Legislation Passes Allowing Alternative Administrative Units for Charter School Special Education
Colorado House Bill 22-1294 passed its final legislative hurdle on April 28. It now goes to the Governor, who is expected to sign it. The bill, which CACSA described previously, was amended in the Senate. The amendment provides funding for a charter school authorized by the Charter School Institute (CSI) that will focus on serving students with disabilities. The CSI-sponsored amendment provided one year of additional funding to this particular school, which makes the school’s model more financially viable. The amendment does not alter funding for other schools.
Throughout the process, the bill, which was championed by the Colorado League of Charter Schools, received bi-partisan and widespread support. The bill allows charter schools that are authorized by school districts to join the CSI’s Administrative Unit for the purposes of special education. It also allows charter networks and charter collaboratives to form alternative Administrative Units to serve charter schools. These changes would not change the schools’ authorizer, but they would alter the legal and financial responsibilities of the charter school and its authorizing district if a charter school eventually switches to any of the alternative Administrative Units. The bill also codifies the right of charter schools to give enrollment preferences to students with disabilities. CSI and the Colorado Department of Education will now begin developing rules and procedures regarding implementation.
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CACSA/CDE Quarterly Authorizer Meeting: May 25, 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
The Quarterly CACSA/CDE authorizer meeting is scheduled for May 25, from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. The meeting will be a hybrid, virtual/in-person format. Registration and information on the location are below. The draft agenda includes:
- Legislative recap;
- Charters’ pressing needs and opportunities for authorizer support;
- Authorizer’s implementing NACSA’s 12 Essential Practices;
- Follow-up to policy changes regarding students with disabilities;
- Updates from CDE and CACSA.
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Time: 9:30am-3:00pm
Location: Lakewood Public Library Meeting Room
10200 W 20th Ave.
Lakewood, CO 80215
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State Board to Hear Appeal Over Dispute of Charter Application Deadline in Durango
The State Board of Education (SBE) is slated to hear an appeal from the Ascent Classical Academy (Ascent) regarding a legal conflict between Ascent and the Durango 9-R school district (Durango) at its May meeting. In February 2022, Ascent submitted a charter application to Durango, several months earlier than the district’s August 1, application deadline. Ascent then demanded the district begin the review of the charter application immediately.
The district’s policies indicate that charter applications are due by August 1, which the school argues means that applications may be submitted at any time prior to August 1. Ascent also argues that the 90-day timeline for reviewing a charter application begins as soon as that application is submitted
The district challenged that expectation in court. In turn, Ascent argued to the court that the SBE is the proper entity to consider issues related to charter applications, and that the courts should not have jurisdiction regarding this conflict. In its March 9 meeting, the SBE instructed the Attorney General to intervene in the court case to assert the SBE’s “exclusive jurisdiction” on such issues (see agenda item 13.01). The SBE’s motion to intervene was subsequently submitted to the court.
These events raise two issues potentially of interest to charter school authorizers:
- First, they raise a question of jurisdiction. There is a dispute between Durango on one side, and Ascent and the SBE on the other side, regarding whether procedural disagreements between charter applicants and authorizers can be resolved through the courts instead of, or in addition to, through appeals to the SBE.
- Second, the challenge raises questions of how to interpret district policies listing a due date for charter applications. Depending on how the case is resolved, districts may eventually want to modify district policies to delineate an application window rather than a single due date. Such a window would describe both opening and closing dates during which charter applicants could submit their application.
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CDE/CLCS Equity Convening: Charter School Staff Retention
CDE and the CLCS are hosting the latest Equity Convening on the topic of Retaining Staff – Using People-Centric Strategies to Build a Culture of Equity and Belonging on June 16. This one-day, in-person meeting will explore how some Colorado charter schools are working to retain their diverse teacher workforce. This event will feature a keynote speaker, panel discussion, and breakouts designed to build knowledge and provide opportunities for peer-to-peer collaboration around implementation of teacher retention strategies at the school level as well as authorizer support. Content will include material addressing authorizer-related aspects of these issues. The meeting is in-person on Thursday, June 16, and will run from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Additional details and registration are available here.