2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 22 - EDUCATION (§§ 22-1-101 — 22-108-109) › SCHOOL DISTRICTS (§§ 22-30-101 — 22-38-115) › Article 32.5 - INNOVATION SCHOOLS AND INNOVATION SCHOOL ZONES WITHIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS (§§ 22-32.5-101 — 22-32.5-111) › Section 22-32.5-104 - Innovation plans - submission - contents

(1)
(a)
A public school of a school district may submit to its local school board an innovation plan as described in subsection (3) of this section. A group of public schools of a school district that share common interests, such as geographical location or educational focus, or that sequentially serve classes of students as they progress through elementary and secondary education may jointly submit to their local school board a plan to create an innovation school zone as described in subsection (4) of this section.
(b)
A local school board shall receive and review each innovation plan or plan for creating an innovation school zone submitted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (1). The local school board shall either approve or disapprove the innovation plan or plan for creating an innovation school zone within sixty days after receiving the plan.
(c)
If the local school board rejects the plan, it shall provide to the public school or group of public schools that submitted the plan a written explanation of the basis for its decision. A public school or group of public schools may resubmit an amended innovation plan or amended plan for creating an innovation school zone at any time after denial.
(d)
If the local school board approves the plan, it may proceed to seek designation of the school district as a district of innovation pursuant to section
22-32.5-107
.
(2)
A local school board may initiate and collaborate with one or more public schools of the school district to create one or more innovation plans, as described in subsection (3) of this section, or one or more plans to create innovation school zones, as described in subsection (4) of this section. In creating an innovation plan or a plan to create an innovation school zone, the local school board shall ensure that each public school that would be affected by the plan has opportunity to participate in creation of the plan. A local school board may approve or create a plan to create an innovation school zone that includes all of the public schools of the school district. If the local school board creates an innovation plan or a plan for creating an innovation school zone, the local school board may seek designation of the school district as a district of innovation pursuant to section
22-32.5-107
.
(3)
Each innovation plan, whether submitted by a public school or created by a local school board through collaboration between the local school board and a public school, must include the following information:
(a)
A statement of the public school's mission and why designation as an innovation school would enhance the school's ability to achieve its mission;
(b)
A description of the innovations the public school would implement, which may include, but need not be limited to, innovations in school staffing; curriculum and assessment; class scheduling; use of financial and other resources; faculty recruitment, employment, evaluation, and compensation; whether the school will operate as a community school; and implementation of transformational school strategies such as shared leadership, culturally relevant curriculum, student and family supports, positive discipline practices, and family and community engagement;
(c)
A listing of the programs, policies, or operational documents within the public school that would be affected by the public school's identified innovations and the manner in which they would be affected. The programs, policies, or operational documents may include, but need not be limited to:
(I)
The research-based educational program the public school would implement;
(II)
The length of school day and school year at the public school;
(III)
The student promotion and graduation policies to be implemented at the public school;
(IV)
The public school's assessment plan;
(V)
The proposed budget for the public school; and
(VI)
The proposed staffing plan for the public school.
(d)
An identification of the improvements in academic performance that the public school expects to achieve in implementing the innovations;
(e)
An estimate of the cost savings and increased efficiencies, if any, the public school expects to achieve in implementing its identified innovations;
(f)
Evidence that a majority of the administrators employed at the public school, a majority of the teachers employed at the public school, and a majority of the school accountability committee for the public school consent to designation as an innovation school;
(g)
A statement of the level of support for designation as an innovation school demonstrated by the other persons employed at the public school, the students and parents of students enrolled in the public school, and the community surrounding the public school;
(h)
A description of any statutory sections included in this title or any regulatory or district policy requirements that would need to be waived for the public school to implement its identified innovations;
(i)
A description of any provision of the collective bargaining agreement in effect for the personnel at the public school that would need to be waived for the public school to implement its identified innovations; and
(j)
Any additional information required by the local school board of the school district in which the innovation plan would be implemented.
(4)
Each plan for creating an innovation school zone, whether submitted by a group of public schools or created by a local school board through collaboration with a group of public schools, shall include the information specified in subsection (3) of this section for each public school that would be included in the innovation school zone. A plan for creating an innovation school zone shall also include the following additional information:
(a)
A description of how innovations in the public schools in the school innovation zone would be integrated to achieve results that would be less likely to be accomplished by each public school working alone;
(b)
An estimate of any economies of scale that would be achieved by innovations implemented jointly by the public schools within the innovation school zone;
(c)
Evidence that a majority of the administrators and a majority of the teachers employed at each public school that would be included in the innovation school zone and a majority of the school accountability committee for each public school that would be included in the innovation school zone consent to creating the innovation school zone; and
(d)
A statement of the level of support for creating an innovation school zone demonstrated by the other persons employed at each public school that would be included in the zone, the students and parents of students enrolled in each public school that would be included in the zone, and the community in which the local school board would approve the innovation school zone. In determining the level of support, each public school shall specifically solicit input concerning the selection of public schools included in the innovation school zone and the strategies and procedures that would be used in implementing and integrating the innovations within the public schools in the zone.
(5)
A group of schools that submits a plan to create an innovation school zone as provided in this section and seeks to have management activities delegated by the local board to an organization that forms a partnership with the local school board must, in addition to the provisions specified in subsection (4) of this section, include the following information in the innovation plan:
(a)
An explanation of how alternative governance will help achieve the vision and goals of the group of schools in a school district;
(b)
A description of the organization and the organization's governing board and governance structure;
(c)
A description of the roles and duties of the organization's governing board, which duties must include, at a minimum, overseeing the implementation of the innovation plan and supporting academic progress;
(d)
A description of the zone staffing structure and management the organization would provide;
(e)
A description of how funds will be used to achieve the mission and academic performance of the innovation plan;
(f)
A description of where an easily accessible link to the federal form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF, as required by section
22-44-304
, or other relevant financial information if the organization does not receive a federal form 990, is located on the zone website;
(g)
A description of the terms under and process by which a school within an innovation school zone may elect to leave the innovation school zone; and
(h)
A description of the method the school district will use for determining the cost of services and a corresponding financial agreement with the innovation school zone.
Amended by 2022 Ch. 307,§3, eff. 8/10/2022.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 82,§2, eff. 8/2/2019.
Amended by 2018 Ch. 324,§18, eff. 5/30/2018.
L. 2008: Entire article added, p. 1422, § 1, effective May 28. L. 2009: (3)(f) and (4)(c) amended, (SB 09-163), ch. 1542, p. 1542, § 44, effective May 21; (3)(f) and (4)(c) amended, (SB 09-090), ch. 1444, p. 1444, § 17, effective August 5. L. 2018: IP(3) and (3)(b) amended, (HB 18-1355), ch. 1954, p. 1954, § 18, effective May 30. L. 2019: (3)(b) amended, (SB 19-102), ch. 294, p. 294, §2, effective August 2.
2022 Ch. 307, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).