BVSD comprehensive high schools address instructional seat time issue

In the State of Colorado, schools are responsible for ensuring that students register specific amounts of time in class in order to be considered a full-time student. Earlier this year, the Boulder Valley School District team realized that at a handful of our schools, students who took five classes, which we have historically considered a full-time schedule, did not meet the minimum required minutes set by the state. BVSD immediately reported the situation to the Colorado Department of Education. 

The issue was the result of a number of factors, including the adjustment of schedules to accommodate Wednesday Late Start, the decision by some of our high schools to move to an eight period school day and the number of students who chose to take fewer classes – some to protect themselves from the pandemic and others as a rite of passage, after they had earned enough credits to graduate.

It is important to note that there were no fines and no immediate fiscal impact. The School Finance Act averages student counts over multiple years, which meant that there was no decline to the district's revenue in the current year. 

Our comprehensive high schools have been working to review and revise their schedules to make appropriate adjustments for next and future years.