08/25/2026
Colorado's constitution is clear: public schools cannot teach religious doctrine.
But when Riverstone Academy — openly run by a Christian organization and using faith-based curriculum — applied for a public school code last year, state officials approved it anyway. Then they watched hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars flow to the school without taking action.
This wasn't a close call. More than two dozen Colorado Department of Education employees flagged the problem internally before Riverstone ever opened. They raised questions about the school's Christian curriculum. They escalated to state lawyers. And still, Riverstone got its code, its legitimacy, and its public funding.
The Colorado Department of Education says it lacks "clear authority" to enforce the state's own constitutional ban on religious public schools — leaving that job to the courts. But law professor Steven Green, who specializes in church-state issues, disagrees. "As a state official, however far down it is, they're still bound by the Constitution," he told Chalkbeat. "It's not that you wait till litigation occurs."
Riverstone has since closed, but the loophole that let it open — and get paid — is still there. Colorado has no enforceable procedure to stop another religious school from entering the public system tomorrow.
Sign this petition urging Colorado lawmakers and the Department of Education to establish clear, enforceable rules: no religious curriculum, no religious operators, and no public dollars for schools that cross that line
CO Spent Tax-Payer Money on a Christian School. Enforce the Church-State Separation Now.
