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In cases of a grievance against a school, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is almost always a point of last resort. Before bringing any question regarding school policy or a specific decision affecting a student to the attention of the Department, the issue should be pursued by contacting the responsible parties in this order:
1.Teacher
2.School Principal
3.District Superintendent
4.Local School Board Members
5.The Colorado Department of Education
6.Legal Action
If you have followed the first four steps and still feel that your issue is not being given the attention it deserves, you should then contact the CDE Performance Support Manager for your region of the state. Contact information for this person can be found here on our CDE webpage.
Both by citizen preference and law, Colorado is a "local control" state. This means that many pre-kindergarten through 12th grade public education decisions -- on issues such as curriculum, personnel, school calendars, graduation requirements, and classroom policy -- are made by the 176 school district administrations and their school boards.
The State Board of Education and CDE are in place to provide guidance and direction for the local districts on statewide educational issues, and to act as a link to many Federal and State programs and services. Please follow the links below for more information on a topic of interest.
For more information about this go to the CDE Website.