Opinion ID: 2521572
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Booth

Text: The defendants contend that, notwithstanding the cases discussed above, our decision in this case should be controlled by our analysis in Booth. In that case, we considered the constitutionality of the Charter Schools Act's second-appeal provision. See § 22-30.5-108, 7A C.R.S. (2003). Specifically, we considered whether the General Assembly had the power to authorize the state board of education to approve a charter school application that a district board had twice rejected. We held that this scheme was constitutional because it struck an appropriate balance between state and local power in an area that invoked both the State's general supervisory powers under article IX, section 2 and the local districts' control of instruction under article IX, section 15. See Booth, 984 P.2d at 656. In considering whether our analysis in Booth is applicable to this case, it is important to recognize the limited effect of the state board's second-appeal approval power in that case. The state board's decision did not direct the opening of the proposed charter school over the local board's objections. Rather, state approval of the second-appeal application simply required the local board to negotiate in good faith with the proponents of the charter school to resolve the objections that the local board had identified in its orders denying the charter application. Through such negotiations, the local district and the proponents would arrive at a binding contract that would allow the charter school to open and operate on terms acceptable to the local district. Id. at 653-54. The charter school statute met constitutional requirements because it closely circumscribed the state board's authority in the appeals process while simultaneously preserving the local board's control of instruction given in the charter school. The very limited nature of the state board's role is illustrated by the fact that we rejected as ultra vires the state board's attempt to order the local board to provide status reports on its future contract negotiations with the proponents. Id. at 655. In this case, we are not asked to assess whether the state's constitutional authority to supervise education infringes on the local boards' constitutional authority to control instruction. Rather, under the Pilot Program, the local boards do not retain any authority to determine which schools or which students are eligible to participate in the program, the amount of district funds to be devoted to the program, or the character of instruction paid for by those funds. The Pilot Program deprives the school districts of all local control of instruction. Thus, there are no constitutional powers to balance in this case, and therefore Booth does not apply. The question in this case is whether the Pilot Program satisfies the mandates of the local control requirement of article IX, section 15 and whether the Pilot Program fits within those parameters. To answer that question, we now examine the program itself, and our analysis is guided by the language of article IX, section 15 and our case law, cited above, construing that provision.