Education

Denver's dysfunctional school board spent an hour Thursday debating whether to return police officers to schools after a series of shootings on campus, and finished without a consensus or a plan for moving forward.

Driving the news: Two competing proposals — one to give superintendent Alex Marrero authority to put police in schools as needed and another to create rotating community resources officers — led to more discussion than action at the board's meeting.

Denver Public Schools is operating without its security chief and a key deputy at a significant moment.

Why it matters: The vacancies come as the district develops a new safety plan and faces questions about three shootings at or near East High School.

How students can show their pride at graduation in Colorado is becoming a touchpoint in the debate about free speech in education.

Why it matters: The conversation comes amid the spring graduation season and makes Colorado yet another state to grapple with whether First Amendment protections end at the schoolhouse door.

On the first day of fourth grade, Erin Schneiderman's son didn't have a seat in a classroom.

Context: Months earlier, Denver Public Schools decided to send him to a specialized school because he has autism and frequent meltdowns.

• Yet, when the year started, the district didn't have room for him. He stayed home weeks — so long that Schneiderman had to take employment leave.