DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Colorado State Board of Education RULES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND GRANT PROGRAM 1 CCR 301-52 [Editor’s Notes follow the text of the rules at the end of this CCR Document.] _______________________________________________________________________________ 2207-R-1.00 Statement of Basis and Purpose. The statu.tory basis for these rules adopted December 13, 2001, is found in 22-2-106(1)(a) and (c), State Board duties; 22-2-107(1)(c), State Board powers; 22-7-601 through 608, School Accountability Reports; 22-30.5-301 through 308, Independent Charter Schools; and 22-7-609, School Improvement Plans.

The School Improvement Plan and Grant Program, 22-7-609 through 609.6, C.R.S., requires the State Board of Education to promulgate rules which include, but are not limited to: timelines and procedures for annually notifying schools that received an unsatisfactory rating on the School Accountability Reports pursuant to 22-7-601, et seq., C.R.S.; School Improvement Plan requirements for identified schools pursuant to 22-7-609, C.R.S. which are coordinated, to the extent possible, with Federal Program Requirements related to student achievement.

The State Board re-adopted these rules on December 11, 2003 as emergency rules when they discovered that they inadvertently repealed the entire rule instead of only repealing rule number 2207-R- 2.03, as required by HB 03-183.

1.01 The State Board of Education amended these rules to comply with current statute on November 11, 2004, per the request of Legislative Legal Services.

2207-R-2.00

2.01 Definitions.

2.01 (1) Colorado Department of Education (CDE): “Colorado Department of Education (CDE)” means the Department of Education created and existing pursuant to Section 24-1-115, C.R.S.

2.01 (2) Eligible School: “Eligible School” means a public school that has received an academic performance rating of “unsatisfactory” on the School Accountability Report prepared pursuant to 22-7-604 (5), C.R.S.

2.01 (3) Local Board of Education: “Local Board of Education” means the Board of Education of the school district for a public school.

2.01 (4) School Improvement Plan: “School Improvement Plan” means the locally Board adopted plan to be submitted to CDE within 90 days after receiving notification from the state board of an academic performance rating of “unsatisfactory.”

Code of Colorado Regulations 1 2.01 (5) Significant Improvement: “Significant Improvement” means that the school has demonstrated at least a 0.5 standard deviation growth in one school year on its Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) results pursuant to Section 22-7-604 (5), C.R.S. growth shall be based on the procedures used to calculate the performance ratings as used in the accountability reports.

2.01 (6) State Board: State Board means the State Board of Education created pursuant to Section 1 of Article IX of the State Constitution.

2.01 (7) Applicant: “applicant” refers to the person or group of persons submitting a proposal to operate an independent charter school. An “applicant” may include, but shall not be limited to, an individual or group of individuals; a nonprofit organization or association; a for-profit company; an existing public school; a school district; or an institution of higher education. 22-30.5-303 (2) (a) 2.01 (8) Commissioner: “Commissioner” refers to the Colorado Commissioner of Education, appointed pursuant to 22-2-110 CRS.

2.01 (9) Independent charter agreement: “independent charter agreement” refers to an agreement between a local board of education and an independent charter school governing body. 22-30.5- 302 (4)

2.01 (10) Independent charter school: “independent charter school” refers to a charter school operating pursuant to an approved contract with a school district. The independent charter school is a public school of the authorizing district. 22-30.5-302 (6) 2207-R-2.02 Implementation Procedures.

2.02 (1) Identification of Eligible Schools . CDE shall notify school districts and their eligible schools simultaneously with the official release of the School Accountability Reports and school ratings.

2.02 (2) School Improvement Plans.

1. 2.02 (2) (a) Local Board Adoption of School Improvement Plans and Timelines. School Improvement Plans are required from each eligible school. Local Board of Education approved plans must be submitted to CDE within ninety days following official notification from CDE of eligible schools. A public hearing must be held on the plan before submitting it to the State Board.
2. 2.02 (2) (b) [Expired 05/15/06 per Senate Bill 06-106]
3. 2.02 (2) (c) School District Review of CDE Comments and Recommendations The school district may adopt the recommendations and submit an amended plan to the State Board following another public hearing on the amended plan.
4. 2.02 (2) (d) Modification of School Improvement Plans. School Improvement Plans may be modified by eligible schools at any time based on appropriate needs assessment information. Any modifications must be approved by the Local Board of Education after a public hearing on the proposed amended plan.
5. 2.02 (2) (e) Required Contents of School Improvement Plans. Local Boards of Education must assure to CDE that approved School Improvement Plans will result in a systematic and systemic approach to school-wide improvement that incorporates every aspect of the school and is designed to enable all students to meet challenging academic content standards. The plan must include at least the following elements: Code of Colorado Regulations 2
   1. 2.02 (2) (e) (i) A Comprehensive Needs Assessment. The School Improvement
      1. Plan must articulate the results of the needs assessment by specifying the causes for the school’s low academic performance and curriculum, managerial, or other practices in the school or district that hinder student achievement at the eligible school.
   2. 2.02 (2) (e) (ii) Measurable Goals. The approved School Improvement Plan must
      1. minimally include an overall measurable goal for the school to achieve at least “significant improvement” as defined in 2.01 (7) of these rules.
   3. 2.02 (2) (e) (iii) Strategies. The approved School Improvement Plan must include, but is not limited to, strategies regarding changes in staffing, curriculum, or district policies to improve student achievement and proposed changes in resource allocations, including grants and Federal Title I moneys, if applicable, to target resources for improving student achievement at the eligible school. Professional development; parent and community involvement, such as district and school accountability committee input; and external support and evaluation strategies must also be included.
   4. 2.02 (2) (e) (iv) Alignment with Other School Improvement Efforts. If the eligible school is a Title I school on Title I School Improvement or Corrective Action, the approved School Improvement Plan must meet all applicable Title I requirements, including a goal to make “adequate yearly progress” as defined by CDE and approved by the united states department of education. Under CDE’s Ed-Flex Authority that has been granted by the United States Department of Education, certain waivers from Federal Law may be available to eligible schools to assist with School Improvement Plan implementation strategies. The approved School Improvement Plan must also be designed to support the district’s accreditation goals.
6. 2.02 (3) Failure to Make “Significant Improvement.” If, upon completion of the second school year of operation under a School Improvement Plan an eligible school receives an overall academic performance grade of “unsatisfactory” pursuant to 22-7-604 (5), C.R.S., the State Board shall recommend that the eligible school be converted to an Independent Charter School pursuant to 22-30.5-303 through 308, C.R.S. if “significant improvement” has been achieved, even if the school remains “unsatisfactory” , then the school district shall be allowed to operate that school under the School Improvement Plan for another year. Year one is defined to include the initial needs assessment, plan development, and plan approval steps outlined in 2.02 (2) of these rules. When an eligible school advances its academic performance rating to a higher level of performance, pursuant to 22-7-604 (5), C.R.S., then the school will cease to be subject to these rules.
   1. If, upon completion of the third school year of operation under a School Improvement Plan an eligible school receives an overall academic performance rating of “unsatisfactory” pursuant to 22-7-609 (5), C.R.S., the State Board shall recommend that the eligible school be converted to an Independent Charter School pursuant to 22-30.5- 303 through 308, C.R.S.
7. 2.02 (4) Conversion to Independent Charter School

Code of Colorado Regulations 3

1. 2.02 (4) (a) Upon completion of the second year a school receives an “unsatisfactory” rating pursuant to 22-7-609 (5) (a), the State Board of Education shall recommend that the public school be converted to an independent charter school, except that the State Board shall not make such recommendation if the public school had an improvement of 0.5 of a point or greater from the standard deviation over the immediately preceding year’s overall standardized, weighted total score, and the school district shall be allowed to continue to operate that school under the school improvement plan for another year, pursuant to 22-7-609 (5); 22-30.5 part 3.
   1. (b) By July 30, schools “unsatisfactory” for a third consecutive year are identified, pursuant to 22-7-604 (5) CRS.
      1. (c) By July 30, the State Board of Education shall recommend that third-time “unsatisfactory” schools be converted to independent charter schools and shall notify the local board of education, pursuant to 22-30.5 part 3 CRS.
      2. (d) By August 15, the State Board of Education shall (1) issue a request for proposals to operate the independent charter school and (2) have begun the formation of a review committee to be completed by August 31 to receive applications and establish a schedule for the receipt of applications, pursuant to 22-30.5-303 (1) and (2) CRS.
      3. (e) By end of November, the State Board of Education shall have received recommendations from the review committee, selected an applicant, and informed the local board of education, pursuant to 22-30.5-305 CRS.
      4. (f) With the assistance of the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designee, the selected applicant and the local board of education shall negotiate the terms of the independent charter, which may be different from or in addition to the terms of the response to the request for proposals, pursuant to 22-30.5-306 (2).
      5. (g) By February 15 of the year in which the independent charter school is to open, all negotiations between the selected applicant and the local board of education shall be concluded and the local board of education shall have approved the application following a public hearing held upon public notice, pursuant to 22-30.5-306 (3) (a) CRS.
      6. (h) By July 15, all planning and preparation – program development, parental involvement, student identification, staff selection, logistical support, community awareness – shall be complete and school shall be fully ready for a successful august opening.
2. 2.02 (4) School District Accreditation May be Affected. If upon completion of the third Year of the school improvement plan, an unsatisfactory school’s CSAP scores have not improved significantly by demonstrating at least a 0.5 standard deviation growth on its CSAP results over the scores received during the first year of the School Improvement Plan, the state board may remove the school district’s accreditation in accordance with the State Board rules for the administration of the accreditation of school districts, 1 CCR 301-1.

Code of Colorado Regulations 4 2207-R-2.04 Reporting. Each school will be required to provide evaluative data regarding the success or failure of the School Improvement Plan submitted pursuant to these rules. Information that may be collected includes, but is not limited to: those reform strategies implemented that proved to be successful in increasing student academic achievement and those that were unsuccessful in increasing student academic achievement; and general strengths and weaknesses of the School Improvement Plan. _________________________________________________________________________ Editor’s Notes History Code of Colorado Regulations 5