Colorado district drops Texas-origin reading program after board rejects controversial Bluebonnet

Elementary campuses in the Montezuma-Cortez district ceased employing the Bluebonnet reading program on the third day of the school year after a 4-3 vote by the school board to discard it. Board members highlighted AI-produced "robot errors," thousands of factual inaccuracies, and material centered on Texas that does not reflect the local community. The curriculum had been adopted weeks earlier, mirroring a Houston school-improvement model, without public review or verification that it meets Colorado standards.

Superintendent Eddie Ramirez acknowledged signing a revised agreement that added Bluebonnet without his knowledge, blaming district lawyers for the oversight. District staff are now collaborating to identify replacement instructional resources while the board continues to examine the agreement change and overall integrity of the rollout. The controversy also underscores Texas's $8 million effort to correct errors in the curriculum.