C.R.S. Section 22-2-401
Legislative declaration

(1)

The general assembly hereby finds that:

(a)

A significant number of children in Colorado are placed in day treatment centers, residential child care facilities, other out-of-home placement facilities, or hospitals and receive their education through programs provided by these facilities;

(b)

Although these facilities strive to provide the best educational programs possible within limited resources and under difficult circumstances, studies indicate that students who receive educational services through facility programs are more likely to repeat a grade level, more likely to perform below grade level, more likely to drop out of school, less likely to be employed, less likely to continue into higher education, and more likely to be eventually arrested and incarcerated;

(c)

Each facility independently provides an educational program that, in most instances, is not consistent in the areas of course work, academic credits, graduation standards, or curriculum with any other educational program provided by a facility or with any educational program provided by a school district or an institute charter school. This lack of consistency makes it extremely difficult for a student to move from one facility to another or to move from a facility to a school district or institute charter school and puts the student almost hopelessly behind in meeting standards for completing a grade level or for graduation.

(d)

Each student who receives an educational program through a facility participates in the Colorado student assessment program. However, the student’s scores are usually not included in calculating a school’s levels of attainment of the performance indicators, and the transitory nature of the student’s educational career makes it difficult, if not impossible, for an education provider to longitudinally track the student’s academic growth.

(e)

Because of the uniqueness of the population served by each facility, it is important for each facility to maintain a significant degree of control over the educational program provided by the facility. However, by partnering with the department of education to provide an educational program that, as much as practicable, is consistent among the facilities, each facility can vastly improve the quality of each student’s overall academic experience while the student receives educational services from the facility and when the student transfers to another facility or to a school district or an institute charter school.

(2)

Therefore, the general assembly finds that creating a unit within the department of education to work with facilities to create consistency with regard to curriculum, standards, and tracking of student performance within facility education programs will raise the overall quality of the education provided to these students, thereby helping these students meet their full potential both academically and as fully contributing adults within the community.

(3)

The general assembly further finds that, for purposes of section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, creating the facility schools unit within the department of education and the facility schools board to work with approved facility schools to standardize the educational services provided to students in approved facility schools and implementing a data system to maintain the records of students who receive educational services from approved facility schools will enable approved facility schools to provide each student a more consistent and coherent education, thereby improving each student’s likelihood of achieving state academic standards. The facility schools unit, the facility schools board, and the data system are therefore important elements of accountable programs to meet state academic standards and may receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution.

(4)

Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a)

The general assembly further finds that the number of approved facility schools and placements of students in facility schools in Colorado has substantially declined due in part to county departments of human or social services and other state and local agencies reducing the use of congregate care placements. However, a small percentage of students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs, who may have been served in approved facility schools in the past, still require specialized services beyond the level available from their school district of residence.

(b)

Therefore, the general assembly further finds that it is in the best interests of students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs to stabilize and enhance the number of approved facility school placements and to improve student services by:

(I)

Providing adequate and predictable funding for approved facility schools;

(II)

Establishing an interagency resource guide for facilities seeking licensure or authorization to operate as approved facility schools;

(III)

Requiring state agencies to establish consistent administrative practices to license, authorize, approve, and fund approved facility schools that may result from the development of the interagency resource guide described in subsection (4)(b)(II) of this section;

(IV)

Allowing state agencies to recommend changes to law, rule, policy, and practice based on the establishment of consistent administrative practices described in subsection (4)(a)(III) of this section;

(V)

Requiring the department of health care policy and financing, in consultation with the work group, to recommend a plan to provide guidance to approved facility schools on the eligibility standards required to request and receive medicaid reimbursement funding for therapeutic services to the maximum extent possible to reduce reliance on school district revenue for therapeutic services;

(VI)

Authorizing the facility schools board to authorize a facility to operate as a specialized day school;

(VII)

Authorizing the facility schools board to adopt accreditation measures for approved facility schools; and

(VIII)

Expanding technical assistance for school districts and administrative units, with a priority to serve rural school districts, remote school districts, or school districts that face significant obstacles to providing intensive supports to serve students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs.

Source: Section 22-2-401 — Legislative declaration, https://leg.­colorado.­gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2023-title-22.­pdf (accessed Oct. 20, 2023).

22‑2‑101
Short title 22‑2‑102
Definitions 22‑2‑103
Department of education 22‑2‑104
Offices and positions - nature 22‑2‑105
State board of education - composition 22‑2‑105.5
State board of education - definitions - vacancies - procedure for filling 22‑2‑106
State board - duties - rules 22‑2‑106.5
State board - duties with regard to student data - memorandum of understanding 22‑2‑107
State board - power 22‑2‑108
Federal financial assistance 22‑2‑109
State board of education - additional duties - teacher standards - principal standards - rules 22‑2‑110
Commissioner of education - oath - qualifications - tenure 22‑2‑111
Commissioner of education - office - records - confidential nature 22‑2‑112
Commissioner - duties - report - legislative declaration 22‑2‑113
Commissioner - powers 22‑2‑113.8
Department of education - additional local revenues - distribution to schools - annual report 22‑2‑114.1
Dropout rates - collection of data on grades seven through twelve 22‑2‑116
Additional power - waiver of reporting requirements - review of reporting requirements 22‑2‑116.5
Department of education - student-level course completion data 22‑2‑117
Additional power - state board - waiver of requirements - rules 22‑2‑119
Department of education - inquiries concerning prospective employees - background investigation fee 22‑2‑119.3
Department of education - educator preparation program students - record check - fee - definitions 22‑2‑119.5
Department of education - duty to report - convictions 22‑2‑122
Grants to schools and school districts 22‑2‑122.5
COVID-19 learning impacts - extended learning opportunities - funding - combined application, reporting, and evaluation process - rules - legislative declaration - definitions - repeal 22‑2‑125
Loan program for capital improvements in growth school districts - use of public school fund 22‑2‑127
Financial literacy - resource bank - technical assistance - definitions - appropriation - repeal 22‑2‑127.1
Stipends for financial aid training - definitions - appropriation - repeal 22‑2‑127.3
Holocaust and genocide studies - resource bank - technical assistance - definitions 22‑2‑127.5
Computer science programs - resource bank 22‑2‑127.7
Marijuana education materials - resource bank - technical assistance 22‑2‑127.9
Mental health education literacy - resource bank - technical assistance 22‑2‑128
Department of education - reciprocal agreements with adjacent states - report 22‑2‑129
Department of education - approved supplemental education services providers - list 22‑2‑130
Supplemental online education grant program - legislative declaration - definitions - creation - eligibility - award - fund 22‑2‑132
Department of education - career and technical education authorization - rules 22‑2‑133
Assessment and identification of students with literacy challenges including dyslexia - training and technical assistance - collaboration with higher education - report 22‑2‑135
Food allergy and anaphylaxis management - rules 22‑2‑136
Additional duty - state board - individual career and academic plans - standards - rules 22‑2‑137
State schools - legislative declaration - feasibility study - authority to contract - funding 22‑2‑138
State environmental education plan - fund created 22‑2‑139
Memorandum of understanding - notification of risk - rules 22‑2‑141
Early literacy assessment tool - request for proposals - software - hardware - training - distribution - legislative declaration 22‑2‑144
Bullying prevention and education policies - short title - study 22‑2‑145
Media literacy - committee - report - strategic plan - resource bank - definition - rules 22‑2‑146
Department of education - COVID-19-related education loss - strategies - resources - report - legislative declaration 22‑2‑146.5
Department of education - improving mathematics outcomes - training and technical assistance - report - definitions 22‑2‑146.6
Colorado academic accelerator grant program - report - rules - definitions 22‑2‑147
Menstrual hygiene products accessibility grant program - eligibility - rules - report - definitions 22‑2‑148
Secondary school student substance use - committee - definitions - repeal 22‑2‑301
Short title 22‑2‑302
Legislative declaration 22‑2‑303
Definitions 22‑2‑304
Education data advisory committee - creation - duties - approval 22‑2‑305
Data dictionary - legislative declaration - creation - contents - report 22‑2‑306
Advance notice - legislative declaration - data collection - data submission changes - website update - submission windows 22‑2‑307
Data reporting requirements - interpretation of federal law - suspension 22‑2‑308
Data reporting requirements - office of legislative legal services 22‑2‑401
Legislative declaration 22‑2‑402
Definitions 22‑2‑403
Office of facility schools - created 22‑2‑404
Facility schools board - created - membership 22‑2‑405
Facility schools office - duties 22‑2‑406
Facility schools board duties - curriculum - graduation standards - report - rules 22‑2‑407
List of approved facility schools - application - criteria - rules 22‑2‑407.5
Facility schools - sustainable model of education for facility students - work group - created - membership - duties - reporting requirements - funding 22‑2‑408
Approved facility schools - funding 22‑2‑409
Notification of risk 22‑2‑410
Administration - licensing - reports 22‑2‑411
Shared operational services grant program - creation - report - rules - definitions - repeal 22‑2‑412
Technical assistance center - creation - definitions 22‑2‑501
Legislative declaration 22‑2‑502
Definitions 22‑2‑503
Teaching and learning conditions survey 22‑2‑504
National certification compensation - definition - study 22‑2‑505
Minority teacher recruitment - short title - legislative declaration - study - report
Green check means up to date. Up to date

Current through Fall 2024

§ 22-2-401’s source at colorado​.gov