For Erin Schneiderman, the summer between her son’s third and fourth grade year was “one of the worst periods of our lives for sure.”

Denver Public Schools had decided that her son should go to a specialized school. He has autism and was overwhelmed by the noise, the crowds, and the unpredictable transitions in a traditional elementary school. He had meltdowns that lasted for hours, and Schneiderman often had to leave work in the middle of the day to pick him up. 

But when the first day of fourth grade arrived, her son still didn’t have a spot in a school. Days turned into weeks while he stayed at home with little to do, his meltdowns getting worse. Schneiderman had to take leave from her job.

The few options available to Colorado families like Schneiderman have been disappearing fast. In 2004, Colorado had 80 of these specialized programs known as facility schools. Now there are just 30 that serve an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 children a year. A single school serves all of western Colorado. Yet another program on the Front Range is set to close soon.

Fifteen years ago, students would wait just a few weeks to get into a facility school, said Courtney Leyba, senior manager of extended school support for Denver Public Schools. “Now we can wait anywhere between two, three, or sometimes even six months for a placement,” she said. 

When there’s no open facility school seat, children may languish at home. They may remain in a mental health facility longer than they need to, taking up a bed that could be used by another child stuck in a hospital emergency room. Or they may stay in classrooms, struggling to learn, coming undone, lashing out almost daily and disrupting the learning of their classmates. 

Parents pay the price in lost jobs, and children pay the price in squandered potential.