Miller LLC Education Lawsuits: Riverstone, Woodland Park, and Ochs

Brad Miller is a Colorado Springs attorney whose firm, Miller Farmer Carlson Law, represents several conservative-leaning school districts across Colorado and sits at the center of a cluster of lawsuits, a criminal complaint, and contested board votes over whether to keep or fire the firm. The disputes involving Brad Miller and Colorado school district lawsuits run from a failed religious-public-school test case in Pueblo County to transgender-athlete litigation against the state and a six-figure open-meetings judgment against a Miller-represented board.

The Riverstone Academy Test Case

Riverstone Academy was a publicly funded K–5 school in Pueblo County that opened in August 2025 with a curriculum rooted in Christianity. Emails reported by Chalkbeat Colorado and the Denver Post show that Alliance Defending Freedom approached Miller to “find a way for a parallel case to be initiated out of Colorado” after the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked 4–4 on a case involving an Oklahoma Catholic charter school.1Chalkbeat Colorado. Alliance Defending Freedom Sought Religious Public School, Emails Suggest2Denver Post. Riverstone Academy Alliance Defending Freedom Colorado The plan was to build a school that could serve as a legal vehicle: if Colorado withheld public funding because of the school’s religious character, that denial could be challenged and potentially reach the Supreme Court.

Miller coordinated with Education reEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Educational Services (ERBOCES), an organization he helped found and also represented, to operate the school within Pueblo County School District 70, where he served as legal counsel. The District 70 board approved a memorandum of understanding for the school on June 24, 2025. Neither Miller nor the board publicly discussed the school’s religious intent or its role as a potential test case during that approval.3CPR News. Religious Public School Lawsuit Colorado

The strategy collapsed. Riverstone and ERBOCES filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against the state in February 2026, then dropped it in May 2026 after Colorado lawmakers passed legislation barring school co-ops from operating schools outside their member districts and prohibiting third-party contractors from running brick-and-mortar schools. A federal district court terminated the case on May 25, 2026.4Pueblo Chieftain. Riverstone Academy Drops Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against State Riverstone Academy closed permanently at the end of the 2025–2026 school year.5Chalkbeat Colorado. Christian Public School Riverstone Academy Closed Permanently

The Criminal Complaint and Anne Ochs Conflict

Anne Ochs was president of the Pueblo District 70 board when it approved the Riverstone MOU in June 2025. Community members alleged she had accepted a paid position with ERBOCES before the vote, creating an undisclosed financial conflict.6KRDO. Conflict of Interest Allegations Fly at Pueblo D70 Board Meeting, Board Member Resigns Her ERBOCES employment formally began July 1, 2025, according to the organization’s HR coordinator. Ochs said she did not start work until after the vote and was unaware Riverstone was an ERBOCES program when she approved the MOU.7Pueblo Chieftain. Did Anne Ochs Resign From the Pueblo D70 Board The MOU document itself named both ERBOCES and Riverstone Academy. Ochs resigned from the board on December 9, 2025, telling attendees at a heated meeting, “I’m done. I’m out of here.”

In February 2026, Pueblo County parent Chris Sutton filed a criminal complaint with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office alleging that Miller and ERBOCES engaged in a bribery scheme involving Ochs. The complaint alleges Miller emailed Ochs in June 2025 asking her to fast-track the MOU, that ERBOCES executed a six-figure employment contract with her five days later, and that Ochs then voted to approve the MOU on June 24, 2025, without disclosing the arrangement. Attorney General Phil Weiser determined the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the Pueblo County District Attorney, and the Pueblo County Sheriff’s office is investigating. Miller has called the complaint “silly and frivolous.”8KSJD. Re-1 School Board Chooses New Law Firm, Cutting Ties With Brad Miller

Which Districts Have Dropped or Hired the Firm

Personnel decisions across Colorado have moved in both directions since the Riverstone fallout.

Critics have argued that districts represented by Miller’s firm tend to see legal costs more than double and lose superintendents and other senior staff.11Montrose Daily Press. Hysteria Hits Montrose, or Who Is Brad Miller Supporters describe Miller as knowledgeable and thorough, and Pueblo 70 board president Ann Bennett has defended his work.12Chalkbeat Colorado. Pueblo 70 District May Drop Lawyer Brad Miller

The Woodland Park Open Meetings Judgment

In February 2026, Teller County District Court Judge William Moller ordered the Woodland Park School District Board of Education to pay $148,822 in attorney fees and court costs to parent Erin O’Connell, who had successfully sued the board for violating Colorado’s Open Meetings Law. The underlying dispute stemmed from a January 2022 board meeting where members attempted to discuss a charter school agreement under the vague agenda heading “Board Housekeeping.” A prior judge had found the move was “a conscious decision to hide a controversial issue.” Bryce Carlson of Miller Farmer Carlson Law represented the school board.13Pikes Peak Courier. Judge Orders School Board to Pay O’Connell

Transgender Athlete Litigation

In May 2025, District 49 filed a federal lawsuit against the Colorado High School Activities Association, the Colorado Civil Rights Division, and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, challenging state antidiscrimination laws that allow transgender students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. Eight school districts and charter schools joined as plaintiffs, including several Miller clients and ERBOCES.14KUNC. Judge Calls for Dismissing Colorado School District’s Suit on Transgender Athletes Rights

The plaintiffs settled with CHSAA in December 2025. Under the agreement, CHSAA agreed not to sanction the plaintiff schools for maintaining biological sex-based policies for sports teams, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations, and the plaintiffs agreed to pay CHSAA $60,000. CHSAA said the settlement produced no changes to its existing policies or authority.15Fox 21 News. CHSAA Settles With School Districts on Trans Athletes

The broader case against the state agencies continued. In January 2026, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell recommended dismissal, ruling the districts lacked standing to sue on their own behalf or on behalf of their students. She noted that the districts’ policies “cut against the interests of transgender students” and students seeking inclusivity, undermining any claim to represent all students. Plaintiffs’ counsel said they intended to file objections.14KUNC. Judge Calls for Dismissing Colorado School District’s Suit on Transgender Athletes Rights

A Note on Name Confusion

Brad Miller’s Colorado firm is not the same entity as The Miller Firm LLC, a Virginia-based mass tort firm that represents school boards in the nationwide social media addiction litigation against Meta, Snap, TikTok, and Google.16The Miller Firm LLC. Social Media Claims School Boards If you are researching a Colorado school district’s decision to hire or drop counsel, or the Pueblo bribery complaint, the relevant firm is Miller Farmer Carlson Law.