Education, Colorado | featured news

Open your notebooks and sharpen your pencils. School for thousands of public school students is about to get quite a bit longer. Five states were to announce on Monday that they will add at least 300 hours of learning time to the calendar in some schools starting in 2013. Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee will take part in the initiative, which is intended to boost student achievement and make U.S. schools more competitive on a global level.

The Colorado House of Representatives is scheduled to review a bill this week that would amend the state's anti-bullying laws to require dress codes that "encourage school pride and unity," and mandate that teachers receive regular lessons in how to deal with bullying. The legislation would also create a cash fund aimed at the problem of bullying and suicides in schools.