State Board Accountability Hearings

Accountability Hearings

When deciding a course of action for a school or district that has received five consecutive ratings of Priority Improvement or Turnaround, the state board holds an Accountability Hearing. The state board must make their determination by considering only the following during an Accountability Hearing:

• Commissioner and Department Report: the Commissioner and CDE staff provide relevant academic data, prior improvement efforts, and other information as requested by the state board in the form of a submitted report.
• State Review Panel Recommendation: prior to the hearing, the State Review Panel (third-party education experts) will visit the school or district to review documents and interview school and/or district staff. The State Review Panel will issue a written recommendation regarding which Accountability Pathway can best improve student outcomes.
• District Proposal: CDE staff will work with the district to select a pathway that is best suited to create dramatic change at the school or district.
• Public Comment: the State Board Office collects comments, feedback, and testimony submitted in advance of the hearing by parents, community members, local officials, and others.

The official Accountability Hearing procedures are available in the Administrative Procedures for State Board Accountability Actions (PDF).

If the school or district continues to receive Priority Improvement or Turnaround ratings after implementing their state board directed-pathway, the state board may in any year - and must every two years - hold an additional Accountability Hearing and direct the district to continue the previously directed action or undertake additional or different actions. If a school or district receives two consecutive ratings of Improvement or Performance, then the school or district is no longer required to implement the state board directed-pathway and is considered off of the Accountability Clock and Performance Watch. The Accountability Hearing process is outlined in the figure below.

Early Action Accountability Hearings

Early Action is a voluntary process through which schools and districts in Year 3 or Year 4 of Performance Watch can pursue an improvement pathway before the required state board-directed action in Year 5. An Early Action hearing replaces the Year 5 hearing. During this hearing, the state board has the opportunity to approve or deny the proposed school or district pathway plan. The state board does not have the opportunity to direct a different pathway during an Early Action hearing.

• Early Action Fact Sheet

The official Early Action Accountability Hearing procedures are available in the Administrative Procedures for Considering Early State Board Accountability Actions (PDF).

Active State Board Orders

The schools and districts below have been directed by the State Board of Education to implement an accountability pathway, and are currently on the Accountability Clock or Performance Watch. If a school or district receives two consecutive years of being rated Improvement or Performance, then the school or district will fully exit Performance Watch, and their state board order will expire.

Progress Monitoring

Department staff monitors the implementation of state board orders, and provides progress updates to the state board twice per year. Materials from the most recent progress monitoring update are available on BoardDocs from the September 13, 2023 State Board of Education meeting.

Upcoming State Board Accountability Hearings

The State Board of Education acts in a quasi-judicial manner during accountability hearings. This means that once an accountability hearing has been officially noticed, state board members are not allowed to have ex parte communication with any interested parties or members of the public. The public is allowed to submit public comment regarding the accountability hearing prior to its date. The public comment period is open for approximately one month prior to the scheduled hearing.

As such, state board members are not allowed to communicate with any interested parties or members of the public for hearings listed in the table below.

Public Comment

The State Board of Education seeks input from students, families, school staff, and community members on upcoming accountability hearings. Members of the public may:

• comment on the school's current status and effectiveness, and
• provide input regarding state board directed-actions (what should be done moving forward).

Comments may be submitted ANY of the following ways:

• By completing a short online survey
• By sending an e-mail to state.board@cde.state.co.us
• By submitting in writing to the State Board of Education Office: State Board Office, 201 E. Colfax, Room 500, Denver, CO 80203.

The deadline for all written comments is four business days prior to the accountability hearing. Comments will be compiled by the State Board of Education Office and sent to all state board members. All submissions will become part of the official record for the hearings and posted publicly. Personal information will be redacted before public posting. Comments submitted in languages other than English will be translated into English as time permits. Comments received past the deadline will not be included in the record or forwarded to the state board.

Past State Board Accountability Hearings - Active Orders

The table below lists all completed accountability hearings for schools and districts that currently have an active State Board of Education order, and remain on the Accountability Clock or Performance Watch.

Past State Board Accountability Hearings - Expired Orders

The table below lists all completed accountability hearings for schools and districts that have either exited Performance Watch in the past or  have closed. These schools and districts no longer have an active state board order. These sites may currently be on the Accountability Clock or Performance Watch, but have not progressed to the point of requiring an accountability hearing.

Contacts

Nate Goss, Accountability Project Manager
720-682-8535, Goss_N@cde.state.co.us