Mind the honesty gap*

Fordham Institute
Red states are lining up to test just how much leeway they can get from Uncle Sam’s education mandates, with some pushing for block grants that would allow them to consolidate federal aid into a single grant with few spending restrictions.

Chalkbeat
The number of students in Colorado public schools is declining. But enrollment in Colorado’s publicly funded, privately run charter schools is heading in the opposite direction.

Chalkbeat
Colorado’s popular universal free school meals program could face substantial cuts next year if voters don’t approve a measure for additional funding.

The 74
States risk losing close to $3 billion in remaining COVID relief funds after U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced Friday that they’ll no longer be reimbursed for pandemic-related costs.

Chalkbeat
The $43.9 billion Colorado budget proposal released Monday includes increases for K-12 and higher education operations in 2025-26, but would be far less than what school leaders say they need.

Colorado Sun
As Colorado lawmakers try to solve a state budget crisis, Gov. Jared Polis’ office is advocating for a new set of changes to student averaging that would significantly impact a handful of rural school districts and charter schools that found a lifeline for their budgets by enrolling online homeschool students.