Denver Public Schools can move forward with a new program to enroll students in college while they are still in high school – as long as it’s on the district’s dime, state officials said Wednesday.
An informal opinion by the attorney general’s office found that the “College Now” program, in which roughly 100 seniors at Abraham Lincoln High School enrolled in a higher-education institution at taxpayers’ cost, is not permitted.
“It’s perfectly appropriate for the district to run that but only at their own expense,” said William Moloney, state commissioner of education.
New DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet said he has requested a meeting with Moloney to talk about the program.
Bennet said he doesn’t know “where the money is going to come from,” but he doesn’t want the students enrolled to worry.
To them, he said: “Pay attention to your studies, and we’ll figure out how to get it funded.”
Lincoln principal Scott Mendelsberg was disappointed.
Since word of the program spread, the number of students who want to enroll in college has shot up by 70 percent, he said. The school serves roughly 1,400 students, most of whom are Latino and low-income.
College Now, being launched this fall, gives students the option of earning a traditional high school diploma or an Achieving Personal Excellence (APEX) diploma.
Those choosing to get an APEX diploma enroll in high school for five years. During the fifth year, the students take all classes in a higher-education institution.
Mendelsberg had planned to use state funding to cover the costs, based on state law that guarantees students an education until age 21.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-820-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
