Reluctant Colorado school districts are preparing to administer standardized tests amid uncertainty about whether the state can get any relief from federal testing requirements. Last Monday, federal education officials directed states to proceed with the administration of standardized tests, known here as the Colorado Measures of Academic Success or CMAS, because the tests will help […]
Rachel Zenzinger
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers advance effort to maintain school funding despite enrollment declines
A bill that holds funding steady for Colorado schools despite a pandemic-related drop in enrollment passed the state Senate unanimously Friday. Colorado funds its schools on a per-pupil basis, and lawmakers could have held back millions promised to schools after the October student tally recorded nearly 30,000 fewer students this year, a 3% decline. Instead, […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, News, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmaker pushing ahead with effort to suspend state testing despite federal requirement
The sponsor of a bill seeking to suspend Colorado’s standardized tests this year believes the state can use other tests most students already take and still adhere to federal testing rules. A letter sent Monday by Ian Rosenblum, acting assistant education secretary, calls for states to give standardized tests this year, despite pandemic disruptions. Rosenblum […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
As Colorado legislature reconvenes, leaders pledge funds for K-12, higher education
By Jason Gonzales and Erica Meltzer, Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado lawmakers returned to work Tuesday with Democratic leaders pledging to restore cuts made to K-12 and higher education during the early months of the pandemic last year and to invest more in education. “The uphill recovery and the many daunting tasks before us may be mighty, […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado governor, legislature will decide whether students take standardized tests during coronavirus
The question of whether Colorado should press forward with standardized testing for elementary and middle school students in 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic is gearing up to be one of the biggest education battles at the statehouse this year. The debate is also serving as a proxy war for the longtime fight over the effectiveness […]
Posted inCOVID, Education, News, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers promise enrollment drop won’t hurt school funding
Democratic leaders in Colorado’s legislature promise to hold school funding steady despite enrollment drops that typically would cost school districts millions of dollars. “School districts are doing so much more than we have ever asked them to do before,” said state Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, an Arvada Democrat and incoming chair of the Senate Education Committee. […]
Posted inElection 2020, News, Politics and Government
Colorado Democrats debate need for diversity in selecting their statehouse leadership
Democrats in the state legislature debated over including women and people of color in their leadership Thursday, just two days after the party affirmed its majority at Colorado Capitol. Identity politics defined a four-way race for majority leader in the House, as lawmakers made the case for certain candidates based on race, gender and geography. […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Republicans are trailing Democrats across Colorado. They hope to gain ground with their ground game.
AURORA — One Saturday morning this month, a few dozen volunteers gathered in the mostly empty parking lot at Smoky Hill Library to knock on voters’ doors in support of two Republican legislative candidates. Suzanne Staeirt, who is running for a hotly contested state Senate seat, told the group before they headed out that they […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Democrats poised to hold power in the Colorado Senate as Republicans put on the defensive
Republicans in Colorado look unlikely to reclaim the state Senate majority they lost two years ago, observers from both sides of the aisle say, relegating the party to another two years in the background as Democrats control Colorado’s government. The party is grappling with an election year that forces them to play defense and the […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
5 new insights into Gov. Jared Polis’ coronavirus response and how COVID-19 is affecting Colorado
Jared Polis’ top deputies appeared before a panel of leading state lawmakers on Tuesday to talk about the governor’s response to the coronavirus crisis. Specifically, Polis’ surrogates outlined how Colorado has spent billions in federal aid and the ways in which the governor has used his executive authority to prevent COVID-19 from spreading out of […]