reaching state expectations are still valued landmarks in their communities, Vick added.
“And the measurement for this is simply a one single data point on standardized tests, which we all know is a flawed measurement,” he said.
Other public education supporters say the state should instead prioritize retooling its school accountability system, which determines school quality and is the subject of another bill this year. outlines a set of steps to modify the statewide accountability system, including by requiring the state education department to make state assessments available in languages other than English and Spanish upon request from a district and by expanding support available to districts facing a priority improvement or turnaround plan.
“We need to focus on the accountability task force legislation and let’s utilize the work that’s there before we start inventing new solutions,” said Bret Miles, executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives.
State Rep. Shannon Bird, a sponsor of the school accountability system bill and a Westminster Democrat, said students and their education would fare better if the state invested more in high quality teachers and curriculum and gave teachers more opportunities to be mentored.
“I would tell families that you will get a faster return by direct improvements in investment in the schools we have today, better resources, better supports,” said Bird, also vice chair of the Joint Budget Committee. “Those investments will yield a much faster result for their students rather than waiting for a process to approve a new school and build a new school that can take many years.”
When asked what he would tell public school proponents who worry about public schools losing more resources should other schools move in, Coleman said he is including teachers in his conversations.
“In the past, it has been educators are kind of left out of that conversation,” he said. “When it comes to this conversation, we want not only parents and students but we also want educators involved in what that solution is so that they are supported to educate our kids.”
Others who support Coleman’s proposal say students and families can’t afford to wait for schools that will give them a quality education.
“The League supports legislation that is focused on expanding educational opportunity for the students and families who need it the most,” Dan Schaller, president of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, wrote in a text to The Sun. “From what we understand about what Senate President Coleman refers to as ‘education deserts,’ the students and families in these areas are in desperate need of more high-quality public school options. We should be doing everything we can as a state to avail them of these opportunities.”
Bird counters that the state should spend its time and energy on the public schools already standing and better support them in educating kids with all kinds of learning needs.
“How do we do better with what we have? When something is not succeeding the way you want it to succeed, we should figure out why that is instead of just spending more to build more schools. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.