(1) The institute charter school application is a proposed agreement upon which the institute charter applicant and the institute negotiate a charter contract. At a minimum, each institute charter school application includes:
An executive summary that outlines the elements of the application and provides anoverview of the proposed institute charter school;
The vision and mission statements of the proposed institute charter school;
The goals, objectives, and student performance standards the proposed institute charter school expects to achieve, including but not limited to the performance indicators specified in section 22-11-204 and applicable standards and goals specified in federal law;
Evidence that an adequate number of parents and pupils support the formation of aninstitute charter school;
Descriptions of the proposed institute charter school's educational program, studentperformance standards, and curriculum;
A plan for evaluating student performance across the curriculum, which plan alignswith the proposed institute charter school's mission and educational objectives and provides a description of the proposed institute charter school's measurable annual targets for the measures used to determine the levels of attainment of the performance indicators specified in section 2211-204 and procedures for taking corrective action if student performance at the school falls below the described targets;
Evidence that the plan for the proposed institute charter school is economically sound, including a proposed budget for a term of at least five years. The institute charter application shall also describe the method for obtaining an independent annual audit of the proposed institute charter school's financial statements consistent with generally accepted auditing standards and circular A-133 of the United States office of management and budget, as originally published in the federal register of June 30, 1997, and as subsequently amended.
A description of the governance and operation of the proposed institute charter school, including the nature and extent of parental, professional educator, and community involvement in the governance and operation of the proposed institute charter school, that is consistent with the standards adopted by rule of the state board pursuant to section 22-2-106 (1)(h);
An explanation of the relationship that will exist between the proposed institute charter school and its employees and the proposed institute charter school's employment policies;
A proposal regarding the parties' respective legal liabilities and applicable insurancecoverage, which insurance coverage shall include, at a minimum, workers' compensation, liability insurance, and insurance for the proposed institute charter school's facility and its contents;
The proposed institute charter school's expectations and plans for ongoing parent andcommunity involvement;
A description of the proposed institute charter school's enrollment policy, consistentwith the requirements of section 22-30.5-507 (3) and rules adopted by the state board pursuant to section 22-2-106 (1)(h), and the criteria for enrollment decisions;
A statement of whether the proposed institute charter school plans to address thetransportation or food service needs of its students while they are attending the school. The proposed institute charter school may choose not to provide transportation or food services, may choose to develop or form a charter school collaborative as described in section 22-30.5-603 to provide transportation or food services, or may choose to negotiate with a school district, board of cooperative services, or private provider to provide transportation or food services for its students. If the proposed institute charter school chooses to provide transportation or food services, the application shall include a plan for each provided service, which plan, at a minimum, shall specifically address serving the needs of low-income and academically lowachieving students, complying with insurance and liability issues, and complying with any applicable state or federal rules or regulations.
A facilities plan that details viable facilities options that are consistent with section22-32-124 and that includes the reasonable costs of the facility, which are reflected in the proposed budget;
A list of the waivers of statute and state rules that the proposed institute charterschool is requesting. For each requested waiver of a statute or state rule that is not an automatic waiver, the institute charter school application must state the rationale for each requested waiver and the manner in which the proposed institute charter school plans to meet the intent of the waived statute or rule.
Policies regarding student discipline, expulsion, and suspension that are consistentwith the intent and purpose of sections 22-33-106 and 22-33-106.1, provide adequately for the safety of students and staff, and provide a level of due process for students that, at a minimum, complies with the requirements of the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act", 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400 et seq.;
A plan for serving students with special needs, including budget and staff requirements, which plan shall include identifying and meeting the learning needs of at-risk students, students with disabilities, gifted and talented students, and English language learners;
A dispute resolution process, as provided in section 22-30.5-107.5; and
If the proposed institute charter school intends to contract with an education management provider:
A summary of the performance data for all of the schools the education managementprovider is managing at the time of the application or has managed previously, including documentation of academic achievement and school management success;
An explanation of and evidence demonstrating the education management provider'scapacity for successful expansion while maintaining quality in the schools it is managing;
An explanation of any existing or potential conflicts of interest between the governing board of the proposed institute charter school and the education management provider; and
A copy of the actual or proposed performance contract between the governing board for the proposed institute charter school and the education management provider that specifies, at a minimum, the following material terms:
Performance evaluation measures;
The methods of contract oversight and enforcement that the governing board willapply;
The compensation structure and all fees that the proposed institute charter schoolwill pay to the education management provider; and
The conditions for contract renewal and termination.
Source: L. 2004: Entire part added, p. 1606, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2009: (1)(b), (1)(d), and (1)(e) amended, (SB 09-163), ch. 293, p. 1540, § 36, effective May 21. L. 2012: (1) R&RE, (SB 12-061), ch. 109, p. 379, § 5, effective April 13. L. 2014: (1)(o) amended, (HB 14-1292), ch. 243, p. 906, § 9, effective May 21. L. 2019: (1)(p) amended, (HB 19-1194), ch. 160, p. 1888, § 8, effective July 1, 2020.
Cross references: (1) For the short title ("Student Success Act") in HB 14-1292, see section 1 of chapter 243, Session Laws of Colorado 2014.
(2) For the legislative declaration in HB 19-1194, see section 1 of chapter 160, Session Laws of Colorado 2019.