Denver: District opens 28 new ASD classrooms; general enrollment down

Oct 2, 2026, eSchool News: Denver is opening more specialized classrooms as the number of students with autism grows

As the number of children identified with autism rises nationwide, more students are needing . . .

As the number of children identified with autism rises nationwide, more students are needing special education services. Colorado’s largest school district, Denver Public Schools, has opened 28 new autism classrooms in the past two years, including the center at West High. The classrooms, which are officially called multi-intensive autism center-based programs, typically serve 8 to 12 students and are staffed by as many as four adults.

That support comes at a cost of more than $230,000 per classroom, at a time when the district faces mounting financial pressure. While the number of students with disabilities is up, overall enrollment is down. That means Denver and other districts with declining enrollment are getting less per-pupil funding from the state.

A proposed tax increase to benefit DPS that will appear on the November ballot would earmark $2 million for special education.

“We want to provide these programs for students with special needs, but it is also something to note in the budget because it is very expensive programming we’re offering,” Chuck Carpenter, the chief financial officer for Denver Public Schools, told the school board this past spring.

Many experts attribute the rise in autism diagnoses to better screening and a widened definition. The number of DPS students with autism who need special education services has increased nearly 75% in the past five years, according to district data. In 2021, there were 1,315 such students. Last year, the number was 2,280. DPS serves about 89,000 students.

Not all students with autism need a dedicated classroom, and not everyone believes in separating students with disabilities. The decision to place a student in a center-based program is up to their special education team, and district officials said they started to see an increase in such placements about three years ago. Changing Medicaid rules also resulted in more children with autism enrolling in public schools rather than full-time therapy, officials said. . . .

In addition to opening more center-based programs, the increasing number of students with disabilities has led DPS to hire more “dedicated adult supports,” paraprofessionals who work one-on-one with students or in small groups.

While the number of teachers in DPS decreased by 2% between 2019 and 2025, the number of paraprofessionals increased by 28%, according to a spring budget presentation.

The district budgeted more than $29.1 million this school year for such paraprofessionals and $44.3 million for center-based programs. Not all of those paraprofessionals work in center-based programs or solely with students with autism. But district officials said students with autism are more likely to qualify for dedicated adult support. . . .