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CDE Data Requests

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) publicly reports data in a number of topic areas.  Please see below a list of CDE pages with publicly available reports, by topic area.

Data which is not publicly available may be requested by the process delineated below.

External Non-PII Data Requests

For data that does not include Personally Identifiable Information (PII), please fill out the Non-PII Data Request Form.  Non-PII data is generally data reported at the school, district, or state level and which includes student counts of 16 or above and school and district employee counts of 5 or above.  Please note that CDE will suppress data with student counts of less than 16 and employee counts of less than 5 on all data provided in response to requests.  This is to ensure student and employee privacy is maintained.  

Please note that the standard fulfillment time for non-PII data requests ranges from ten days to two weeks. This timeframe is subject to change based on existing unit workloads and also the requirements of each data request.  If a CDE unit cannot complete a request within the standard fulfillment timeframe, a staff member should contact you within a week of the request to discuss what timeframe is feasible based upon both the details of the request and the unit's existing workload.

External Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Data Requests

CDE is often asked to provide data about individual students or school district employees. CDE is restricted by federal and state law from providing individual-level data except under very specific circumstances. All requests for individual-level data will be thoroughly reviewed for alignment with applicable laws and CDE’s PII Protection Policy. Please see the policy for the definition of PII. All requests for individual-level data need to begin with the submission of the External PII Data Request Form

  • The review processes for external research requests are as follows:
    • Student data: External research requests for student PII will be reviewed according to the process explained in this PowerPoint.  Per Colorado’s Student Data Transparency and Security Act (C.R.S. 22-16-101 et.al), this process was approved by the State Board of Education on September 14, 2016.  
    • Educator data: External research requests for educator PII will be reviewed according to the Educator PII External Research Data Request Review Rubric.

To begin the PII data request process:

Notes for PII Data Requests:

  • The PII Data Request review process is extensive and can take upwards of 6-12 months. The review process for external research requests for student PII usually takes at least 12 months.
  • CDE does not approve every request for PII that will be used for research purposes. As a result, we recommend that requestors not make any commitments to use CDE data prior to getting approval through this process.
  • CDE will not provide student names for any research request.
  • Individual-level data without names or student/educator ID numbers can still be identifiable. 
  • A Data Sharing Agreement must be in place for all approved requests prior to the data request being fulfilled.  The process for completing and signing Data Sharing Agreements can take multiple months.
  • Research projects should be narrowly focused and tightly defined. Project descriptions should have:
    • Clear and specific details about what information could be learned from the research and how it could be applied in other contexts, especially within and across Colorado.
    • Very specific research questions.
    • Clear rationale of why the specific data elements requested are necessary for the research. FERPA requires state agencies to share only the minimum data necessary for research projects. Data requested should be limited to exactly what is needed to answer very specific research questions.
    • Clear descriptions of methodology that explain all steps of the process and which are understandable to those who may not have a technical background.
  • Any request, or component of a request, that requires a small number of districts' data will be referred to those districts. Requests to the state should be limited to those requests for which only the state would be able to provide the necessary data (e.g. requests for data for all districts or a majority of districts).

Submitting External Data Requests

Please submit completed data request forms to the Data Sharing and Research Manager, Kathryn Wright, at DataRequests@cde.state.co.us.  Kathryn is also available at 720-610-4712 to answer questions about which form to complete or the data request process. 

Data questions and requests from the media should be directed to CDE's Communications Division

NOTE: This data request process is NOT an open records request. Open record requests begin with CDE's Communications Division.

Commonly requested data available on CDE’s website:

Accountability Data 

  • Performance Snapshots - The Performance Snapshot provides an overview of key elements from the most recent District and School Performance Framework Reports and Unified Improvement Plans. This report is primarily designed for users with existing knowledge of the performance frameworks and improvement planning process, but provides a significant amount of explanatory information that may make it accessible to broader audiences. Use this tool to access reports for individual districts and schools.
  • Performance Framework Reports and Unified Improvement Plans - District and School Performance Frameworks are used to determine performance ratings under the state accountability system. Unified Improvement Plans document the strategies that districts and schools implement as part of the continuous improvement cycle. Go here to access reports for individual districts and schools in PDF format. Reports for the current year and for prior years going back to 2010 are available.
  • School and District Dashboards - The Dashboards are made up of a suite of reports that have been designed to support improvement planning efforts by districts and schools. The dashboards allow users to interact with graphs and tables showing demographic information along with performance data and ratings generated under the state accountability system. Use this online tool to view current information for individual schools and districts along with several years of historical data
  • State Accountability Data Explorer - Go here to access a repository of files containing performance framework information for all schools and districts in the state. Files include spreadsheets with current and historical performance framework results, along with copies of PowerPoint presentations and other reports presented to the State Board of Education.
  • State Accountability Data Files - Go here to access a repository of files containing performance framework information for all schools and districts in the state. Files include spreadsheets with current and historical performance framework results, along with copies of PowerPoint presentations and other reports presented to the State Board of Education.

Assessment Data (Grades 3 – 12)

Charter School Data

The page above includes links to the triennial State of Charter Schools in Colorado reports and other published reports.

Colorado Education Statistics 

*Please note that for the pages listed above, additional years of data may be posted on a separate page which can be accessed from the right-hand navigation menu

Educator Data 

  • Public Educator Search – You can use this tool to download a roster of educators by credential type or look up credential information by name or credential number.
  • Educator Research and Impact Data
    • Colorado Education Workforce GIS Maps - The GIS maps have been created to simultaneously present several education datasets (including school and district staff employment, shortage areas, turnover, working conditions, grant funding, performance indicators and P-12 student demographics) and economic data (including unemployment rates and median local income).  Visually presenting these datasets by district and school via Colorado "heat maps" provides a strong picture of the complexity of and variation in educator workforce issues.
    • Educator Effectiveness Metrics
    • Educator Preparation Programs Report including educator preparation pipeline data and connecting teacher outcomes to their Colorado preparation program
    • Educator Shortage Survey results
  • Also see school and district staff data listed in the Colorado Education Statistics section above

Facilities Data (from the Capital Construction Unit)

  • Facilities Insight Dashboard - This tool provides an overview of facility condition and adequacy data collected during on-site facility condition assessments.

Federal Programs Data

Elementary Literacy and School Readiness Data  

School Finance Data

  • Financial Transparency  - You can use this tool to explore revenue and expenditure information for each school, district, and BOCES throughout Colorado.
  • School District Revenues and Expenditures – These annual reports have revenues and expenditures data for school districts, charter school collaborative, and Boards of Cooperative Services (BOCES).

School Nutrition Data

The page above includes links to frequently requested data related to school nutrition programs, meal counting and claiming data, and School Food Authorities (SFAs) and Sponsor information.

Special Education Data 

Internal Data Requests

CDE staff should see the Data Sharing page on MyCDE for information on how to submit internal requests for data.