education

SB 07-053 represents a net opportunity gain for Colorado. It is an important step toward creating an integrated P-16 system of education (pre-kindergarten through college graduation). Such an approach holds the promise of helping the state close its achievement gaps and preparing more students to succeed.

We should use Referendum C money to help make up for past funding cuts to community colleges, junior colleges and state colleges throughout Colorado, giving priority to institutions serving and demonstrating a commitment to low-income, underserved and rural students.

The Rocky Mountain News reports on the fight for funding in 2006, after Referendum C passed, between institutes of higher education and K-12 schools.

A Boulder Daily Camera commentary expressing the need to fund public community colleges, whose funding has decreased in recent years, making education beyond high school more out of reach for many Coloradans.

HB 1098 represents a net opportunity gain for Colorado. It will help increase the number of students, especially from low-income and minority backgrounds, who complete high school and enroll in college.

HB 06-1062 represents a net opportunity loss for Colorado. School-age children have a right to an education, regardless of their immigration status. Collecting the desired data could create a chilling effect on some students??? school enrollment, due to concerns about being identified as undocumented, or having their parents identified as such.

A Point & Counterpoint in the Rocky Mountain News analyzing the Bell Policy Center's Education White Papers, which look at college accessibility and affordability.

A Boulder Daily Camera commentary comparing America's rate of graduating college students to that of other countries, exploring the demographics of college graduates and projecting future needs for highly educated workers in the global economy.

A Denver Post Sunday perspective piece laying out an agenda for spending Referendum C funds according to the voters' intent.

A Boulder Daily Camera commentary debunking the myth of the success of the "65 percent solution," which is not supported by evidence and includes a problematic definition.