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DISTRICT COURT, DENVER COUNTY, STATE OF COLORADO City and County Building 1437 Bannock, Denver, CO 80202 Plaintiffs: JAMES LARUE, et al., v. Defendants: COLORADO BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Intervenors: FLORENCE DOYLE, et al., AND Plaintiffs: TAXPAYERS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION, et al., v. Defendants: DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT RE-1, et al. ORDER

COURT USE ONLY

Case No.: 11cv4424 Combined with: Case No.: 11CV4427 Courtroom: 259

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Motions for Preliminary Injunction filed separately by Plaintiffs James Larue, et al. and Taxpayers for Public Education, et al. (collectively, "Plaintiffs").1 Defendants Douglas County Board of Education and Douglas County School District, Colorado Board of Education and Colorado Department of Education (collectively, "Defendants"), and Intervenors Florence and Derrick Doyle, et al. (collectively, "Intervenors") filed their respective Responses on July 22, 2011. Plaintiffs filed their respective Replies on July 25, 2011. A three day hearing was held beginning on August 2, 2011. Testimony was taken and exhibits were received. Also ripe for the Court's consideration is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss filed on July 22, 2011 and joined by Intervenors on July 26,
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On July 11, 2011, Case No. 11cv4427 was consolidated into Case No. 11cv4424.

2011. Having reviewed the briefs, the exhibits, the relevant authorities, and considered the credibility of the witnesses, the Court now makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law: I. FINDINGS OF FACT A. THE CREATION OF THE CHOICE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 1. Beginning in June 2010, the Douglas County School District assembled a School Choice Task Force ("Task Force") consisting of seven subcommittees and approximately 80 members, including members of Plaintiffs in this case. The Task Force held a series of public meetings to discuss a range of school choice options for the Douglas County School District. In approximately November 2010, the Task Force produced the Blueprint for Choice which was subsumed into the Douglas County School District's Strategic Plan. In December 2010, the Task Force presented plans for the Choice Scholarship Pilot Program ("Scholarship Program") to the Douglas County Board of Education. See Oversight Comm. Mtg., Feb. 10, 2011 (Ex. 76). Dr. Elizabeth Celania-Fagen ("Dr. Fagen"), the Superintendent of Douglas County School District, testified during the injunction hearing that the Scholarship Program is one of approximately 30 strategies subsumed into the Blueprint for Choice to ultimately improve choice for parents and students in the district. On March 15, 2011, the Douglas County School Board approved the Scholarship Program for the 2011-2012 school year as part of the larger Blueprint for Choice and Strategic Plan. See Choice Scholarship Program ("Policy") (Ex. 1). Prior to approval of the Scholarship Program on March 15, 2011, the staff of the Colorado Department of Education met on multiple occasions with Douglas County School District staff regarding the structure of the Scholarship Program. See, e.g., Jan. 5, 2011 mtg. notes (Ex. 69); February 10, 2011 mtg. minutes (Ex. 76); March 7, 2011 mtg. notes (Ex. 90). At these meetings, the Colorado Department of Education advised the Douglas County School District on the legality of the Scholarship Program and how to structure the Scholarship Program so as to receive "per pupil" funding under the Public School Finance Act. See, e.g., Jan. 5, 2011 notes (Ex. 69) (discussing funding and other issues including "church/state" problems, "excessive entanglement," and legal challenges associated with forming a charter school to administer the Program); March 7, 2011 notes (Ex. 90) (discussing use of charter school structure, special education, geographic 2

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limitations, and other issues). At the injunction hearing, Robert Hammond ("Mr. Hammond"), the Colorado Commissioner of Education, confirmed that, at the January 5, 2011 meeting, the Colorado Department of Education did not intend to block the implementation of the Scholarship Program. He additionally acknowledged that at the time he made this statement, he had no documents outlining the Scholarship Program. 7. Dr. Fagen and her administration began implementing the Scholarship Program on Wednesday, March 16, as directed by the Douglas County School Board for the 20112012 school year. B. THE CHOICE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 8. The purposes of the Scholarship Program are "to provide greater educational choice for students and parents to meet individualized student needs, improve educational performance through competition, and obtain a high return on investment of [Douglas County School District] educational spending." See Policy

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