Arnold & Porter Represents Kids, Families, and Schools in Colorado K-12 Education Case

DENVER, June 27, 2014 -- Arnold & Porter LLP has filed a lawsuit on behalf of several families, school districts, and education organizations against the state of Colorado to enforce Amendment 23’s constitutional requirement to maintain funding for public education. 

In 2000, the people of Colorado voted in favor of Amendment 23 to restore funding for K-12 education, after the state had fallen behind on funding for public education for several decades.  While the Colorado General Assembly complied with Amendment 23’s mandatory increases in education funding for several years, in 2010, the state began cutting education funding each year by $1 billion. 

“The voters did not trust the state to maintain funding for K-12 education, so they passed a constitutional amendment to force the state to do so.  Although the state complied for a decade, when times got tough, they ignored the constitution and cut $1 billion from public education,” said Arnold & Porter partner Timothy R. Macdonald, co-lead attorney on the case and head of the firm’s Denver office.  “That only sacrificed our kids.”

In addition to Mr. Macdonald, associate Nathaniel Hake is a member of the firm’s legal team handling the matter on a pro bono basis.