Colorado Parents and School Districts File Adequacy Lawsuit

Concerned parents and financially strapped districts from across the state have filed suit in Denver District Court, alleging that, as a result of Colorado's extremely restrictive tax laws, the state is unconstitutionally under-funding the education system by close to one billion dollars annually. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which is supported by the Colorado Education Association, the Colorado Association of School Boards, and the Colorado Association of School Executives, amongst others, are being represented by lawyers from Children's Voices, a Colorado public-interest law firm. The plaintiffs argue that the Colorado legislature has consistently failed to fulfill the education clause of the state constitution, which mandates a “thorough and uniform” public school system.

Colorado's school funding system is particularly limited because of several tax-related laws enacted in recent decades. The primary culprit is the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights (TABOR), which tightly restricts increases in the state budget from year to year and demands voter approval for any new taxes proposed by the legislature. TABOR's effect on the Colorado budget has been disastrous, as economic struggles and uncontrollable growth in certain state spending categories have created a dearth of available state funds that cannot be legally restored. Colorado voters attempted to address the resultant drop in education money through Amendment 23, which guarantees that education funding will increase at the rate of inflation plus one through 2011. However, this guarantee has come to serve as more of a ceiling than a floor and does not come close to keeping up with growth in actual education costs, which is significantly higher than inflation. Plaintiffs' attorneys noted that Colorado ranks last in the nation in the percentage of personal income spent on education.

Special Programs, Special Needs

One of the primary concerns of the plaintiffs is the dramatic lack of resources for educating students with disabilities and English Language Learners (ELLs). The Denver Post reports that ELL students in Colorado currently receive only $80 to $90 more per year than the average student. Most experts advise that states provide at least twice what is spent per non-ELL student in order to adequately educate an ELL student in English as well the core subjects.

According to the Rocky Mountain News, the plaintiffs' case also emphasizes the need for preschool and full-day kindergarten, improved transportation, and specialized programs that improve educational outcomes, such as vocational education and gifted and talented programs. Many states have adopted such programs as a proven means of advancing statewide achievement and educational opportunity and closing the achievement gap.

Legislative Answers

The plaintiffs are requesting that the state mandate an education cost study, which will determine the specific dollar amount required to provide a constitutionally “thorough and uniform” education to all of the state's public school students. Cost studies have been used to determine appropriate funding in numerous other states and court cases. The plaintiffs argue that the funding of education in the state should be based on its actual cost, and are willing to see TABOR or other tax restrictions altered or eliminated in order to ensure this funding is provided.

Voicing what has now become a familiar refrain from state defendants in adequacy lawsuits, Colorado lawmakers expressed the concern that a judicial decision in this matter will usurp their authority over the state budget. However, it is questionable whether this objection will meet with much success, as the authority of a state court to intervene in order to protect the constitutional right of children to educational opportunity has been repeatedly reaffirmed in other adequacy cases.

Prepared by Nelly Ward, July 7, 2005