2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 22 - EDUCATION (§§ 22-1-101 — 22-108-109) › GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE (§§ 22-1-101 — 22-16-112) › Article 10 - Adult Education and Literacy (§§ 22-10-101 — 22-10-205) › Part 2 - COLORADO ADULT HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM (§§ 22-10-201 — 22-10-205) › Section 22-10-202 - Colorado adult high school program - created - standards - appropriation

(1)
(a)
There is created in the office the Colorado adult high school program. The purpose of the program is to create a pathway for adults in Colorado who have not earned a high school diploma to attend high school and earn a high school diploma. Students of the program may earn industry-recognized certificates or college credits. The program operates through a public-private partnership between the department and a Colorado community-based nonprofit organization and is provided at no cost to students.
(b)
Any Colorado resident who is twenty-one years of age or older and has not completed high school is eligible to enroll in the program.
(c)
The department shall award a grant pursuant to section
22-10-203
to a Colorado community-based nonprofit organization to operate the program as an education provider. A nonprofit organization that participates in the adult education and literacy grant program created in section
22-10-104
is also eligible for a grant with the department to operate as an education provider.
(2)
An education provider shall:
(a)
Secure and maintain a building for the program;
(b)
Contribute funding annually for operating and facility costs;
(c)
Hire educators and other school personnel, including life coaches to help students navigate academic and personal challenges;
(d)
Propose an academic accountability system;
(e)
Establish minimum graduation requirements, as described in subsection (3) of this section;
(f)
Use an evidence-based educational model that a third-party evaluator has proven effective through a randomized control trial or an experimental study;
(g)
Develop courses that may be offered to students in person;
(h)
Develop online courses that may be offered to a student who takes at least fifty percent of the student's classes in person and who demonstrates academic readiness for remote course work;
(i)
Consult with a nonprofit organization that has implemented an evidence-based educational model for adults with proven effectiveness in another state;
(j)
Serve all students, regardless of immigration status;
(k)
Enroll no more than four hundred students at one time;
(l)
Create an enrollment plan for students;
(m)
Comply with state and federal laws concerning students with disabilities, including students with accommodations pursuant to section 504 of the federal "Rehabilitation Act of 1973",
29 U.S.C. sec. 701
et seq., as amended;
(n)
Create individualized education programs for students with disabilities;
(o)
Collaborate with local district colleges as defined in section
23-71-102
, community colleges as defined in section
22-35.3-102
, area technical colleges as defined in section
23-60-103
, or postsecondary career and technical education programs as defined in section
22-35-103
, to ensure students have access to courses that can lead to graduation with industry-recognized certificates;
(p)
Fund industry-recognized and career and technical education certificate programs at no cost to students;
(q)
Create a plan in collaboration with institutions of higher education to authorize teachers to teach courses for college credit and align teacher qualification requirements with the concurrent enrollment program pursuant to article
35
of this title 22;
(r)
Operate an on-site child care center licensed pursuant to part 3 of article
5
of title
26.5
for students with children; and
(s)
Offer transportation assistance to students.
(3)
(a)
The education provider shall develop minimum graduation requirements for the program based on the minimum high school graduation guidelines adopted by the state board pursuant to section
22-2-106 (1)
(a.5).
(b)
The education provider shall award a high school diploma to a student who successfully completes the graduation requirements developed pursuant to subsection (3)(a) of this section.
(c)
(I)
The education provider shall propose academic accountability standards for the program to the department that include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A)
Graduation rate metrics that measure the graduation ratio for the entire student population;
(B)
Postsecondary and workforce readiness metrics that measure the percentage of graduates who earn either an industry-recognized certificate or at least three college credits; and
(C)
Student demographic data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, gender, and disability.
(II)
On or before July 1, 2024, the department shall review and approve the academic accountability standards described in subsection (3)(c)(I) of this section and recommend revisions as necessary to the office and education provider.
(4)
On or before July 31, 2025, July 31, 2026, and March 30, 2027, an education provider shall report program data to the department, including, but not limited to:
(a)
Student demographic data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, gender, and disability;
(b)
Accountability measure data described in subsection (3)(c) of this section; and
(c)
The number of industry-recognized certificates, college credits, and overall average attainment of high school credits that students earn each term.
(5)
(a)
For the 2023-24 budget year, the general assembly shall appropriate five million dollars to the department from the general fund for purposes of the Colorado adult high school program.
(b)
Any unexpended or unencumbered money appropriated pursuant to subsection (5)(a) of this section remains available for expenditure for the same purpose until the close of the 2026-27 budget year without further appropriation.
Added by 2023 Ch. 387,§ 1, eff. 6/6/2023.