Bill Regarding Special Education in Charter Schools Introduced
House Bill 22-1294 was introduced on Thursday, March 10. The bill would allow charter schools to leave the Administrative Unit (AU) of their authorizing district for the purposes of special education. Charter schools would remain with the same authorizer but would be able to join the Charter School Institute’s AU, or alternative AUs formed by charter collaboratives or charter networks. The bill also clarifies that charter schools may create enrollment preferences for students with disabilities, a practice that some charters currently employ but which is not covered in existing statute.
The bill was developed by the Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS), and introduced by State Senators Rachel Zenzinger (D), and Bob Gardner (R); and House Members Dafna Michaelson Jenet (D), and Mary Young (D). CACSA will host a webinar to discuss this legislation and lessons from recent CACSA sponsored legislation later this month.
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CACSA Monthly Meeting: Discussing RFPs and 18-month Application Processes
The next monthly, authorizer-only CACSA meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 16, from noon to 1:30. These meetings include a brief update from CACSA; a round-robin update by members on the most recent authorizing challenges or questions; and a consultancy. This month, Kenlyn Newman from District 27J in Brighton will lead off our consultancy. Kenlyn is interested in advice from colleagues as the district prepares to release an RFP for new charter schools. They are also considering updating their application process to allow for more time between charter approval and school opening.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83275444393
Meeting ID: 832 7544 4393
Phone: 669-900-9128
Passcode: 398064
One tap mobile: +16699009128,,83275444393#
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State Rule Revisions Re. Students w/ Disabilities Available for Comment
The State Board of Education (SBE) voted to release a second set of revisions to SBE rules that address students with disabilities in charter schools. CDE is now accepting comments and the rules will be considered for final adoption at the Board’s April meeting. CDE released a summary of the first set of rule revisions here. Those changes placed a series of requirements on charter schools, including prohibiting charter schools from asking about a student’s disability status prior to enrollment.
The second set of revisions addresses the procedures a charter school and a district should use to determine if a student’s needs require that they be educated at a location that is different from the one they chose. Authorizers interested in submitting comments to the SBE prior to the hearing can find information on how to submit input here.
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NACSA Authorizer Survey Deadline Extended: Data to Help CACSA Assess District Needs
The National Association of Charter Schools (NACSA) has extended the deadline for its authorizer survey to Friday, March 18. NACSA and CACSA have a data sharing agreement that will allow CACAS to use data from this survey to assess the needs of Colorado authorizers. We encourage all districts to complete the survey. All authorizing entities should have received the survey in an email from NACSA’s Sean Conlan. If you need a new invitation, please contact Sean via email at: seanc@qualitycharters.org.
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Videos from Recent CACSA Events Available
The CACSA website has links to recent conference sessions and webinars of interest to authorizers.
- Quarterly CACSA/CDE Authorizing Meeting: CDE Update, including analysis of enrollment trends and discussion of rule-making regarding students with disabilities;
- Quarterly CACSA/CDE Authorizing Meeting: Workshop on how to involve District Accountability committees (DACs) in authorizing work.
- National Network for District Authorizing: national webinar on trends in state policy change affecting charter schools and authorizing.