District & Authorizer Info
Colorado charter schools are public schools that operate by way of a contract (charter) that has been authorized by a local school district or the Colorado Charter School Institute (CSI). The following links provide more information about Colorado school districts and charter school authorizers.
Districts and Authorizers- Charter School Institute (CSI)
Authorized to accept applications for schools (1) in districts without exclusive chartering authority (ECA) and (2) in districts which have retained ECA, with permission to the applicant from the district's board of education. Click on the link to be directed to the CSI Web site.
- Exclusive Chartering Authority (ECA) - includes a list of Colorado districts with/without ECA.
- Waivers - Information about how charter schools apply for state waivers, rules and laws that pertain to waiver requests, and a current list of waivers requested by each charter school.
Resources
- The “Colorado Charter School: Standard Application, Checklist, and Review Rubric”
was developed to provide guidance in the writing and review of new charter school submissions.
The target audience for this document is both the founding group (the applicant) as they develop
a charter school application and the potential authorizer (the school district or Charter School
Institute (CSI)) as they review and evaluate the quality and completeness of the application.
Common Application [docx] (53 pages)
- The “Colorado Charter School: Sample Contract Language and Attachments” is intended
to assist districts and charter schools in developing contracts that clearly spell out the rights
and responsibilities of both parties and support high charter school student achievement and competent
school operations. This second revision incorporates changes to Colorado law made during the 2009
and 2010 legislative sessions, including SB09-163 (accreditation) and HB10-1345 (emergency powers),
and feedback received from charter schools and authorizers. This document is a companion to “Colorado
Charter School: A Resource for Developing Charter School Contracts”.
Contract Language and Attachments [docx] (38 pages)
- This document, “Colorado Charter School: A Resource for Developing Charter School Contracts”,
was developed to provide useful information to assist districts and approved charter school applicants
in writing effective charter school contracts. Because the charter contract is the foundational agreement
that establishes a charter school’s autonomy and accountability and the district’s rights and obligations,
it is essential that the contract meet legal requirements and adhere to best practices. This resource guide
is a companion to the “Colorado Charter School Sample Contract Language and Attachments,” and complements
the “Charter School Standard Application, Checklist and Review Rubric.”
Contract Narrative [docx] (22 pages)
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The “Colorado Charter School: Sample Renewal Framework” is a Colorado-specific guide to charter
school renewal. Considering renewal of a charter school contract is a process that an authorizer and a
charter school undertake every three to five years, unless a longer contract has been signed to address
facility financing issues. This resource provides guidance, within the framework of Colorado laws,
for authorizers to establish a renewal process.
Sample Renewal Framework [docx] (13 pages)
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The “Colorado Charter School: Sample Closure Framework” is a Colorado-specific guide to charter
school closure. Closing a charter school can present many challenges, given the data that must be compiled
and analyzed, public meetings that must be held, and the political considerations that must be addressed
before a charter school chooses to voluntarily close or before the authorizer votes to not renew or to
revoke the charter school contract. This checklist of tasks in a template format was developed to assist
authorizers and charter schools with the closure process.
Sample Closure Framework [docx] (15 pages)
Related Links:
- Starting a Charter School in Colorado
- National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA)
- HB1412 Final Report August 1, 2011
NOTE: None of the documents represented on this page, or referenced under the provided links, are meant to represent legal advice or to lessen the need for charter school developers or operators to seek legal counsel.