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Abstract
After the Great Recession, a seven percent decrease in funding ended decades of academic growth and further widened the achievement gap between White and Black students (Jackson et al., 2020). Colorado’s school-finance system is particularly distorted and inequitable because of a series of tax-limiting policies which, combined, have led Colorado to become one of the lowest-funded per pupil states in the country (Resnick et al., 2015). The purpose of this study is to describe the policymaking context, as it relates to equity within Colorado’s school-finance system and explore policy alternatives to improve equity within the system. The study was designed as a qualitative case study, conducted in partnership with three youth co-researchers in a modified youth participatory action research methodology. Data analysis was informed by critical policy analysis and critical theory. Study findings were visualized in a policy roadmap, designed for wide distribution across various state stakeholders and decisionmakers. This collaborative study contributes to the nationally emerging youth-led movement that interrupts dominant relationships, repositions power, and charts new territory in youth advocacy (Apple, 2019; Mansfield et al., 2012; Young & Diem, 2017).
