Open or closed? Some Colorado programs for homeschoolers remain in limbo after turbulent summer
As the school year begins, leaders at Denver’s Bluff Lake Nature Center are searching for a way to keep offering publicly funded enrichment classes that teach homeschooled students about water quality, wildlife tracking, shelter…
Some Colorado programs catering to homeschooled students are uncertain about their future following the sudden dissolution of the controversial education group, ERBOCES, earlier this summer. ERBOCES provided authorization to 44 state-funded homeschool enrichment programs, covering over 6,000 students with a budget exceeding $35 million.
Due to the group's collapse, many programs are either closing or pausing their classes until they can secure a new authorizer. Denver's Bluff Lake Nature Center and Colorado Springs' Space Academy are among the programs grappling with the uncertainty, as they look for new authorizers or alternative paths to continue their tuition-free classes.
The state recently tightened regulations on homeschool enrichment programs in response to mounting spending and concerns over subsidies for private schools. Despite these changes, some programs, like Bluff Lake and Space Academy, are still seeking new authorizers and working on applications to the state department. However, the outcome of these applications remains uncertain, leaving families in a waiting game to determine their children's educational futures.
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