CenCor, Inc. v. Tolman

In CenCor, Inc. v. Tolman, 868 P.2d 396 (Colo. 1994), the court found that "contract claims that in fact attack the general quality of educational experiences provided to students have generally been rejected" because such claims are actually tort issues in that they "raise questions concerning the reasonableness of conduct by educational institutions in providing particular educational services." CenCor, Inc. v. Tolman, supra, 868 P.2d at 399. Furthermore, the court concluded that such "educational malpractice" tort claims cannot be brought under Colorado law. However, in CenCor, the court also held that allegations against educational institutions for the failure to provide "specifically promised educational services, such as a failure to offer any classes or a failure to deliver a promised number of hours of instruction . . . have been upheld on the basis of the law of contracts." CenCor, Inc. v. Tolman, supra, 868 P.2d at 399. In CenCor, the court concluded that "to the extent these obligations constitute educational services for which the private students allegedly paid and which the vocational school allegedly failed to provide," the students could maintain a breach of contract claim. CenCor, Inc. v. Tolman, supra, 868 P.2d at 400.