2018 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 22 - Education
School Districts
Article 30.5 - Charter Schools
Part 5 - Institute Charter Schools
§ 22-30.5-505. State charter school institute - institute board - appointment - powers and duties - rules
(1) The institute shall consist of the institute board, appointed pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, and any staff or contract employees hired by the institute board as authorized by law. Any staff hired by the institute board shall be deemed employees subject to the state personnel system of this state as defined in section 13 of article XII of the state constitution and article 50 of title 24, C.R.S.; except that, as a matter of legislative determination, all positions classified by the institute board as professional officers and professional staff of the institute are declared to be educational in nature and exempt from the state personnel system.
(2) (a) The institute board shall consist of nine members, no more than five of whom are members of the same political party. Seven of the members shall be appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, and two of the members shall be appointed by the commissioner. In making the appointments, the governor and the commissioner shall ensure the institute board reflects the geographic diversity of the state. In making appointments on and after August 5, 2009, the governor and the commissioner shall ensure that at least one member of the institute board is a parent of a student who is, or who has been, enrolled in an institute charter school. Members appointed to the institute board shall have experience in at least one of the following areas:
(I) Experience as a charter school board member or founder of a charter school;
(II) Experience as a public school administrator with experience working with charter schools;
(III) Financial management expertise;
(IV) Detailed knowledge of charter school law;
(V) Other board or public service experience;
(VI) Experience as a public school teacher;
(VII) Online education and online curriculum development expertise;
(VIII) School district special education expertise; and
(IX) Curriculum and assessment expertise.
(b) The members of the institute board shall serve terms of three years; except that, of the members first appointed by the governor, two members shall serve a term of three years, three members shall serve a term of two years, and two members shall serve a term of one year; and of the members first appointed by the commissioner, one member shall serve a term of three years and one member shall serve a term of one year. No member shall serve more than six consecutive years. The governor and the commissioner shall make the initial appointments no later than thirty days after July 1, 2004.
(c) An institute board member may be removed for any cause that renders the member incapable or unfit to discharge the duties of the office. Whenever a vacancy on the institute board exists, the person making the original appointment shall appoint a member for the remaining portion of the unexpired term created by the vacancy.
(d) For any board member appointed on or after May 22, 2008, during his or her term of office, a member of the institute board shall not be a member of the general assembly; an officer, employee, or board member of a school district; a member of the state board; or an employee of the institute board or the department of education.
(3) The mission of the institute board shall be to foster high-quality public school choices offered through institute charterschools, including particularly schools that are focused on closing the achievement gap for at-risk students. In discharging its duties pursuant to this part 5, the institute shall:
(a) Act as a model of best practices in authorizing charter schools;
(b) Use state and federal systems for ensuring the accountability of each institute charter school in meeting the obligations and goals set forth in its contract and shall adopt and implement policies for accreditation of institute charter schools as described in section 22-11-307;
(c) Measure the academic success of each institute charter school student through longitudinal indices;
(d) Measure the academic success of each institute charter school through performance-based means and not process-based means;
(d.5) Meet at least once each year with the school accountability committees of the institute charter schools to discuss issues concerning accountability and accreditation of institute charter schools;
(e) Provide the opportunity for a student enrolled in an institute charter school to develop a plan for academic remediation upon the request of the student's parent or legal guardian; and
(f) Ensure that each student who enrolls in the sixth grade in an institute charter school, on the day of enrollment, is registered with the state-provided, free online college planning and preparation resource, commonly referred to as "CollegeInColorado.org". The institute, the department, and the department of higher education shall collaborate to monitor the implementation of this paragraph (f) and to ensure optimal interactivity between the various data bases and student record systems employed by institute charter schools and college in Colorado. At a minimum, each institute charter school shall ensure that, in developing and maintaining each student's individual career and academic plan, the counselor or teacher explains to the student's parent or legal guardian, by electronic mail or other written form, and to the student the requirements for and benefits of concurrently enrolling in courses with an institution of higher education pursuant to the "Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act", article 35 of this title. Based on a request from the student or the student's parent or legal guardian, the counselor or teacher shall assist the student in course planning to enable the student to concurrently enroll in courses with an institution of higher education.
(3.5) The institute board shall ensure that the names of institute board members and the schedule of, agendas for, and minutes of the meetings and hearings held by the institute board are promptly posted and updated on the state charter school institute's website. The department on its website shall provide a link to the state charter school institute's website.
(4) In addition to any other powers granted by law to the institute board, the institute board shall have the following powers:
(a) To have and use a corporate seal;
(b) To sue and be sued in its own name;
(c) To incur debts, liabilities, and obligations, subject to any limitations imposed thereon pursuant to law;
(d) To cooperate and contract with the state or federal government or an agency or instrumentality thereof and to apply for and receive grants or financial assistance from any such entities;
(e) To acquire, hold, lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of real or personal property or a commodity or service;
(f) To do or perform an act authorized by this part 5 by means of an agent or by contract with a person, firm, or corporation;
(g) To provide for the necessary expenses of the institute board in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties and to reimburse a board member for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of the board member's duties;
(h) To provide for the proper keeping of accounts and records and for budgeting of funds;
(i) To act as a public entity for purposes of the "Colorado Governmental Immunity Act", article 10 of title 24, C.R.S.;
(j) To exercise the same powers retained by boards of cooperative services that are described in section 22-5-108;
(k) To promulgate rules in accordance with article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., for the administration of this part 5; and
(l) To award grants from the institute charter school assistance fund as provided in section 22-30.5-515.5.
(5) No later than ninety days after the date the institute commences operations, as described in section 22-30.5-506 (2)(a), the institute board shall promulgate rules that set forth the procedures for the acceptance of institute charter school applications and the criteria for authorizing institute charter schools pursuant to this part 5.
(6) (a) The institute may contract with boards of cooperative services created pursuant to article 5 of this title, or with any other qualified individual or public or private entity or organization, including a school district, for the provision of administrative or other support services directly to the institute or for the benefit of institute charter schools.
(b) This part 5 shall not be construed to require the institute to provide services to an institute charter school, to require an institute charter school to purchase services from the institute, nor to prohibit an institute charter school from purchasing education-related services from any sources available, including a school district.
(7) The institute shall ensure that each institute charter school complies with the provisions of articles 7 and 11 of this title. Each institute charter school shall be responsible for gathering and submitting to the institute the data necessary to prepare a school performance report required by section 22-11-503 for the institute charter school.
(8) The institute shall ensure that each institute charter school adopts content standards as required in section 22-7-1013.
(9) The institute shall ensure that each institute charter school addresses the expulsion, suspension, and education of expelled or suspended students in a manner consistent with the intents and purposes of sections 22-33-105, 22-33-106, and 22-33-203.
(10) The institute may issue requests for proposals to solicit applications for an institute charter school to serve at-risk students.
(11) The institute shall annually review each institute charter school's accomplishment of the goals described in section 22-30.5-509.
(12) (a) The institute shall collect from each institute charter school authorized on or after July 1, 2010, the data specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection (12) for the institute charter school's first academic year of operation. At a minimum, the institute shall require the institute charter school to submit the collected data by August 1 of the institute charter school's first academic year of operation and to update the information, if necessary, by the following May 1. Upon receipt of a request from a school district, the institute shall provide a copy of the collected data to the school district.
(b) The data collected pursuant to this subsection (12) shall include, at a minimum:
(I) The projected aggregate number of students enrolling in the institute charter school for the academic year who were enrolled in schools of the school district for the preceding academic year; and
(II) For each student included in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (b), to the extent known:
(A) The name of the school in which the student was enrolled in the preceding academic year; and
(B) The name of the institute charter school and the grade in which the student is enrolled for the academic year.
(13) Pursuant to section 22-30.5-517, the institute shall adopt and implement a policy that regulates the sale of beverages to students at an institute charter school.
(14) If an institute charter school requests in writing that the institute provide food services pursuant to a contract with the institute charter school that includes certain terms specified by the institute charter school, the institute may attempt to negotiate the terms of the contract with the institute charter school. If the institute and the institute charter school attempt to negotiate contract terms that are mutually satisfactory, and the negotiations fail to produce such mutually satisfactory terms, the institute shall:
(a) Agree to provide food services to the institute charter school according to the terms requested by the institute charter school; or
(b) Allow the institute charter school to transfer the maintenance, supervision, and operation of the institute charter school's food-service facility from the institute to a school food authority.
(15) Pursuant to section 22-30.5-518, the institute shall adopt and implement a policy for the management of food allergies and anaphylaxis among students enrolled in institute charter schools.
(16) Pursuant to section 22-30.5-519, the institute shall annually provide to parents and legal guardians the standardized immunization document developed by the department of public health and environment pursuant to section 25-4-902 (4), C.R.S.
(17) Repealed.
(18) The institute shall ensure that each institute charter school, working with its school accountability committee, adopts and implements a policy concerning physical activity for students enrolled in the institute charter school, which policy meets the requirements specified in section 22-32-136.5.
(19) (a) Pursuant to section 22-30.5-521, on or before October 1, 2011, the institute shall adopt and implement a policy concerning bullying prevention and education. The policy, at a minimum, shall set forth appropriate disciplinary consequences for students who bully other students and for any person who takes any retaliatory action against a student who reports in good faith an incident of bullying, which consequences shall comply with all applicable state and federal laws.
(b) The institute is encouraged to include in the policy it adopts and implements pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (19) the biennial administration of surveys of students' impressions of the severity of bullying in their schools, as described in section 22-93-104 (1)(c); character building; and the designation of a team of persons at each institute charter school who advise the school administration concerning the severity and frequency of bullying incidents that occur in the school, which team may include, but need not be limited to, law enforcement officials, social workers, prosecutors, health professionals, mental health professionals, counselors, teachers, administrators, parents, and students.
