2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 22 - Education
General and Administrative
Article 11 - Accreditation
Part 2 - State Accountability
§ 22-11-210. Public schools - annual review - plans - supports and interventions - rules - repeal

(1) (a) The state board shall promulgate rules establishing objective, measurable criteria that the department shall apply in recommending to the state board that a public school shall implement a performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan or that a public school shall be subject to restructuring. In promulgating the rules, the state board shall place the greatest emphasis on attainment of the performance indicators. In addition, the rules shall, at a minimum, take into consideration:

(I) A public school's level of attainment of the statewide and school district or institute targets on the performance indicators and the public school's level of attainment of its own annual targets;

(II) A public school's level of attainment of the performance indicators compared with statewide attainment of the performance indicators;

(III) The length of time during which a public school has been unable to meet the statewide targets, the school district or institute targets, or its own targets;

(IV) The improvements, changes, and interventions a public school implements to improve its performance if it is not meeting the statewide targets, the school district or institute targets, or its own targets; and

(V) The progress a public school makes in improving its performance and in moving closer to meeting the statewide targets, the school district or institute targets, and its own targets.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) to the contrary, the state board shall promulgate rules establishing objective, measurable criteria that the department shall apply in recommending to the state board that an alternative education campus implement a performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan or that an alternative education campus shall be subject to restructuring. The state board, in adopting the criteria for evaluating the performance of an alternative education campus, and the department, in applying the criteria, shall take into account the unique purposes of the campuses and the unique circumstances of and challenges posed by the students enrolled in the campuses.

(c) In promulgating rules pursuant to this subsection (1), the state board shall use clear, understandable language to describe the criteria for determining the type of plan that a public school shall implement and the levels of attainment of the performance indicators, with the goal of providing a high degree of transparency in the public school performance review process.

(d) (I) The state board by rule shall specify how long a public school may implement an improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan; except that the state board shall not allow a public school to continue implementing a priority improvement or turnaround plan for longer than a combined total of five consecutive school years before requiring the school district or the institute to restructure or close the public school.

(II) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (d), for purposes of calculating whether a public school is required to implement a priority improvement or turnaround plan for longer than a combined total of five consecutive school years, the department shall exclude the 2015-16 school year, during which the department does not recommend school plans as provided in subsection (2.5) of this section, from the calculation and shall count the 2016-17 school year as if it were consecutive to the 2014-15 school year.

(e) The state board by rule shall establish the time frames within which the department shall review each public school's performance, submit recommendations to the state board, and report to the public school and to the school's local school board or the institute the state board's determination regarding the type of plan the public school shall implement. The state board shall also establish by rule the time frames within which the public schools, or the public schools' local school boards or the institute board as appropriate, shall adopt the school plans and submit them to the department. The department shall publish each public school's plan on the data portal with the public school's accreditation category, identified by the local school board or the institute, and supporting data.

(f) In reviewing public schools' performance, the department, to the extent possible, shall evaluate the cost effectiveness of intervention strategies implemented by the state, school districts, the institute, and the public schools in attempting to improve performance in public schools that are implementing school improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plans.

(1.5) (a) The department shall convene stakeholder meetings for the purpose of reviewing state statutes and the state board's rules pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section relating to the performance indicators for an alternative education campus. The review may include, but need not be limited to:

(I) Qualitative measures, in addition to quantitative measures of a school's performance in serving high-risk students;

(II) Development of measure-specific cut points;

(III) Consideration of the current "N" weighting system and suggesting changes to weights to address the unique socio-emotional needs of the students served by the alternative education campus;

(IV) Identification of possible methods and costs associated with using a comparison group to analyze hard data comparing high-risk students across schools; and

(V) Consideration of the ninety-five percent threshold for designation of an alternative education campus, the student groups included in the ninety-five percent threshold, and the documentation and verification requirements for certifying that the threshold has been met.

(b) Based on the review, no later than December 1, 2015, the department shall submit to the commissioner, the stakeholders who participated in the meetings, the education committees of the house of representatives and of the senate, and the state board written recommendations relating to the accreditation of alternative education campuses.

(c) The department shall invite, but is not limited to inviting, the following stakeholders to attend the meetings:

(I) One representative from a school district or authorizer with more than one alternative education campus;

(II) One representative from a school district or authorizer serving only one alternative education campus in a rural area of less than one thousand students;

(III) One representative from an online alternative education campus;

(IV) One representative from a charter alternative education campus;

(V) One representative from an alternative education campus that exclusively serves students with an individualized education plan;

(VI) One representative from an alternative education campus that serves students who attend on a part-time basis;

(VII) One representative from an alternative education campus that has more than fifty percent of its students identified as over-age and under-credited;

(VIII) One representative from an alternative education campus that has more than fifty percent of its students previously dropped out from or expelled from another school;

(IX) One representative from an alternative education campus that currently offers postsecondary opportunities in high school;

(X) One representative from a statewide organization that represents alternative education campuses;

(XI) A member of the department's accountability and data analysis unit;

(XII) A member of the department who specializes in dropout prevention;

(XIII) A member representing the state charter school institute;

(XIV) A student enrolled in an alternative education campus; and

(XV) A parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in an alternative education campus.

(d) This subsection (1.5) is repealed, effective July 1, 2017.

(2) (a) The department shall annually review each public school's performance and, based on the rules of the state board, recommend to the state board that the public school shall implement a performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan for the coming school year. Based on the department's recommendation, the state board shall notify the local school board for the public school, or the institute if the public school is an institute charter school, regarding the type of plan the public school shall implement. The local school board or the institute shall place the public school in the district or institute accreditation category that correlates to the public school's plan, based on the school district's or institute's school accreditation process.

(b) (I) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, a school district with one thousand students or fewer may submit a single plan to satisfy the school district and school plan requirements, so long as the plan meets all state and federal requirements for school and district plans. A school district with more than one thousand but fewer than one thousand two hundred students may, upon request and at the department's discretion, submit a single plan to satisfy the school district and school plan requirements, so long as the plan meets all state and federal requirements for school and district plans.

(II) A school district that is authorized to submit a single plan pursuant to subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (b) and that is authorized pursuant to section 22-11-303 (4) to submit a school district performance plan every two years may submit a single plan to satisfy the school district and school plan requirements only if each of the public schools that is included in the single plan is authorized pursuant to section 22-11-403 (4) to submit a school performance plan every two years.

(2.5) Notwithstanding any provision of this article, or any provision of state board rule that implements this article, to the contrary, for the 2015-16 school year, the department shall not recommend to the state board school plan types. For the 2015-16 school year, each public school shall continue to implement the school plan type that was assigned for the preceding school year. The department shall recommend to the state board school plan types for the 2016-17 school year and each school year thereafter.

(2.7) As part of the presentation to the joint education committee required by section 2-7-203, C.R.S., in 2015, the department shall report progress in using the assessment results received pursuant to section 22-7-1006.3 to calculate fairly and in a timely manner each public school's achievement of the performance indicators. The department shall recommend to the joint education committee whether the provisions of subsection (2.5) of this section should be extended to apply in subsequent school years.

(3) At the request of a district public school's local school board, or at the institute's request for an institute charter school, the department shall provide technical assistance and support to the public school, local school board, or institute in preparing and implementing the public school's improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan. The department shall base the amount of technical assistance and support provided to a public school, the local school board, or the institute on the school's degree of need for assistance and the department's available resources. Technical assistance and support may include, but need not be limited to:

(a) Access to data and research to support interpretation of student data, decision-making, and learning;

(b) Consultative services on best practices for improvement and implementation of intervention strategies, including, where appropriate, strategies that address early childhood education and student engagement and re-engagement; and

(c) Evaluation and feedback on the public school's plan.

(4) The commissioner may assign the state review panel to critically evaluate a public school's priority improvement plan and shall assign the state review panel to critically evaluate a public school's turnaround plan. Based on its evaluation, the state review panel shall report to the commissioner and the state board recommendations concerning:

(a) Whether the public school's leadership is adequate to implement change to improve results;

(b) Whether the public school's infrastructure is adequate to support school improvement;

(c) The readiness and apparent capacity of the public school's personnel to plan effectively and lead the implementation of appropriate actions to improve student academic performance within the school;

(d) The readiness and apparent capacity of the public school's personnel to engage productively with and benefit from the assistance provided by an external partner;

(e) The likelihood of positive returns on state investments of assistance and support to improve the public school's performance within the current management structure and staffing; and

(f) The necessity that the public school remain in operation to serve students.

(5) (a) If a public school fails to make adequate progress under its turnaround plan or continues to operate under a priority improvement or turnaround plan for a combined total of five consecutive school years, the commissioner shall assign the state review panel to critically evaluate the public school's performance and determine whether to recommend:

(I) With regard to a district public school that is not a charter school, that the district public school should be managed by a private or public entity other than the school district;

(II) With regard to a district or institute charter school, that the public or private entity operating the charter school or the governing board of the charter school should be replaced by a different public or private entity or governing board;

(III) With regard to a district public school, that the district public school be converted to a charter school if it is not already authorized as a charter school;

(IV) With regard to a district public school, that the district public school be granted status as an innovation school pursuant to section 22-32.5-104; or

(V) That the public school be closed or, with regard to a district charter school or an institute charter school, that the public school's charter be revoked.

(b) The state review panel shall present its recommendations to the commissioner and to the state board. Taking the recommendations into account, the state board shall determine which of the actions described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (5) the local school board for a district public school or the institute for an institute charter school shall take regarding the public school and direct the local school board or institute accordingly.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, for the 2015-16 school year and based on ratings given during the 2015-16 school year, the state board may direct the local school board for a district public school or the institute for an institute charter school to take an action concerning the public school that is not listed in paragraph (a) of this subsection (5) but that has comparable significance and effect.

(6) If a public school is restructured, the department, to the extent possible, shall track the students enrolled in the public school in the school year preceding the restructuring to determine whether the students reenroll in the public school the following school year or transfer to another public school of the school district, an institute charter school, or a public school of another school district in the state. The department shall provide the student tracking information, without personally identifying the students, to the local school board or the institute upon request.