Denver judge dismisses school districts' lawsuit against state Universal Preschool Program

A Denver judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by six school districts and the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) against the state's new Universal Preschool Program.

The ruling stated that the plaintiffs failed to allege an injury to a legally protected group.

The plaintiffs had argued the preschool rollout violated the rights of students with disabilities and was not sufficiently transparent about state funding.

Deputy Executive Director for CASE, Melissa Gibson, issued a statement saying, "We are disappointed by the court's decision, but we will continue our focus on doing everything possible to advocate for a resolution to the issues impacting students and families in the UPK system. Filing this lawsuit was a last resort and our top priority has always been ensuring that the violations of special education law, funding, and equal protections for students are rectified. While this fix won't occur through a court order, it doesn't change our path forward. We will continue to push for transparency and solutions to the ongoing issues with UPK. As we have since the start of the new program, we will continue to try to work with the state in whatever way we can."

The plaintiffs also included the Consortium of Directors of Special Education, Brighton School District 27-J, Cherry Creek School District No. 5, Harrison School District 2, Mapleton Public Schools, Platte Valley Public Schools, and Westminster Public Schools.

Last August, the districts told CBS News Colorado that UPK was rushed, poorly designed and confusing to parents, and that the rollout of the program was causing damage and lost revenue to school districts.

The state's Universal Preschool offices issued a statement: "The Department of Early Childhood acknowledges and appreciates the ruling. As this case has been resolved at the trial level, the Department looks forward to continued collaboration with all of Colorado's early childhood stakeholders as we build a national standard-bearing model of universal preschool, together."