LBD-R

Boulder Valley School District|
Effective: August 27, 2019
Reviewed: November 22, 2024
Revised: January 28, 2025

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 RELATIONS WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS
(PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHMENT, REVIEW,
RENEWAL, REVOCATION, AND CLOSURE) 

Associated Policy: LBD - Relations with Charter Schools

A.    Establishment of new charter schools

A person, group, or organization may apply for a charter school in the boundaries of the Boulder Valley School District in accordance with the requirements of law and the procedures outlined below. 

A request to expand the grades operated by an existing charter school shall be considered a new school application.

No person, group, or organization may submit an application to convert a private school or non-public, home-based educational program into a charter school.  

a. Timeline for Submission of Application 

At least 30 days before submitting an application, applicants must submit a letter of intent to apply with the Superintendent. Applications for new charter schools must be submitted electronically to the Superintendent or designee  during the period beginning February 1 and ending April 1, eighteen months before the proposed opening of the charter school, unless the Board and the applicant jointly waive or extend this deadline.

b. Application Contents 

Applicants should use the application and rubric (LBD-E) as a basis for the application that must meet all statutory requirements for a complete application. It must contain: 

1. An executive summary that outlines the elements of the application and provides an overview of the proposed charter school; 

2. A copy of the vision and mission statements of the charter school and a description of the process used to develop the statements; 

3. A statement of the proposed four-year goals for the charter school including timelines. Describe the process used to identify the goals. The goals shall address accreditation performance indicators and applicable goals and standards in federal and state law; 

4. State the purpose for the charter school, describe the geographic area of intended service, and provide evidence that an adequate number of parents/guardians and students support the formation of the charter school. Where possible, this evidence shall be shown in aggregate (by grade level and school), without disclosing personally identifiable student information. Provide a community needs analysis and consideration of the charter school’s purpose in alignment with BVSD’s equity goals.

5. Describe the charter school's educational program, student performance standards and curriculum, specifically:

a. detail the plan for academic accountability, including a description of measurable annual targets for the measures used to determine the levels of attainment of the accreditation performance indicators;  

b. explain the way the charter school will collect and use longitudinal assessment data in determining and improving student academic progress and describe the charter school's procedures for taking corrective action if pupil performance at the charter school falls below the achievement goals approved by the Board of Education in the charter contract; 

c. describe the curriculum to be used in the charter school, including a list of the objectives and means of measuring student performance for each subject and each grade level; 

d. describe the policies regarding student discipline, expulsion and suspension that are consistent with the intents and purposes of state and federal law; 

e. describe the plan for addressing the needs of students with special needs, including budget and staff requirements. The plan shall include identifying and meeting the learning needs of students with disabilities, gifted students, emerging bilingual students, and other special student populations. 

6. Consistent with state and federal law, describe the enrollment policy and the criteria for enrollment decisions. 

7. Describe the governing body, including a detailed description of the relationship between the charter school and the School District. Consistent with state law, describe the types and extent of parental, professional educator, and community involvement in governance and operation of the charter school. Provide information on how the charter school will be accountable to the public. Describe expectations and plans for ongoing parent and community involvement. 

8. Describe the employment policies of the charter school including a description of the qualifications for licensed and classified employees, employee compensation schedule(s), recruitment and selection procedures, plan(s) for resolving employee relation problems, and the relationship that will exist between the charter school and its employees. 

9. Provide necessary evidence that the plan for the charter school is economically sound. Include a proposed budget for at least five years and a description of the manner in which an independent annual audit of the financial statements is to be obtained, consistent with state and federal law. The proposed budget shall include all information and data necessary for the School District and Board to understand how the charter school will fund all its operations during the term of the charter. A student fee schedule should be included in addition to a proposed schedule of cash flow. 

10. Provide a detailed summary of all insurance coverage, which shall include workers' compensation, liability insurance, and insurance for the facility and its contents, and a proposal regarding the parties' respective legal liabilities. 

11. Describe the facilities to be used, the reasonable costs of the facilities, and the way they will be obtained and maintained. Include any contracted services and the proposed contractor. 

12. Describe the proposed student transportation system and food services program, including the contract if services will be provided by a second party. If transportation or food services are to be provided by the charter school, include a plan for addressing the needs of low-income students, complying with insurance and liability issues and complying with state and federal law. 

13. Describe the process consistent with state law that will be used to resolve disputes that may arise between the School District and the charter school. 

14. List the state laws and regulations included in the State Board of Education's list of "automatic waivers" that the charter school requests. 

15. List the state laws and regulations for which waivers are requested. Include the rationale for each request and the method the charter school will use to comply with the intent of the statutes and rules that are requested to be waived. 

16. List the Board policies for which waivers are requested. Include the rationale for each request and the method the charter school will use to comply with the intent of the statutes, rules, and policies that are requested to be waived. 

17. Include the following information if the charter school intends to contract with an education management provider (EMP):

i. A summary of the performance data for all current schools of the EMP, including documentation of academic achievement and school management success. 

ii. An explanation and evidence of EMP's capacity for successful expansion. 

iii. An explanation of existing or potential conflicts of interest between the governing board of the charter school and the EMP. 

ix. A copy of the actual or proposed performance contract between the charter school board and the EMP that specifies performance evaluation measures, methods of contract oversight and enforcement, compensation structure and fees, and conditions for contract renewal and termination. 

18. Provide any additional information that might be helpful in supporting the application to establish a charter school. 

c. Application Review Process 

The Board will receive and review applications using the following process: 

1. Determination of Completeness: Per statute, the School District will have 15 days from the date the application is submitted to conduct a review to determine whether the application is deemed complete. In the event an application is not deemed complete, the applicant will have an additional 15 days within which to submit the missing application components. In the event the applicant does not timely submit the missing components the application will not be reviewed further. 
 
2. Review by DAC and School District Staff: The application will be reviewed by members of the District Accountability Committee (DAC), appointed by the Board of Education in accordance with law, prior to consideration by the Board. The DAC sub-committee shall include one person, who need not reside in the School District, with knowledge of charter schools and one parent of a student enrolled in a charter school in the School District. Representatives of the School District’s existing charter schools shall be invited to participate on the application review committee. The DAC’s application review committee will have at least 45 days to review the application and prepare a report for Board consideration.

Also, the Superintendent shall appoint a committee of School District staff to review the application before submission to the Board. At a minimum, the areas to be considered by staff are: (a) budget; (b) facilities and operations; (c) risk management and insurance; (d) human resources; (e) students with special needs; and (f) curriculum, instruction and assessment. School District staff may employ outside consultants in connection with the review. The committee of School District staff will have at least 45 days to review the application and prepare a report for Board consideration.

3. Applicant Response Opportunity: The applicant will be given the reports of the DAC subcommittee and School District staff and may provide additional information that responds to the reports. The additional information must be provided at least 14 days prior to the date scheduled for the Board review of the charter application. 

4. Additional Activities: In addition, the School District may conduct interviews of the applicant, site visits, or other appropriate activities to inform the review teams’ work. 

5. Board Consideration: For review at the meeting scheduled for Board review of the charter application, the Superintendent shall forward to the Board the application, the reports from the DAC subcommittee and School District staff, any additional information provided from the applicant in response to the DAC and School District staff reports, and any other relevant information yielded through the application process. Nothing in this Policy or regulation requires the Board to wait to review a charter school application until after the DAC or School District staff have completed their review. 

6. Public Hearing: After giving reasonable public notice, the Board will hold a public hearing in the School District to obtain information to assist in its decision whether to grant a charter school application. 
 
7. Decision: The Board of Education shall make a decision on the application by resolution in a regular or special Board meeting by June 30th of the year the application was received, unless the parties have mutually agreed in writing to extend this deadline.  

In reviewing the charter school application, the Board will use the following criteria: 

a. Would establishing or operating the proposed charter school violate the Charter Schools Act or any federal or state laws concerning civil rights or any court order?

b. Does the application fully address the criteria listed above and those in state law? Have the scheduled deadlines been met?

c. Would approving the charter application be in the best interest of the students and community? 

If the application is denied or if the Board does not review the application, the Board will 
set forth in writing the grounds for denial or refusal to review. The Board shall notify the 
Colorado Department of Education of the denial and the reasons within 15 days after it 
makes this decision. If the application is approved, the Board will send a copy of the 
approved charter to the Department of Education within 15 days after Board approval of the application. If approved, the Board will also specify whether or not the charter school is designed to increase the educational opportunities of underserved populations of School District students.

8. Planning: If the Board approves a charter school’s application, the charter school shall use the school and fiscal year, July 1st to June 30th, following the submission of its application as a planning year, during which the charter school shall prepare for serving students the next school year. 

9. Negotiations: An approved charter application shall serve as the basis for negotiating a contract between the charter school and the Board. The contract shall reflect all agreements, including the waiver of Board policies, statutory requirements, or State Board of Education rules. All negotiations between the Board and an approved charter school on the charter agreement shall be concluded by and all terms agreed upon by September 30, or no later than 90 days after the Board resolution approving the charter application, whichever is later.

10. Waiver of timelines: The parties may mutually agree to waive any deadlines during the application process, including extending the deadline for Board consideration of the application.

B.    Annual performance review of charter schools

The Superintendent or designee shall create a process for and ensure an annual review of each of the School District’s charter school's performance consistent with state law and this Policy. To initiate the review, the School District shall prepare a template that requests each charter school to provide by September 30th of each year at least the following:

1. A report on the charter school's progress in achieving the goals, objectives, pupil performance standards, content standards, targets for the measures used to determine the levels of attainment of the performance indicators, and the results achieved by the charter school's students on the assessments administered through the Colorado student assessment program.

2. A report on the charter school’s governance structure and operations.

3. The results of the charter school's most recent annual financial audit, including a disclosure of the costs of administration, instruction, and other spending categories for the charter school. The report must be understandable to the general public and allow comparison of such costs to other schools or other comparable organizations, in a format required by the state board of education.

4. A report on the charter school’s enrollment and discipline with specific consideration of the school’s proportionality considering race, gender, and disability.

The School District shall provide written feedback from the annual review to the charter school on or before December 31. The annual reviews shall be considered by the Board in connection with any decision to renew, revoke, or renegotiate a charter.

C.    Renewal of a charter

Each School District charter school shall be provided a copy of these renewal procedures and timelines and receive a copy of any subsequent revisions to the procedures or timelines.

The governing body of a School District charter school shall submit a renewal application to the Board no later than December 1 of the year prior to the year in which the charter expires.

The renewal application shall contain a complete report on the progress of the school in achieving the goals, objectives, student performance standards, content standards, targets for the measures used to determine the levels of attainment of the accreditation performance indicators and other terms of the charter contract, and the results achieved by the charter school students on state assessments.

The renewal application shall also include a financial statement that discloses the costs of administration, instruction and other spending categories for the school; and any information or materials resulting from the School District's annual review of the charter school. The Board shall act by resolution on the renewal application no later than February 1 of the year in which the School District charter expires or by a mutually agreed upon date. When appropriate and to the extent permitted by law, the Board may require the charter school to incorporate specific programs, strategies, or supports to address concerns identified through the renewal process.

D.    Revocation of a charter

The Board may revoke or not renew a charter if the Board determines that the charter school did any of the following:

1. Committed a material violation of any of the conditions, standards or procedures in the contract;

2. Failed to meet or make adequate progress toward achievement of the goals, objectives, content standards, pupil performance standards, targets for the measures used to determine the levels of attainment of the student performance indicators, applicable federal requirements, or other terms identified in the contract;

3. Failed to make sufficient improvement to attain an accreditation category higher than turnaround status within two school years or if the charter school is required to implement a turnaround plan for a third consecutive school year;

4. Failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management; or

5. Violated any provision of law from which the charter school is not specifically exempt.

The Superintendent shall provide the Board and charter school a written recommendation concerning whether to revoke or not renew the charter, including reasons supporting the recommendation. The recommendation shall be submitted at least 15 days prior to the date the Board will consider action to revoke or not renew the charter. If the Board revokes or does not renew a charter, the Board shall state its reasons for doing so in writing.

E.    Closure of a charter school

Following nonrenewal or revocation of a charter school's charter, the School District shall, when practicable, allow the charter school to continue to operate through the end of the school year. However, if the Board determines it is necessary to close the charter school prior to the end of the school year, the School District shall work with the charter school to determine an earlier closure date.

The School District shall work with the parents of students enrolled in the charter school to ensure that students are enrolled in schools that meet their educational needs, whether such enrollment need happen mid-year or at the end of a school year.

The School District shall also work with the charter school to ensure the charter school meets its financial, legal and reporting obligations during the period of time that the charter school is concluding its operations.