1 CCR 301-1-4.0 - District and Institute Accountability Processes: Accreditation Contracts

4.01 Within 60 days of the Commissioner determining a final Accreditation category for a District, the Commissioner and State Board shall enter into an Accreditation Contract with that District's Local Board. Within 60 days of the Commissioner determining a final Accreditation category for the Institute, the Commissioner and State Board shall enter into an Accreditation Contract with the Institute board.

4.02 Each Contract shall have a term of one year and shall be automatically renewed each year so long as the District or the Institute remains in the Accreditation category of Accredited with Distinction or Accredited.

4.03 The parties to the Contract may renegotiate the Contract at any time during the term of the Contract, based upon appropriate and reasonable changes in circumstances upon which the original terms and conditions of the Contract were based.

4.04 Each Contract, at a minimum, must address the following elements:

(1) The District's or Institute's level of attainment on the Performance Indicators, as determined pursuant to section 22-11-204, C.R.S.;

(2) The District's or the Institute's adoption and implementation of its Performance Plan, Improvement Plan, Priority Improvement Plan or Turnaround Plan, whichever is appropriate based on the District's or Institute's Accreditation category;

(3) The District's implementation of its system for accrediting the District Public Schools or the Institute's implementation of its system for accrediting the Institute Charter Schools, which system shall emphasize school attainment of the four Performance Indicators, and may, in the Local Board's or Institute board's discretion, include additional Accreditation indicators and measures adopted by the District or Institute;

(4) The District's or Institute's system for accrediting Public Schools that meet the definition of an Online School, which system shall emphasize school attainment of the four Performance Indicators, as well as the extent to which the Public School has met the quality standards outlined in section 22-30.7-105, C.R.S. and made progress in implementing any corrective actions required pursuant to section 22-30.7-103(3)(m), C.R.S., and may, in the Local Board's or Institute Board's discretion, include additional Accreditation indicators and measures adopted by the District or Institute; and

(5) The District's or the Institute's substantial and good-faith compliance with the provisions of Title 22 and other statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to Districts or the Institute.

4.05 For purposes of monitoring a District's or the Institute's substantial and good-faith compliance with the provisions of Title 22 and other statutory and regulatory requirements, each Contract must include the following:

(1) An assurance that the District or Institute is in compliance with budgeting, accounting, and financial reporting requirements set forth in section 22-44-101, et seq. C.R.S., and section 22-45-101, et seq. C.R.S.;

(2) For Districts, an assurance that the District is in compliance with the provisions of section 22-32-109.1, C.R.S., concerning school safety, and the Gun-Free Schools Act, 20 U.S.C. 7961;

(3) For Districts, an assurance that the District and the District's Public Schools are in substantial, good-faith compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements that apply to Districts;

(4) For the Institute, an assurance that the Institute and the Institute's charter schools are in substantial, good-faith compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements that apply to the Institute; and

(5) An assurance that the District and the District Public Schools or the Institute and the Institute Charter Schools are in compliance with the assessment provisions set forth in section 22-7-1013(8), C.R.S., including:

(A) An assurance that the District and District Public Schools or the Institute and Institute Charter Schools will not impose negative consequences-including prohibiting school attendance, imposing an unexcused absence, or prohibiting participation in extracurricular activities-on a student or parent if the parent excuses his or her student from participating in a Statewide Assessment. If a parent excuses his or her student from participating in a Statewide Assessment, the District and the District Public Schools or the Institute and the Institute Charter Schools will not prohibit the student from participating in an activity, or receiving any other form of reward the District or District Public Schools or the Institute or Institute Charter Schools provide to students for participating in the Statewide Assessment; and

(B) An assurance that the District and District Public Schools or the Institute and Institute Charter Schools will not impose an unreasonable burden or requirement on a student that would discourage the student from taking a Statewide Assessment or encourage the student's parent to excuse the student from taking the Statewide Assessment.

4.06 For purposes of monitoring a District's or the Institute's compliance with its Contract, the Department may request information or conduct site visits as needed.

4.07 If the Department has reason to believe that a District or the Institute is not in substantial compliance with one or more of the applicable statutory or regulatory requirements, the Department shall notify the Local Board or the Institute board that it has ninety (90) days after the date of notice to come into compliance. If, at the end of the ninety (90) day period, the Department finds that the District or the Institute is not substantially in compliance with the applicable statutory or regulatory requirements, meaning that the District or Institute has not yet taken the necessary measures to ensure that it will meet the applicable legal requirements as soon as practicable, the District or the Institute may be subject to the interventions specified in sections 22-11-207 through 22-11-210, C.R.S.

Notes

1 CCR 301-1-4.0

42 CR 17, September 10, 2019, effective 9/30/2019 43 CR 21, November 10, 2020, effective 11/30/2020 43 CR 13, July 10, 2020, effective 7/30/2020 44 CR 07, April 10, 2021, effective 4/30/2021 44 CR 17, September 10, 2021, effective 9/30/2021 45 CR 14, July 25, 2022, effective 8/14/2022