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New charges filed against Littleton bus aide, revealing more incidents of alleged abuse to nonverbal students
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Local, The Colorado Sun

New charges filed against Littleton bus aide, revealing more incidents of alleged abuse to nonverbal students

By Olivia Prentzel | The Colorado Sun Prosecutors filed additional charges this week against a former Littleton Public Schools bus aide accused of beating two nonverbal students, revealing more incidents of alleged abuse on their way to and from school. Kiarra Jones, 29, now faces nine counts of third-degree assault, a felony, and two counts of knowingly and reckless child abuse, a misdemeanor, according to court documents filed in the 18th Judicial District Court. Jones is scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon. The alleged abuse began in January and continued for nearly three months, before a police officer reviewed footage from an on-bus camera showing Jones assaulting two boys on bus rides to and from The Joshua School, a school for kids ages 3 through 21 with developme...
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Amendments to Colorado’s school finance formula could move opponents closer to support
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Amendments to Colorado’s school finance formula could move opponents closer to support

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics With more than a dozen amendments being added to the new school finance formula, outspoken opponents that have come out against the measure may move closer to a position of support. As reported by Colorado Politics Thursday, the bill that would revamp the state's school finance formula was amended in the House Appropriations Committee Friday morning. HB 1448 starts with the base per-pupil funding, excluding high school students and online enrollment. Then, it adds in at-risk funding, money for English language learners, and special education. The cost-of-living factor would be applied after that, along with a locale factor, a district size factor, and then "extended" high school and online funding. The cost is estimated at around $500 milli...
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Denver schools’ Super Alex Marrero uses NDAs to prevent employees from speaking out
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denvergazette.com, Local

Denver schools’ Super Alex Marrero uses NDAs to prevent employees from speaking out

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette Denver Public Schools — under Superintendent Alex Marrero — has offered severance packages to employees only if they are willing to sign a confidentiality agreement that prohibits them from speaking about their experiences in the district for three years after their employment. The explosive revelation came Monday night during the time the board of education has set aside for monthly public comment. Will Jones, the former executive director of communications, said he was dismissed by Marrero in February after nearly nine years with the district. Jones was hired under previous Superintendent Tom Boasberg. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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House Republicans welcome homeschooled students to the Capitol
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

House Republicans welcome homeschooled students to the Capitol

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice An estimated one in 20 children is homeschooled in America, and in Colorado about 16,000 students claim to be homeschooled. Some of those students and their parents visited the Capitol Thursday in celebration of Colorado Homeschool Day. “Empowering families to choose the best education for their children is fundamental to our values,” said Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs. “By supporting homeschooling, we affirm the right of families to be the primary educators of their children. Families should have the choice to tailor their child's education according to their individual needs and beliefs." Homeschool families found an ally in Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Brighton. “As a product of homeschooling myself and now a homeschool...
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Meta falsely links pro-parent school board president to child abuse images
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National, The Federalist

Meta falsely links pro-parent school board president to child abuse images

BY JORDAN BOYD | The Federalist The Californians at the center of one of the biggest parents’ rights fights in the nation right now were targeted last month when Meta falsely associated searches of their names with a warning about “child sexual abuse.” President of Chino Valley Unified School District Sonja Shaw was one of two parents’ rights activists who, after supporting a policy requiring school staff to notify parents if their child indicates gender dysphoria, faced unfounded smears from Meta’s Facebook and Instagram. A screenshot of searches on these platforms from an attorney for Shaw shows that, for an undefined period, searches including Shaw’s name or position were blocked by a notification warning about child sexual abuse. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE FEDERALIST...
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Colorado panel finalizes budget plan that boosts K-12, higher education and health care. Here’s what’s in it.
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado panel finalizes budget plan that boosts K-12, higher education and health care. Here’s what’s in it.

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun Colorado’s state budget panel early Friday morning approved a spending plan for next fiscal year that would invest heavily in state workers and medical services, eliminate Colorado’s K-12 funding shortfall and limit college tuition increases to 3% for in-state students. But it took a lot of cutting — and some creative accounting maneuvers — to get there. Facing a potential $170 million shortfall at the start of the week, lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee dipped deeply into various state cash funds in order to balance the budget, pulling money out of a number of programs to cover the spending gap. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Aims will build student health center to open in August 2026
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BizWest, Northern Colorado

Aims will build student health center to open in August 2026

By BizWest staff Aims Community College will open a new Student Health and Wellness Center in August 2026. The Aims Board of Trustees approved funding at the March 2024 meeting. The total cost to establish the center is $18.4 million.  “By investing in student health care access, we are investing in student success. Ensuring Aims provides a safe and supportive environment where students can thrive ties directly to our mission as a college,” Heidi Windell, treasurer of the Aims Board of Trustees, said in a written statement. READ THE FULL STORY AT BIZWEST
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Overbeck: Democrats in Colorado Legislature push bills endangering your children
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Overbeck: Democrats in Colorado Legislature push bills endangering your children

By Joy Overbeck | Special to the Rocky Mountain Voice Most of us want to see the most vicious child predators and the monsters who use children for sex locked in the slammer for a good, long time. But, not the Democrats in the Colorado Legislature. They unanimously killed Rep. Brandi Bradley’s, R-Douglas County, House Bill 24-1092 that would increase sentences for criminals convicted of pimping a child for prostitution, keeping a place of child prostitution and similar crimes to sentences of at least four years in prison. The bill would also increase sentences for the worst predators using menacing or criminal intimidation – that is, violence or threats of violence – to induce a child to commit prostitution to at least eight years in jail. This seems reasonable. But, since the Bra...
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Proposed sweeping changes to Colorado charter schools could divide Democrats
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Proposed sweeping changes to Colorado charter schools could divide Democrats

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A trio of state Democratic lawmakers is pushing a sweeping proposal to boost what they describe as accountability but which critics say flies in the face of local control and unfairly targets charter schools. Notably, the biggest pushback is likely to come from members of their own caucuses and Gov. Jared Polis.  Reps. Tammy Story of Evergreen and Lorena Garcia of Adams County, along with Sen. Lisa Cutter of Littleton, introduced House Bill 1363, a 55-page bill that seeks major changes in how charter schools operate. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado lawmakers scramble to find funds for schools, communities grappling with immigration crisis
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado lawmakers scramble to find funds for schools, communities grappling with immigration crisis

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Colorado's policymakers are looking for ways to help communities grappling with the costs of accommodating roughly 40,000 immigrants who arrived in Colorado in the past year. The Department of Public Safety is requesting nearly $10 million in supplemental funding for organizations that offer services and assistance to immigrant families.  More specifically, the money will go toward housing and legal aid for the immigrants who came to Colorado after illegally crossing America's southern border.  "Colorado is committed to providing the resources we can for the communities and organizations working on the frontlines to support new arrivals during this crisis, and we are grateful for their work," a spokesperson for Gov. Jared Polis...
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