Education Reinvisioned BOCES Approves Two “Contract Schools” Outside Chartering Process
By Alex Medler
The Education Reenvisioned BOCES (ER BOCES) has established a new pathway to open brick and mortar public schools located in school districts that are not part of the BOCES, including doing so over the objection of one district and without consulting another. The ER BOCES, formerly the Digital BOCES, is currently operated by District 49, Durango 9-R, Creede, and Pikes Peak Community College.
The ER BOCES has been active in creating online and home school programs. They have now approved two brick and mortar “contract schools,” one in Colorado Springs District 11 and another approved this week in the Woodland Park School District. Contract schools are technically not charter schools and are not clearly defined in state law, but they are not subject to the statutory and regulatory provisions that cover charter schools. The latest contract school approved by the ER BOCES was initially proposed as a charter school, but pursued this status after their charter application was denied.
The first school approved by the ER BOCES under this approach, the Orton Academy, has operated this year at a location inside District 11, not a member of the ER BOCES. The Orton Academy is a small school focusing on serving students with dyslexia using the Orton Gillingham approach.
D11 and the ER BOCES were arguing about the legality of the new school before the El Paso County District Court. On March 31, 2021, the court issued a summary judgment ruling in favor of the ER BOCES. It determined that it is legal under Colorado law for a BOCES to open a public school outside the boundaries of any member districts.
While Colorado law prevents a BOCES from authorizing a charter school in another district, the March judgment found that nothing in Colorado law prevents a BOCES from opening a public school outside its member districts’ boundaries. The summary judgment could be appealed by District 11.
This week, the ER BOCES continued this new approach by approving Merit Academy as a contract school. The founders of Merit Academy had applied for a charter to operate in the Woodland Park School District and would have operated as a charter if approved by the district. The founding team now plans to open this fall as a non-chartered public school under the ER BOCES.
Woodland Park recently denied the proposal, citing concerns about shortcomings in the school’s plans and finding that the founders were not ready to open a charter school. The district had anticipated that the applicants might reapply next year after updating their charter proposal or appeal their denial to the State Board of Education. Woodland Park received no notice from the applicants or the ER BOCES that the charter applicants had applied to the ER BOCES for a contract or from the BOCES that they were reviewing a proposal.
Last week, the district received notice from the school’s founders that the ER BOCES had unanimously approved a contract for the school to open later this summer within the Woodland Park School District boundaries. It is not clear what the ER BOCES review process involved, but it does not appear to include consultation with the district where a school would be located.
The actions could have dramatic implications for chartering in Colorado and raise many questions. While the two contract schools are not charter schools, the approval of Merit Academy demonstrates that the approach provides a strategy that charter applicants can use to open a school that the local district would not approve.
These developments could affect the strategies that charter applicants pursue. In the future, groups with charter proposals may apply directly to the ER BOCES and no longer apply to districts for a charter, appeal denials to the State Board of Education, or apply to the Charter School Institute. This approach could also undermine the concept of Exclusive Chartering Authority under Colorado law.
Schools created under this approach are not eligible for start-up grants from the Colorado Department of Education’s charter school program and may face budget challenges as a result.
CACSA will continue to monitor these developments.