State Board modifies Graduation Guidelines Menu for 2020-21 School Year

July 8, 2020

DENVER - The State Board of Education at its regular monthly meeting granted districts flexibility with the state’s graduation options because of the disruption to learning and the cancellation or limited availability of several of the tests last spring. 

The state’s graduation guidelines were scheduled to be implemented for the first time for the class of 2021. However, the menu of options for demonstrating readiness for graduation includes the SAT, ACT, Accuplacer and IB assessments, some of which were cancelled or limited last spring because of the pandemic.

The state board’s action today means schools and districts can use local assessments or grades to confirm students’ readiness for graduation in the 2020-21 school year. Full implementation of the state’s college and career ready graduation benchmarks for students are anticipated to continue for the 2021-22 school year. 

In other actions:

• A representative from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office provided the board with a presentation on privacy considerations for selecting and using distance learning options.

• The board approved the Rules for the Administration of the Colorado Preschool Program Act. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the board amended the section of these rules that pertain to adult-child ratios for the 2020-21 school year.

• The board considered changes to the Rules for the Standardized Calculation for Counting Student Attendance and Truancy that would amend normal procedures for counting student attendance for the upcoming school year given that instruction may be delivered both in person and remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Suggested changes would require districts to record attendance once daily instead of twice. The board is anticipated to vote on the rules in August.

CDE staff recommend that the board amend the Rules for the Administration of the Public School Finance Act of 1994. When counting instructional time, changes would help districts distinguish remote learning and independent study that is conducted due to public health and safety precautions from other types of off-site learning, A hearing is scheduled to take place at the board's August meeting.