Author: Jason Gonzales

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter Beyond High School to get the latest news about college and career paths for Colorado’s high school grads. Colorado lawmakers are pausing $14.1 million in state funding that flows to private colleges and universities through grants, work study, and graduate student aid, affecting about 2,000 students.The cut is one of many lawmakers made this year to pare back about $1.2 billion from the state’s budget, which faces increasing Medicaid costs and other pressures. While lawmakers aimed to preserve the core of public education funding, they cut some programs like the private college student…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Gov. Jared Polis said Friday that Colorado’s participation in a new federal tax-credit scholarship program won’t run afoul of state anti-discrimination laws because the program relies on private donations rather than public funding.The federal program provides $1,700 in annual tax credits for donations made to scholarship-granting organizations for various educational services, such as private school tuition, tutoring, and after-school programs. Last week, several Democratic Colorado lawmakers decided to shelve a bill that would have required…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.People applying for a teaching license in Colorado wouldn’t have to report a misdemeanor conviction that’s seven years or older unless it involves a young person or at-risk adult under a bipartisan bill that unanimously passed the House Education Committee on Thursday.The current law says that teacher licensure applicants must disclose most misdemeanor convictions regardless of the date of the conviction. The law exempts misdemeanor traffic offenses or traffic infractions.Sponsors said House Bill 1090 aims…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Gov. Jared Polis plans to opt Colorado into a federal tax-credit scholarship program, opening the door to private school choice in a Democratic state where lawmakers and voters have rejected previous proposals. Conservatives, children’s advocates, and supporters of school choice praised the decision for its possibility to raise money for all students’ education. Meanwhile, a coalition of public school advocates sent a letter to Polis this week asking him to reconsider.The voucher-like program, part of…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Gov. Jared Polis’ 2026-27 budget proposal unveiled Friday would increase statewide K-12 education spending by $276 million and fulfill funding promises made by lawmakers during this year’s legislative session.The state’s universal preschool program would also get a small budget increase, while higher education institutions would be allowed to raise in-state tuition by the projected rate of inflation.Overall, Polis proposed a $47.9 billion state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, or a 5.2% increase over this…

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter Beyond High School to get the latest news about college and career paths for Colorado’s high school grads. Southern Colorado’s Center school district used to offer young children fruits and vegetables to try that they might not have previously eaten at home, like kiwi and jicama.The federally-backed program that helped provide these foods also assisted educators in teaching preschool and elementary students’ families why fruits and vegetables are good for their health. With kiwi, for example, the district would send home recipes for a salad that could be made by parents, said Janet…

Sign up for our free monthly newsletter Beyond High School to get the latest news about college and career paths for Colorado’s high school grads. Surrounded by a half-circle of 20 students from Aurora Central High School, Becky Palacios Romero fielded questions on Thursday afternoon about her time at the University of Colorado Denver.The sophomore, an international business major, focused on her experience rather than convincing the students at her former high school that they should apply during the week’s final statewide free application day. That’s because every Aurora Public Schools student is now guaranteed acceptance and application fees waived…

Beyond High School is our free monthly newsletter covering higher education policy and practices in Colorado. Sign up to get it delivered to your inbox early.A coalition of liberal groups hope to put a tax reform measure on the November 2026 ballot that could result in significant additional funding for K-12 schools and higher education. The Protect Colorado’s Future coalition wants to amend a portion of the state’s constitution that mandates a flat income tax rate, currently set at 4.4%. The draft measure, which the group unveiled Wednesday, would ask voters to approve a new graduated income tax. Taxes would…

Beyond High School is our free monthly newsletter covering higher education policy and practices in Colorado. Sign up to get it delivered to your inbox early.Federally funded research grants have paved the way to life-saving treatments and contribute millions to local economies.But, according to a new study, the 2026 Trump administration budget cuts could halt that research, result in job losses, and hurt the economy in every U.S. congressional district.These estimates from the Science and Community Impacts Mapping Project say slashing National Institutes of Health grants, which are just 1% of the federal budget, by $18 billion within Trump’s “big,…

Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Colorado voters are set to consider two ballot measures this year to help fund free school meals. But state lawmakers now want one of the measures to also cover the costs of federal food benefits that have been cut.State lawmakers initially put Proposition MM on the ballot to ensure the state’s two-year-old Healthy School Meals for All program, which provides free school meals to all Colorado students, has enough money to operate. Proposition MM, one…