What is the Consent Decree?

In April 2013, Denver Public Schools began implementing a newly-revised and approved consent decree to improve Multilingual Learner (MLL) instruction to better serve Denver’s students. The Federal District Court’s approval and entering of the consent decree, which reflects updates to the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 and the English-Language Acquisition (ELA) Court Order, supports DPS’s commitment to continue to implement the strategies it has developed to improve its Multilingual Education program and meet updated requirements set forth by the U.S. District Court.

The Consent Decree supports and guides DPS’s MLE department in its efforts to use efficient and effective techniques to provide students with the English language skills they need to meaningfully and equally participate in school. MLE programming is designed to enable MLLs to perform at grade level, value cultural and linguistic diversity, and be on track to graduate prepared for success in college and career. 

Consent Decree in English

Consent Decree in Spanish

CD Languages 

The current CD languages are: Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, French, Mandarin, Nepali, Somali and Vietnamese.

Consent Decree Crash Course

This overview course outlines the history and context of the DPS MLE program and the civil rights context that led to the adoption of the Consent Decree.