Judge dismisses universal preschool lawsuit brought by Colorado school districts

A Denver district court judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by several Colorado school districts over the state’s universal preschool program, ruling that the plaintiffs don’t have legal grounds to sue.

In his 20-page ruling, Judge Jon J. Olafson concluded that the six school districts, two education groups, a cooperative education services board, and two families that sued the state last year had not suffered any “injury” covered by state or federal law. The districts, groups, and families had argued that the universal preschool program administration was harming students with disabilities, in addition to other claims.

The decision is a win for the state and for Gov. Jared Polis, who spearheaded the popular free preschool program, which launched last summer after a rushed and rocky planning process. It comes a month after a partial victory for the state in another universal preschool lawsuit — one brought by Catholic preschools who don’t want to enroll children from LGBTQ families. (The Catholic preschools plan to appeal.)