1 CCR 301-1-9.0 - Public School Accountability Processes: Contents of School Plans and Timelines for Adoption, Review, and Publication of School Plans

9.1 If a District public school is directed to implement a Performance Plan or Improvement Plan, the school principal and District superintendent, or his or her designee, shall adopt the plan. The Local Board is encouraged to review and approve such plan and to consider in its local policies whether it would like to require the school principal and District superintendent or designee to submit the plan to the Local Board for approval. If a District public school is directed to implement a Priority Improvement Plan or Turnaround Plan, the Local Board shall adopt the plan.

9.2 If an Institute charter school is directed to implement a Performance Plan or Improvement Plan, the school principal shall adopt the plan. The Institute board is encouraged to review and approve such plan. The Institute board is encouraged to consider whether it would like to require the school principal to submit the plan to the Institute board for approval. If an Institute charter school is directed to implement a Priority Improvement Plan or Turnaround Plan, the Institute board shall adopt the plan.

9.3 Each public school plan shall:

(1) Reflect on the targets that were set by the public school in its prior plan;

(2) Set, reaffirm, or revise, as appropriate, ambitious but attainable targets that the public school shall attain on the Performance Indicators. The targets shall be aligned with the statewide targets set by the State Board, as described in section 3.02 of these rules. If the public school serves students in kindergarten and first, second, and third grades, these targets must include targets that the public school shall attain in reducing the number of students who are identified, pursuant to section 22-7-1205, C.R.S., as having significant reading deficiencies and in ensuring that each student achieves grade-level expectations in reading;

(3) Identify positive and negative trends in the levels of attainment by the public school on the Performance Indicators;

(4) Assess and prioritize the public school's most significant student performance challenges;

(5) Assess and prioritize the root causes of any low-performance for the public school that must be addressed to raise the levels of attainment on the Performance Indicators by the public school and to improve school readiness, if the public school serves students in preschool or kindergarten. If the public school serves students in preschool, kindergarten, or any of grades one through three and is directed to implement a Priority Improvement Plan or Turnaround Plan, the needs assessment shall include, but shall not be limited to, the early childhood learning needs assessment described in section 22-11-405 (4.5), C.R.S;

(6) Identify specific, research-based strategies that are appropriate in scope, intensity, and type to address the public school's root causes of any low-performance. If the public school serves students in kindergarten and first, second, and third grades, these strategies must include the strategies to be used in addressing the needs of students enrolled in kindergarten and first, second, and third grade who are identified pursuant to section 22-7-1205, C.R.S., as having significant reading deficiencies. For a Priority Improvement Plan or Turnaround Plan, these strategies must incorporate strategies to increase parent engagement in the public school. For a Turnaround Plan, such strategies shall, at a minimum, include one or more of the following:

(A) Employing a lead turnaround partner that uses research-based strategies and has a proven record of success working with schools under similar circumstances, which turnaround partner shall be immersed in all aspects of developing and collaboratively executing the Turnaround Plan and shall serve as a liaison to other school partners;

(B) Reorganizing the oversight and management structure within the public school to provide greater, more effective support;

(C) For a District public school, seeking recognition as an innovation school or clustering with other District public schools that have similar governance or management structures to form an innovation school zone pursuant to Article 32.5 of Title 22;

(D) Hiring a public or private entity that uses research-based strategies and has a proven record of success working with schools under similar circumstances to manage the public school pursuant to a contract with the Local Board or the Institute;

(E) For a District public school that is not a charter school, converting to a charter school;

(F) For a District charter school or an Institute charter school, renegotiating and significantly restructuring the charter school's charter contract;

(G) For a public school that serves students enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades one through three, that the public school invest in research-based strategies focused on early learning and development to address any deficiencies identified in the early childhood learning needs assessment described in section 22-11-305(4), C.R.S., if the cause of the public school's low performance is directly related to lack of school readiness and access to quality early learning opportunities, as demonstrated by student achievement data for the early elementary grades, and the public school has not successfully implemented these strategies in the preceding school years. A public school shall implement such strategies focused on early learning and development in combination with at least one other research-based strategy described in this subsection 9.03(6) of these rules; and

(H) Other actions of comparable or greater significance or effect;

(7) Identify the local, state, and federal resources that the public school will use to implement the identified strategies with fidelity;

(8) Identify implementation benchmarks and interim measures that the public school will use to evaluate whether the identified strategies are carried out with fidelity and whether to adjust practice;

(9) For any Priority Improvement or Turnaround Plan that a public school adopts for the fourth year in which the public school is on Performance Watch, include a general explanation for how the public school may put into effect the applicable actions described in section 22-11-210(5)(a), C.R.S.; and

(10) For a District charter school plan or an Institute charter school plan, beginning with plans adopted for the 2020-21 school year:

(A) Identify the core and supplemental reading curriculum used at each grade level including kindergarten (for each school that includes a kindergarten educational program), which core and supplemental reading curriculum must be designed around teaching the foundational reading skills of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency including oral skills, and reading comprehension;

(B) Identify the targeted, evidence-based or scientifically based core and supplemental reading instructional programs and intervention reading instruction, services, and other supports, including those available through the multi-tiered systems of supports or a comparable intervention system that the school provides to students who are identified as having a significant reading deficiency or as reading below grade level;

(C) Identify the assessments that the school uses at each grade level to meet the requirements specified in section 22-7-1205(1), C.R.S.; and

(D) If the school receives and uses per-pupil intervention money, or money received through the early literacy grant program for professional development, the school's plan for providing the professional development, which development must be targeted, evidence based or scientifically based, and aligned with the instruction, services, and other supports provided to students who are identified as having a significant reading deficiency or as reading below grade level.

(11) Address any other issues raised by the Department through the performance review described in section 8.00 of these rules.

9.4 Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, if a public school receives an initial school plan type assignment of Priority Improvement Plan or Turnaround Plan, the Local Board or the Institute board shall adopt such plan and submit it to the Department by no later than October 15th unless one of the following exceptions applies; if the District or the Institute submits a request for the Department to reconsider an initial school plan type or has not previously adopted a Priority Improvement Plan or Turnaround Plan for the school, then the Local Board or the Institute Board shall adopt and submit such plan to the Department by no later than January 15th.

(1) For a Priority Improvement Plan, the Commissioner may assign the State Review Panel to critically evaluate the plan, which may include one or more site visits, subject to available appropriations and as described in section 22-11-210(4), C.R.S. The Commissioner may recommend modifications to the plan. If the Commissioner recommends modifications to the plan and the Local Board or Institute board revises the plan, the Local Board or Institute board shall resubmit such updated plan to the Commissioner by a date negotiated between the District or Institute and the Department and no later than three months after receiving recommendations from the Commissioner. The Department shall post each plan on SchoolView within two weeks of receiving it.

(2) For a Turnaround Plan, the State Review Panel shall critically evaluate the plan, which may include one or more site visits, as described in section 22-11-210(4), C.R.S. The Commissioner may suggest modifications to the plan. If the Commissioner suggests modifications to the plan, the Local Board or Institute board shall revise the plan, if necessary, and resubmit the plan for approval by a date negotiated with the Department and no later than three months after receiving the suggestions from the Commissioner. The Department shall post each plan on SchoolView within two weeks of receiving it.

9.5 Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, if a public school receives an initial school plan type assignment of Performance Plan or Improvement Plan while on Performance Watch, the Local Board or Institute board shall submit such plan to the Department by no later than October 15th unless the District or the Institute has submitted a request for the Department to reconsider an initial school plan type. If the District or the Institute has sought reconsideration of the initial school plan type assignment, the Local Board or the Institute Board shall submit the plan to the Department by no later than January 15th. The Commissioner may recommend modifications to the plan. If the Commissioner recommends modifications to the plan and the public school revises the plan, the Local Board or Institute board shall resubmit such updated plan to the Commissioner by a date negotiated between the District or Institute and the Department and no later than three months after receiving the recommendations from the Commissioner. The Department shall post each plan on SchoolView within two weeks of receiving it.

9.6 Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, if a public school receives an initial school plan type assignment of Performance Plan or Improvement Plan and is not on Performance Watch, the Local Board or Institute board shall submit such plan to the Department by no later than October 15th unless the District or the Institute has submitted a request for the Department to reconsider the initial school plan type, whereby the Local Board or the Institute Board shall submit such plan to the Department by no later than January 15th. The Department shall post the plan on SchoolView within two weeks of receiving it.

9.7 For a District public school, immediately after submitting a final plan to the Department, the Local Board or the Institute board shall begin to implement the plan. For an Institute school, immediately after submitting a final plan to the Department, the principal shall begin to implement the plan.

9.8 So long as a public school continues to be directed to implement a Performance Plan, the school principal and District superintendent or designee, for a District public school, or the school principal for an Institute charter school, may adopt and submit a Performance Plan every two years. This flexibility shall not apply to any public school on Performance Watch or to any public school assigned the "Insufficient State Data" label..

Notes

1 CCR 301-1-9.0

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