Colorado Supreme Court decision on Adams 14 Schools changes future of lawsuits against state agencies
A Colorado Supreme Court decision issued this week could have lasting effects on lawsuits against state agencies, experts tell CBS News Colorado.
The opinion is the result of a years-long dispute between the Adams County 14 School District and the Colorado State Board of Education regarding the district's consistently low student performance scores.
Last Spring, the state board voted to review pathways to dissolve or reorganize Adams 14, after the district ended its relationship with a state-mandated private management company to improve student scores. Adams 14 sued the state board, and the litigation made its way up to the state's highest court for a final decision this week.
On one hand, Adams 14 lost in the decision, because the Supreme Court judges determined Adams 14's suit against the state was dismissible for lack of standing.
However, a second prong to the Court's decision is something Adams 14 and other legal experts tell CBS News Colorado is a win for local municipal agencies across the state.
The Court determined a long-used legal doctrine known as the political subdivision doctrine is no longer viable for state agencies to evade lawsuits from local municipal governments in Colorado.
"We lost the battle, but we won the war," says Joe Salazar, Adams 14 Chief Legal Counsel. "As it now stands, Adams 14 has won the overall war against the State Board, and we enabled school districts across Colorado to pursue justice for all students."
Legal experts tell CBS News Colorado the decision could affect several ongoing lawsuits, and others that may come in the future. One such case could be the ongoing litigation over the state's controversial universal pre-k program, that many have criticized was botched in its rollout and put local school districts in a more constrained position than before.
One legal expert, who asked not to be named due to their involvement in litigation that could be potentially affected by the Court's decision, says the abandonment of the political subdivision doctrine is going to be a "big deal" for all sorts of local government agencies who may have concerns about the state's interventions and actions.
Salazar agrees.
"For over 50 years, the political subdivision doctrine has been wielded by state departments and the Colorado State Board of Education to stop counties, municipalities, and school districts from suing for harm caused by state action," said Salazar. "Because of the efforts of Adams 14, the political subdivision doctrine no longer exists. The gravity of this decision means that the State Board can no longer lord over school districts with impunity, and state departments can now be sued by local governments for harm caused by state action. Every decision the State Board makes from here on out that violates a school district's statutory or constitutional right can now be challenged."
Ultimately, the other prong of the Supreme Court's decision regarding Adams 14's standing doesn't much matter for the district, since the Colorado Department of Education Commissioner Susana Cordova penned a letter a month ago letting the district off the hook for dissolution. The commissioner said because a committee made up of school leaders in neighboring districts determined dissolution was not the best path forward, Adams 14 would be allowed to remain in place.
Meanwhile, Salazar says the district is working with a new private management partner to help the district improve student performance.
"Today, Adams 14 is accredited and its recent student achievement scores demonstrate that the district is making positive gains that surpassed the state's in Participation Rate, baseline of Student Growth Percentile, Student Growth Percentile, and baseline of Academic Growth Percentile," a spokesperson for Adams 14 said in a news release.
Education Commissioner Cordova issued the following statement to CBS News Colorado about the Colorado Supreme Court decision and the latest on Adams 14's academic accountability:
"While this lawsuit was pending, the work to support Adams 14 continued. The reorganization process was completed, and the commissioner accepted the recommendation of the committee not to proceed with reorganization. Within the last several weeks, Adams 14 has requested a rehearing of its accountability order. The State Review Panel will visit the district in early 2024, and the State Board of Education will conduct a hearing in April or May of 2024. At that time, the state board may issue an entirely new order. This would retire the 2022 order that was challenged in the current lawsuit. With today's ruling, all the work with Adams 14, including scheduling these activities, will continue without the risk of being derailed by pending litigation.
We welcome the opportunity to continue to work closely with Adams 14 and build on the current work underway in the school district. We know that a focus on student achievement by working together is the best way forward for the students, staff, families and community of Adams 14."
