Colorado Revised Statutes Title 22. Education § 22-10.3-101. Legislative declaration

(a) In Colorado, approximately three hundred fifty thousand adults do not have a high school credential;

(b) Research shows that as many as eighty percent of the individuals who left high school without a diploma did so for nonacademic reasons, including the need to work to support themselves or their families;  becoming parents;  bullying or social anxiety;  or falling too far behind to graduate on time;

(c) Education is a significant economic driver;  according to Columbia university economist, Henry Levin, the average cost to the state for a student who drops out of high school is two hundred fifty-eight thousand two hundred forty dollars in social services, incarceration expenses, and lost income from taxes over the individual's lifetime;  and

(d) When combined with lost wages, the total opportunity cost for one high school dropout is seven hundred fifty-five thousand nine hundred dollars.