CO Code § 22-7-604.5 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 22 - Education|Article 7 - Educational Accountability|Part 6 - School Accountability Reports|§ 22-7-604.5. Alternative Education Campuses - Criteria - Application - Rule-Making - Definition - Repeal

  A public school may apply to the state board for designation as an alternative education campus. The state board shall adopt rules specifying the criteria and application process for a public school to be designated an alternative education campus. The rules must include but need not be limited to:   Criteria that a public school must meet to be designated an alternative education campus, including but not limited to the following:   Having a specialized mission and serving a special needs or at-risk population;    Being an autonomous public school;    Having an administrator who is not under the supervision of an administrator at another public school;    Having a budget separate from any other public school;    Having nontraditional methods of instruction delivery; and    (A) Serving students who have severe limitations that preclude appropriate administration of the assessments administered pursuant to section 22-7-1006.3;       A procedure for a district school board to request that the state board designate a public school of the school district as an alternative education campus; and    (Deleted by amendment, L. 2009, (SB 09-163), ch. 293, p. 1520, § 2, effective May 21, 2009.)    A procedure for a district school board to appeal to the state board a denial of a request for designation. (1.5) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, a “high-risk student” means a student enrolled in a public school who:   Has been committed to the department of human services following adjudication as a juvenile delinquent or is in detention awaiting disposition of charges that may result in commitment to the department of human services;    Has dropped out of school or has four excused or unexcused absences from public school in any one month or ten excused or unexcused absences from public school during any school year. Absences due to suspension or expulsion of a student are considered absences for purposes of this paragraph (b).    Has been expelled from school or engaged in behavior that would justify expulsion;    Has a documented history of personal drug or alcohol use or has a parent or guardian with a documented substance use disorder;    Has a documented history of personal street gang involvement or has an immediate family member with a documented history of street gang involvement;    Has a documented history of child abuse or neglect, has been adjudicated a ward of the court, or has been involved in the foster care system;    Has a parent or guardian in prison or on parole or probation or has experienced the loss of a parent or sibling;    Has a documented history of domestic violence in the immediate family;    Has a documented history of repeated school suspensions;    Is a parent or pregnant woman under the age of twenty years;    Is a migrant child, as defined in section 22-23-103 (2);    Is a homeless child, as defined in section 22-1-102.5 (2)(a);    Has a documented history of a mental health disorder or behavioral issue or has experienced significant trauma; or    Is over traditional school age for his or her grade level and lacks adequate credit hours for his or her grade level.            of subsection (1) of this section.    Repealed. (2.5)   The department shall annually review the performance of each alternative education campus based on the criteria specified by rule of the state board pursuant to section 22-11-210 (1)(b) and shall recommend to the commissioner and the state board whether the alternative education campus shall adopt a performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan, as said plans are described in sections 22-11-403 to 22-11-406. Based on the recommendations, the state board, pursuant to section 22-11-210 (2), shall notify each alternative education campus and its district school board, or the institute if the alternative education campus is an institute charter school, of the type of plan the alternative education campus shall adopt. In adopting its plan, each alternative education campus shall comply with the provisions of sections 22-11-403 to 22-11-406, as applicable.    The district school board for an alternative education campus or the institute, if the alternative education campus is an institute charter school, shall specify the accreditation category for the alternative education campus in accordance with the accreditation process adopted by the district school board or the institute pursuant to section 22-11-307.    Notwithstanding the provisions of section 22-11-503, the school performance report for an alternative education campus shall include the information specified by rule of the state board that will effectively communicate to the parents of students enrolled in the alternative education campus and to the public the performance of the alternative education campus and the performance of students enrolled in the alternative education campus.    (Deleted by amendment, L. 2009, (SB 09-163), ch. 293, p. 1520, § 2, effective May 21, 2009.)      Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2.5)(a) of this section, for the 2021-22 school year, the department shall not review the performance of each alternative education campus based on the criteria specified in state board rule nor recommend to the commissioner of education, as described in section 22-11-210, regarding whether the alternative education campus shall adopt a performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan. For the 2021-22 school year, each alternative education campus shall continue to implement the school plan type that was assigned for the preceding school year. (e) (I) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2.5)(a) of this section, for the 2021-22 school year, the department shall not review the performance of each alternative education campus based on the criteria specified in state board rule nor recommend to the commissioner of education, as described in section 22-11-210, regarding whether the alternative education campus shall adopt a performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan. For the 2021-22 school year, each alternative education campus shall continue to implement the school plan type that was assigned for the preceding school year.    If required to implement a priority improvement or turnaround plan during the 2020-21 school year on the basis of its plan type for the preceding school year, an alternative education campus may request a plan type for the 2021-22 school year that reflects its level of attainment based on an alternative body of evidence as described in section 22-11-210 (2.6)(b).    This subsection (2.5)(e) is repealed, effective July 1, 2022.               Except as excluded pursuant to section 22-7-1006.3, the results of the assessments administered pursuant to section 22-7-1006.3 to all part-time students attending a school or a program that is designated an alternative education campus pursuant to this section must be included in determining the levels of attainment on the performance indicators achieved by the school to which the student is assigned for enrollment purposes.    Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), for a part-time student with an individualized education program pursuant to section 22-20-108, the school district in which the student is enrolled, or, in the case of a board of cooperative services, the administrative unit, may designate either the school of residency or the school of attendance as the school to which the student's scores shall be assigned to determine levels of attainment on the performance indicators.        History. Source: L. 2002: Entire section added, p. 465, § 2, effective May 24. L. 2004: IP(1), (1)(a)(VI)(B), and (1)(a)(VI)(C) amended and (1)(a)(VI)(D), (1.5), and (2.5) added, p. 488, §§ 2, 3, effective April 20. L. 2005: (3) amended, p. 491, § 2, effective May 10. L. 2006: (2.5)(c)(I) amended, p. 432, § 8, effective April 13. L. 2009: Entire section amended,(SB 09-163), ch. 293, p. 1520, § 2, effective May 21. L. 2010: (1)(a)(VI) and (1.5)(i) amended and (1.5)(k), (1.5)(l), and (1.5)(m) added,(SB 10-154), ch. 157, pp. 541, 542, §§ 1, 2, effective April 21. L. 2011: (1)(a)(VI)(B), IP(1.5), (1.5)(l), (1.5)(m), and (2)(a) amended and (1.5)(n) added,(HB 11-1277), ch. 306, p. 1473, § 2, effective August 10. L. 2015: IP(1), (1)(a)(VI)(A), (1)(a)(VI)(C), and (3)(a) amended,(HB 15-1323), ch. 204, p. 721, § 24, effective May 20. L. 2016: (1)(a)(VI)(B), (1.5)(b), (1.5)(f), (1.5)(g), and (1.5)(m) amended,(HB 16-1429), ch. 249, p. 1020, § 1, effective June 8. L. 2017: (1.5)(d) and (1.5)(m) amended,(SB 17-242), ch. 263, p. 1319, § 170, effective May 25. L. 2021: (2.5)(e) added,(HB 21-1161), ch. 10, p. 58, § 4, effective March 16.    Editor's note:   Subsection (2)(b)(II) provided for the repeal of subsection (2)(b), effective July 1, 2003. (See L. 2002, p. 465 .)   Cross references:   For the legislative declaration contained in the 2004 act amending the introductory portion to subsection (1) and subsections (1)(a)(VI)(B) and (1)(a)(VI)(C) and enacting subsections (1)(a)(VI)(D), (1.5), and (2.5), see section 1 of chapter 162, Session Laws of Colorado 2004. For the legislative declaration in SB 17-242, see section 1 of chapter 263, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.