Leaders of Colorado's school choice community will join researchers, educators and educational policy-makers Jan. 23 for an all-day conference at the University of Colorado School of Law to discuss current and future potential effects of school choice policies on integration and segregation.
Titled "Diverse Choices: Making School Choice Work for All Colorado Â鶹ÒùÔº," the conference will be held in the Fleming Law Building courtroom from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and includes complimentary breakfast and lunch as well as conference materials. To register in advance, contact Tiffany Duncan at tduncan@hollandhart.com.
Co-sponsored by CU-Boulder's Education Public Interest Center, the Denver-based Piton Foundation and the Denver law firm of Holland and Hart, the conference will focus on the possibility of advancing diversity within school choice systems.
School choice in Colorado has created a new era in the way parents and schools make enrollment decisions, said Kevin Welner, associate professor of education at CU-Boulder, adding that common types of schools include open enrollment, magnet schools and charter schools.
According to Welner, during the morning session, leaders of Colorado's school choice community will join educational researchers to discuss the effects of choice on integration and segregation.
In the afternoon, panelists from around the United States will present concrete, practical options available to schools and districts in Colorado while local and national lawyers will summarize the legal implications of pursuing such options -- particularly, race-conscious student assignment policies, said Welner.
Panelists will include Ken Howe and Michele Moses from CU-Boulder's School of Education; Nina Lopez, Colorado League of Charter Schools; Paul Teske, CU-Denver Graduate School of Public Affairs; Richard Cole, assistant attorney general of Massachusetts and Ken Roberge, school board member with the Boulder Valley School District, among others.
For more information visit the conference Web page at