New State Complaint Filed with OCR Regarding State’s School Choice Laws and Policies
Disability Law Colorado (DLC) filed a state complaint regarding Colorado’s open enrollment statute and policies alleging that the state law and policies driving all forms of public school choice result in discrimination against students with disabilities. DLC filed the complaint with the U.S Department of Education’s Office for Civil rights (OCR) on September 2, naming the State Board of Education, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and state educational commissioner, Katy Anthes as responsible parties.
The complaint, which contains a long description of the problematic procedures and extensive appendices with data on enrollment of students with disabilities, is focused on the mix of policies and laws regarding inter- and intra-district choice, magnet schools, and other choice options, including charter schools. It argues that recent changes to State Board Rules do not address underlying policy problems that violate federal laws.
As a remedy, DLC seeks changes to state law and policy as well as eventual oversight by CDE. There is no word yet on OCR’s response to the complaint, but OCR can take several months to decide whether to accept a complaint and launch its own investigation into the issues.
Chalkbeat coverage of the complaint is here, and the complaint itself is available here.
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CACSA/CDE Quarterly Authorizer Meeting Friday, September 16, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
This is the regular quarterly meeting for authorizers hosted by CACSA and the CDE. Tomorrow’s event is a hybrid, in-person and on-line meeting. The in-person location is the Douglas County School District Inverness Office, at 373 Inverness Pkwy, Suite 207 Englewood, CO 80112.
To join via zoom, register here, and the login information will be sent to you via email. The agenda for the meeting is available here.
We will hear from CDE about the Read Act implications for districts and charter schools and opportunities for school improvement funding available to charters through the EASI grant program. We will explore some model materials from Denver, and discuss the impact of declining enrollment on charter school viability, including forms of analysis that districts can pursue to better understand a proposed charter school’s viability when enrollment is trending down in a district or neighborhood. People are encouraged to attend in person to support peer-to-peer networking.
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CACSA Looking for Examples of Authorizing Materials from Colorado Districts
CACSA members are seeking examples of various documents from colleagues around the state. Please send examples of materials related to the following topics directly to Alex Medler at Alex.Medler@coauthorizers.org.
- Central authorizer costs and charges for authorizing functions;
- Fee-for-service schedules and supporting documentation; and
Documents supporting charter school and district alignment on school safety policies, in particular waiver requests and replacement plans if a charter waives, or sought to waive, district safety policies.