Colorado Charter School Watch

Aspiration: Charter schools will be run by teachers and parents, thus escaping bureaucracy.
Reality: Charter boards are nearly always composed of unelected individuals who may not even live in the state in which the charter is located.

Reality: Authorizer laws, which vary by state, have resulted in a steady stream of income for authorizers, weak oversight, and, in some states, authorizer shopping that allows failed schools to continue.

Aspiration: Renewable charter contracts with supervision provided by outside authorizers will create schools accountable to families and the public.

Aspiration: Charter schools will be teacher-led schools, rooted in community needs..
Reality: About half of all charter schools are run by charter management organizations—some for-profit corporations; others nonprofit. All are
disconnected from families and communities.

Part II: Charter School Reckoning: Disillusionment - Network For Public Education In Decline, the first part of The National Center for Charter School Accountability’s three-part report, Charter School Reckoning: Decline, Disillusionment, and Cost, documented how charter school gro...

Aspiration: Less regulation of charter schools will unleash innovation.
Reality: Less regulation has resulted in mismanagement, profiteering, and scams. #COpol #COleg

DAVIS: The Plot to Take a Local School District to the Supreme Court If you look at some of the most significant Supreme Court cases on cultural issues coming out in the last three terms, where have they come from?” the attorney quizzed...

A must-read: "In order to give SCOTUS the opportunity to rule in their favor, the advocates need a case which fits the bill; a case to drive home a parents’ rights interpretation of the due process clause. Here in Colorado, they think they have at least two." #COpol #COleg

Charter school fraud, Idaho-style. #COpol #COleg

YouTube video by CBS Mornings Florida charter school company run by GOP figure leaves parents frustrated: "They dropped the ball"

Here's how the classical charter school scam works in Florida, with a boost from MAGA Republicans ... #COleg #COpol

It was only a matter of time after SCOTUS split 4-4 on the constitutionality of religious charter schools in May until we got the next test case. Per this story, there are actually two cases in the works.

Barrett likely the deciding vote, so 1st Amend. church-public school separation in jeopardy.

State Approves Classical Charter School in Douglas County Despite Heavy Christian Influence, Low Salary & Enrollment Projections John Adams Academy board assures reviewers that its for-profit management company will address the finance gaps. The Colorado Charter School Institute on Tuesday approved John Adams Academy–Douglas Co...

More on this for-profit operation ...

Controversial Colorado school land amendment passes with concessions Douglas County commissioners approved an amendment to Sterling Ranch's school land dedication requirements. So many neighbors wanted to weigh in that public comment lasted for hours at the hearing.

Sterling Ranch parents wanted a school. They are about to get a "liberty-based charter school" with strong Christian nationalist vibes. #COleg #COpol

Why, of course, he's an ardent charter school supporter. www.facebook.com/watch/?v=836...

​Investigation opened based on campaign finance complaint against Colorado lawmaker | Colorado Newsline A campaign finance complaint made against state Rep. Ron Weinberg moved into an investigation phase last week.

​Investigation opened based on campaign finance complaint against Colorado lawmaker

What the Success Academy Scandal Says About the Charter School Model When I was running a school, I knew that every hour of my team’s day mattered. A well-prepared lesson, a timely phone call home to a parent, or a few extra minutes spent helping a struggling student w...

"Some will argue this is only one leader’s excess. That response ignores the incentives built into a model that ties school growth and charter renewal to political capital." #COleg #COpol

Thomas Ultican: California Charter Schools Heading for 2026 - Network For Public Education Thomas Ultican looks at the state of the charter school industry in California in the coming year. Reposted with permission.  There was another major effort in Sacramento to reform charter school laws...

Plenty of Colorado connections found among the billionaires funding school privatization efforts. #COleg #COpol

This Denver charter wants to add middle school. The superintendent is recommending a ‘no.’ Monarch Montessori said parents have been asking the school to expand.

“This is not in spite of the advocacy,” Marrero told the board last Thursday. “It’s based on our lived and hard-earned experience when it comes to granting expansion without a clear facility plan. We’ve been burnt in the past, quite frankly. It just simply doesn’t work.” #COleg #COpol

Alyssaism

North Routt Community Charter School staff, parents demand answers in wake of head of school’s dismissal The tension and uncertainty swirling around North Routt Community Charter School intensified Monday as staff, parents and community members gathered for a pivotal board meeting following the controver...

"Pleas for transparency"? I'm shocked. #COleg #COpol

Northwest Colorado News for Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025 By Shannon Lukens.   Three members of the Board of Directors of North Routt Community Charter School have announced their resignation. They are: Board President Kim Smith Board Secretary Jenn Clements...

Things that make you go "hmmmm ..." #COleg #COpol

NEW: DougCo's lame duck GOP school board just failed to pass a 10-year renewal for all charter schools after one member of the conservative majority voted no (Tim Moore). The measure to protect charters from scrutiny by the incoming Dem/moderate board fails, per @spencersoicher.bsky.social.

Christian law firm’s search for test case led to religious public school in Colorado, emails suggest A prominent conservative law firm looking for a test case on whether public money can fund religious schools was the impetus for what’s been billed as Colorado’s “first public Christian school,” ac…

Turns out Colorado's "first public Christian school" is all a set-up for an Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit. @philweiser.bsky.social @bennet.senate.gov #COleg #COpol

Getting annoyed listening to charter school activists lie again and again that charter schools are public schools.

They are not.

They are publicly funded private schools that siphon money away from public schools and produce no better results.

Good news!

Corporate Reformers Take Charge of National Governors Association, Undermine Public Schools The National Governors Association is led this year by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a cheerleader for charter schools who launched two of his own. The NGA, at Polis’ instigation, chose K-12…

School privatizers/profiteers rule with @colorado.gov at helm of National Governors Association @michaelbennet.bsky.social @philweiser.bsky.social #COpol #COleg

Outgoing Douglas County School Board to vote on last-minute 10-year charter school extensions Under the proposal, charter schools up for renewal would automatically receive 10 additional years without submitting paperwork or undergoing review.

So much for the claim that charter schools are more accountable than traditional public schools ...

Keep Public Funds in Public Schools We need to support our public schools and help them grow stronger. Voucher programs are not the way to achieve this; they move public funds to private education – often for families whose children alr...

Tell Gov. Polis to reject the OBBBA voucher scan. #edcolo #copolitics #coleg

Maurice Cunningham: How SNAP Funds the Mass Reads Coalition. Or, A Win-Win for the Walton Family - Network For Public Education Dark money expert Maurice Cunningham has a sudden realization about how SNAP helps fund the conservative reading activists in Massachusetts (and likely in your state, too).  Today I was hoping the Tru...

A timely reminder of the Walton family's damaging influence on our public schools. #COleg #COpol

Union-backed candidates sweep Denver Public Schools board races, oust 2 incumbents Union-backed candidates won all four races for the Denver Public Schools’ Board of Education, ousting two incumbents.

The charter school cabal loses big in DPS races: “Denver voters made it clear that they trust educators to make decisions about what is best for Denver Public Schools students, over billionaire-backed private interests.” #COleg #COpol

School Board Roundup: Who Won, Who Lost, and Where it's Too Close to Call This year, the Colorado Times Recorder team covered the happenings in a handful of Colorado's contested school districts. Since 2021, when the “parents’ rights” movement erupted in school districts ar...

Mostly positive results in CO school board contests. Voters reject right-wing ideology of book-banning, LGBTQ discrimination and more. #COleg #COpol

Quick Analysis on how tonight affects the Colorado Democratic June 2026 Primary:

Teacher & Pro-Union folks just won BIG in Denver & Colorado. Denver, Woodland Park, Durango, Grand Junction, Cherry Creek, Aurora, Adams 14.

BAD NEWS for Michael Bennet. Good news for Phil Weiser
#copolitics #coleg