Denver judge has two months to rule on Adams 14 lawsuit against Colorado State Board of Education
A Denver judge now has 63 days to decide whether or not to stop the State Board of Education's decision to reorganize the Adams County School District 14.
Adams 14 filed a lawsuit against the state after the Board of Education's vote in May to reorganize the school district and revoke its accreditation.
The process to dissolve the district could take up to a year. Adams 14 wants the judge to halt the state's order and to review whether or not it was legal. The state stands by its decision citing consistently low student performance and has asked the judge to throw out the case.
If the judge sides with Adams 14, the dissolution process will be temporarily halted while a judicial review is conducted.
The April decision by the Board of Education allowed Adams 14 to pursue plans with a new consulting company to improve student performance, instead of voting to dissolve the district at that time.
The Board reversed its decision the following month, leading to the lawsuit.
Adams 14 had been in hot water with the state since it fired its private management company, MGT Consulting. The state had required Adams 14 to work with MGT in 2018 following years of consistently poor student performance.
Amie Baca-Oehlert, President of Colorado Education Association, released this statement to CBS4: Every Colorado community deserves great public schools where our children can thrive, and the families of Adams 14 are no different. What the Colorado Board of Education has done here has caused irreparable harm, and its ripple effects (like removing the school's accreditation which directly led to a devastating loss of educators) will take years to undo.
The CDE's antiquated accountability system leaves no room for nuance, and it disproportionately negatively impacts communities of color.
In 2021, Adams 14 hired an incredibly accomplished leader: Superintendent Dr. Karla Loria. She is eminently qualified for the position, but most importantly, she is supported by the parents, teachers, and voters of the district.
It is past time for the CDE to put our students first, and to let Adams 14's leaders lead.
