Office of Blended and Online Learning

About Us

The Office of Blended & Online Learning serves and supports Online & Blended Learning Schools, Programs, Students, Parents, Authorizers, other related entities, and individuals related to K-12 Online & Blended Learning in Colorado. We are committed to providing information to all interested parties, as well as supporting the responsible growth of Online Learning & Blended Learning. The Office of Blended & Online Learning began duties October 1, 2007 under Senate Bill 215 legislation. Our purposes are:

To support Online Schools, Programs, Students, Parents, Authorizers, and other entities related to Online Learning by providing information and access to available data;
To facilitate the certification of Multi-District Online Schools

News & Updates

Remote Learning Options for the 2021-22 School Year

CDE is developing guidance to extend flexibilities for brick-and-mortar schools to offer remote virtual learning opportunities for students next school year in response to public health and safety measures associated with COVID-19. This guidance is still being finalized. In the meantime, here are the key points to help schools and districts begin planning. Schools/districts that want to offer both online remote learning and in-school learning, will be able to leverage this flexibility only if it's in response to public health and safety measures associated with COVID-19.

Flexibilities can be used for the following circumstances:

100% remote learning - May be implemented by the district/school for families who do not want their student(s) to receive in-person learning for the duration of a term.
Hybrid learning - This option refers to traditional educational settings that are implementing a combination of both in-person and remote learning.
Temporary remote learning - Short term instances when students are quarantined due to COVID-19 exposure/illness, or shift to 100% remote learning as a result of an executive/public health order, or other types of locally-determined precautions related to COVID-19.

To use these flexibilities, schools/districts must ensure that a portion of all remote classes provide some synchronous learning experiences and that students have access to live teacher/instructional support every instructional day of the school calendar. Asynchronous tools/resources, including CDLS courses, can still be used but synchronous learning experiences and live teacher/instructional support must be part of the plan as well.
Finally, schools/districts must ensure they are adopting appropriate policies - and maintaining proper record keeping aligned to those policies - to meet October Count funding requirements. Final guidance will be comprehensive and will outline requirements for schools.

If you have any questions in the meantime, contact Renee Martinez with Office of Blended and Online Learning at martinez_r@cde.state.co.us.

Note: This interim guidance is applicable to students in grades K-12. Guidance related to Pre-K students and remote learning is under development.

Multi-district and Single District 2021-2022 Application Cycle

The 2021-2022 Multi-district application cycle is open from January 1, 2021 to April 1, 2021. The Single District online program or school application cycle is open from January 1, 2021 to June 1, 2021. Please visit the application webpage for more details on the application process and to access the application documents.

Office Hours and Recorded Webinars

The Office of Online and Blended Learning hosts office hours every Thursday from 3:00pm-4:00pm MST. To view the upcoming office hour topics as well as past webinar records, visit the office hours webpage and register to join future sessions.