Are you a student in Colorado Springs, CO, wondering if there are any restrictions on the use of lockers, desks, and storage areas? As an expert in the field of education, I can tell you that there are indeed rules and regulations surrounding student use of lockers, desks, and storage areas in Colorado Springs. First and foremost, no student may use a locker, desk, or storage area as a storage for any substance or object that is prohibited by law or school district policy. This includes anything that poses a threat to the health, safety, or well-being of the occupants of the school building or the building itself. When Oregon school districts shortened their special education students' school days due to their behavior, experts determined that it was as counterproductive as limiting reading time for students who have difficulty reading well.
High school critics have also condemned the segregated nature of some schools. Unfortunately, this can lead to students like Riley ending up in even more segregated places for months at a time while their families try to find them a bed at a boarding school. Michelle Murphy, executive director of the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance, and other actors in the rural education sector are skeptical that a single state technical assistance center can provide the support districts need. They believe that help is needed on the ground in order to provide face-to-face training for school staff or even a behavior analyst available to advise people by phone in a hurry.
In response to this need, the Santa Fe Way Cooperative Educational Services Board (BOCES) created the Southeastern Alternative Learning Academy in La Junta for students from the Eastern Plains with emotional and behavioral problems. This year, Governor Jared Polis signed a bill into law that provides funding to shore up schools and strengthen services for students with serious needs in rural districts. For example, Riley attended Bill Metz Elementary School in Monte Vista from preschool to second grade. However, when her local school district was unable to meet her needs, she ended up enrolling and leaving several schools before eventually finding a residential center in Colorado Springs more than three hours from her home in Del Norte.
Some provisions of Colorado's new law are specifically intended to help rural areas by establishing a statewide technical assistance center to help meet the needs of rural students. According to a report submitted to legislators, among the main reasons why students could not be placed in a high school were the lack of vacancies and “a prohibitive geographical location” in rural areas. Aaron Horrocks, superintendent of the Upper Rio Grande School District, declined to comment specifically on Riley's case but said that problem behaviors are increasing and that schools need more support services and funding to hire paraprofessionals or a day treatment center within the practice field. However, when local schools are unable to meet student needs in rural Colorado, they can end up learning online at home or attending a residential school far from home.
Pat Bershinsky, executive director of the Pikes Peak BOCES in Colorado Springs, said rural needs would be more effectively met if the money went directly to BOCES to create its own programs. On the day of Riley's move to Colorado Springs, her family toured campus with her and took their belongings to their new room. At first glance, there's nothing particularly unusual about the four-classroom school in this western Colorado city. In conclusion, it is important for students living in Colorado Springs to be aware of any restrictions on their use of lockers, desks and storage areas. It is essential that they do not store any substances or objects that are prohibited by law or school district policy as this could pose a threat to their health and safety as well as those around them.
