k-12 education
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COVER STORY | Hot Topics of the 2022 General Assembly
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With 2022 an election year, lawmakers traditionally back off a bit from introducing controversial bills. That’s why they have approved some of the biggest measures of the past six years – oil and gas reform, Colorado option, climate change and greenhouse gas – in odd-numbered years when they worry less about voter reactions at the ballot box. Will…
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House Democratic leaders talk final days of 2018 session
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House Democrats are committed to wrapping up many of the same issues that Senate Republicans talked about Monday – the state pension plan, transportation, and reauthorizing the civil rights commission – but how they intend to get there couldn’t be more different. And that shows the divide that must be bridged in the remaining days of the…
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Colo. teachers have a lot to sweat out in 2018 legislature’s final days
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Colorado teachers have a lot riding on the final two weeks of this year’s legislative session, both in policy and politics, from their weekly paycheck to their future pension. The House of Representatives this week is expected to debate and vote on a fix to the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, a plan to shore…
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Hickenlooper seeks more money for transportation and rural K-12
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Rural schools could get an additional $30 million, on top of the $30 million granted through a 2017 bill, under a revised budget proposal submitted by Gov. John Hickenlooper Tuesday. The money would come from higher taxes Coloradans will pay under the Tax Cuts and Job Act recently signed into law by President Donald Trump.…
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Cary Kennedy releases education plan but few details on paying for it
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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cary Kennedy rolled out her education plan for Colorado Thursday. The plan, her campaign says, will make sure that by the time a Colorado kid turns 19 – “regardless of where they live and how much their family makes” – is prepared for higher education. “As governor I will make education our…
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Hamner: 2017 legislative session was a productive one for Colorado
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With the 2017 session of the Colorado General Assembly behind us, I am enjoying being back in my district and having some time to reflect back on the legislative session. From Jan. 11 to May 10, my colleagues and I worked very hard to find compromise on some very important issues, and as a result,…
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Robinson: Haphazardly throwing money at education not the solution
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I was pleased to read Paula Noonan’s education piece, as it provides an excellent illustration of the origin of Colorado’s budget problems. While Ms. Noonan rattles off the shortcomings in Colorado’s educational performance with ease, she is decidedly more vague about her prescription for success. Her solution? Spend another billion dollars a year. An answer…
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Hickenlooper signs ‘Long Bill,’ applauds bipartisan collaboration on state budget
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Gov. John Hickenlooper on Friday signed the upcoming year’s budget, known as the Long Appropriations Bill, praising legislators on both sides of the aisle for coming together to avert “draconian” cuts while safeguarding spending on health care and schools. Senate Bill 254 sets a $28.7 billion budget for the state for the 2017-18 fiscal year,…
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YESTERYEAR: Ritter, Caldara face off over School Finance Act
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Twenty Years Ago This Week in The Colorado Statesman … A new welfare law was finally agreed upon and the Legislature narrowly averted a special session. “That’s the art of compromise,” Gov. Roy Romer said. He added that he would sign the latest version of the state’s welfare reform law that had successfully met the…
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Republicans accused of ‘hijacking’ education funding in the name of charter schools
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Democrats and the state’s largest teachers’ union say Republicans have hijacked a critical school funding measure in the name of charter schools. The annual School Finance Act, which lawmakers are constitutionally obligated to pass each year, was amended on Thursday to include equitable funding for charter schools. Republicans, led by Sen. Owen Hill of Colorado…
