C.R.S. § 22-38-101 Short title
22-38-101. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Colorado Pilot Schools Act".
Pilot Schools for Students Expelled from Sixth through Ninth Grades
C.R.S. tit. 22, art. 38
in effectC.R.S. § 22-38-102 Legislative declaration
22-38-102. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:
(a) It is the goal of the state of Colorado to provide educational opportunities to all students who choose to pursue such opportunities;
(b) To maintain discipline in the public schools, it is sometimes essential for the public schools to expel students;
(c) Students who are expelled from public schools are much more likely than their former classmates to fail to obtain a high school education and to have early contacts with the criminal justice system;
(d) Providing students in the sixth through ninth grades who have been expelled with the opportunity to continue their education in a proper setting will enhance the possibility that they will continue their education and become productive members of society;
(e) The best way to promote a desire to stay in school is to intervene in a student's academic career prior to the student entering high school; and
(f) As students who are expelled from public schools no longer belong to any school district, it is appropriate for the state to devise programs to meet their needs.
(2) The general assembly further finds and declares that this article is enacted for the following purposes:
(a) To complement the present disciplinary systems in existence at Colorado public schools;
(b) To encourage diverse approaches to educating children who have been expelled;
(c) To provide students who have been expelled with the opportunity to continue their education;
(d) To determine the most effective means of addressing the educational, psychological, cultural, and other needs of those students who have been expelled; and
(e) To provide resources for development of an extended day, year-round program for students who require more intense supervision and instruction.
C.R.S. § 22-38-103 Definitions
22-38-103. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "At-risk student" means a student who is in the sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth grade, who is under seventeen years of age, and who has been the subject of at least one suspension in the past year.
(2) "Expelled student" means a student who has been expelled from school pursuant to section 22-33-105.
(3) "Pilot school" means a school created pursuant to this article by a school district, combination of school districts, board of cooperative services pursuant to section 22-5-104, or a private entity operating pursuant to a contract with the state board.
(4) "State board" means the state board of education.
C.R.S. § 22-38-104 Pilot schools - requirements - authority - definitions
22-38-104. Pilot schools - requirements - authority - definitions. (1) The state board may provide for the establishment and operation of not more than one full-time residential pilot school and not more than three year-round nonresidential pilot schools pursuant to the following provisions:
(a) The state board shall consider placement of the pilot schools in geographic areas of the state that shall provide the easiest access to the maximum number of expelled and at-risk students eligible to attend the pilot schools. The state board is urged to consider placement of one pilot school in the Denver metropolitan area; one in the southeastern part of the state south of the 39th parallel and east of the continental divide; one in the northeast part of the state north of U.S. Interstate 70, east of the continental divide; and one west of the continental divide.
(b) A pilot school shall be a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious, non-home-based school.
(c) A pilot school shall be administered and governed by a board of directors in a manner agreed to by the pilot school applicant and the state board.
(d) (I) A pilot school is subject to all federal and state laws and constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, religion, or ancestry. Enrollment decisions shall be made in a nondiscriminatory manner specified by the pilot school applicant in the pilot school application.
(II) As used in this subsection (1)(d):
(A) "Protective hairstyle" includes such hairstyles as braids, locs, twists, tight coils or curls, cornrows, Bantu knots, Afros, and headwraps.
(B) "Race" includes hair texture, hair type, hair length, or a protective hairstyle that is commonly or historically associated with race.
(2) Not more than three pilot schools shall each have a minimum of sixty students who do not reside at the school, approximately two-thirds of whom shall be expelled students, and the remainder of whom shall be at-risk students admitted by the pilot school in the manner specified in the pilot school application.
(3) The residential pilot school shall have a minimum of sixty students, two-thirds of which shall be expelled students and one-third of which shall be at-risk students. The school shall make available full-time residential facilities for all expelled students who, in the determination of the pilot school, may benefit from an environment different from those conditions that may have contributed to the student's expulsion. The residential pilot school shall only admit expelled and at-risk students who are in the sixth grade or seventh grade if compelling circumstances exist for admitting such students to a residential facility.
(4) A pilot school shall operate on a year-round basis and offer services for an extended period of more than eight hours during each educational day.
(5) A pilot school shall be accountable to the state board for purposes of ensuring compliance with applicable laws and contract provisions and the requirement of section 15 of article IX of the state constitution.
(6) A pilot school may require a parent or legal guardian and the student to enter into a mutual responsibility agreement according to the terms of which a parent, legal guardian, or student provides services to the pilot school or agrees to make a financial contribution to the pilot school.
le laws and contract provisions and the requirement of section 15 of article IX of the state constitution.
(6) A pilot school may require a parent or legal guardian and the student to enter into a mutual responsibility agreement according to the terms of which a parent, legal guardian, or student provides services to the pilot school or agrees to make a financial contribution to the pilot school.
(7) The state board shall promulgate guidelines for assessing the ability of the parent or legal guardian of a student to make a financial contribution to a pilot school to cover part, or all, of the costs of tuition for that student at the pilot school. The guidelines shall provide for a process to be used by pilot schools to assess the financial resources of a parent or legal guardian that could be reasonably applied to offset the costs of a student's education without imposing a financial hardship on the parent, legal guardian, or family of the student attending the pilot school.
(8) Pursuant to contract, a pilot school may operate free from specified school district policies, state statutes, state regulations, and contract requirements otherwise applicable to schools located in the school district where the pilot school is located. Upon request of the pilot school, the state board may release the pilot school from any school district policies, state statutes, state regulations, or contract requirements. Any waiver made pursuant to this subsection (8) shall be for the term of the contract for which the waiver is made.
(9) (a) A pilot school shall be responsible for its own operation including, but not limited to, preparation of a budget, compilation of any data required by this article, contracting for services, and personnel matters.
(b) A pilot school may negotiate and contract with a school district, the governing body of a state college or university, or any third party for the use of a school building and grounds, the operation and maintenance thereof, and the provision of any service, activity, or undertaking that the pilot school is required to perform in order to carry out the educational program described in its contract. A pilot school may contract with the state for the use of any available state facility in order to carry out the educational program described in its contract. Any services for which a pilot school contracts with the state board or any school district shall be provided to the pilot school at cost.
(10) In addition to the students enrolled at each pilot school pursuant to section 22-38-111, a pilot school may enter into an agreement pursuant to section 22-33-203 (2) with a school district or with a board of cooperative services to provide educational services to enable expelled students to either return to school or successfully complete the high school equivalency examination, as defined in section 22-33-102 (8.5). Students receiving such services are not be considered to be enrolled at the pilot school, and, if the pilot school provides full-time residential facilities, students receiving such services need not reside at the pilot school.
C.R.S. § 22-38-105 Applications for the right to operate pilot schools - contents
22-38-105. Applications for the right to operate pilot schools - contents. (1) The state board shall promulgate regulations for the applications to be submitted for the right to operate a pilot school that shall include:
(a) A description of the applicant, its experience in providing educational, counseling, social, and other necessary services to expelled and other students, and, in the case of nonprofit organizations, its balance sheets and operating statements for the previous five years;
(b) Information regarding the educational background, experience, and qualifications of personnel who will serve on the board of directors and operate the school;
(c) The mission statement of the proposed pilot school;
(d) The goals, objectives, and performance standards to be achieved by the pilot school;
(e) A description of the standards upon which the pilot school will select and admit expelled and at-risk students and determine when an expelled student will be admitted as a residential student;
(f) A description of the pilot school's educational program, student performance standards, curriculum, and student conduct code;
(g) A description of the pilot school's plan for evaluating student performance, the types of assessments that will be used to measure student progress toward achievement of the school's student performance standards, the timeline for achievement of such standards, and the procedures for taking corrective action in the event that student performance at the pilot school falls below such standards;
(h) Evidence that the proposed pilot school is economically sound, a proposed budget for the term of the contract, and a description of the manner in which an annual audit of the financial and administrative operations of the pilot school is to be conducted;
(i) A description of the governance and operation of the pilot school, including the nature and extent of parental, professional educator, social services, and community involvement;
(j) An explanation of the relationship that will exist between the proposed pilot school and its employees;
(k) A description of the insurance that the pilot school will obtain;
(l) A description of how the pilot school plans to meet the residential needs of its students and, if the pilot school plans to provide transportation for students, a plan for addressing their transportation needs;
(m) A description of how the school will assist students in adapting to a public school or other appropriate learning or work environment upon the student's departure from the pilot school;
(n) A description of how the residential pilot schools will transition the student back into the home environment if the student will be returning home;
(o) A description of how the pilot school will involve parents in order to enhance students' performance in the pilot school, including the use of any mutual responsibility contracts authorized pursuant to section 22-38-104 (6);
(p) A description of the pilot school's plan to sponsor periodic meetings, conferences, or training seminars to provide information concerning expelled or at-risk students to personnel in the school district or school districts that represent the geographic area in which the pilot school is located;
(q) Identification of the entity that will evaluate the pilot school as required pursuant to section 22-38-114;
(r) A description of how the pilot school plans to foster an awareness of cultural needs; and
(s) Any other information deemed necessary by the state board.
(2) If accepted, the application shall serve as the basis of a contract between the state board and the applicant.
C.R.S. § 22-38-106 Application process for pilot school contract
22-38-106. Application process for pilot school contract. (1) The state board shall appoint a selection committee to review applications for each of the pilot schools established pursuant to this article 38 and to make recommendations to the state board as to whether a pilot school should be established in an area and which applicant should be selected. The state board shall appoint, as members of or advisors to the committee, members from the county departments of human or social services from each region in which a pilot school is to be established. The committee may also include persons from local school districts, local law enforcement agencies, local probation departments, community-based organizations, parent groups, and any other interested private citizens.
(2) Applications must be filed with the state board by October 1 to be eligible for the award of contracts for operation during the following school year. If the state board finds the pilot school application is incomplete, it shall request the necessary information from the applicant.
(3) After giving reasonable public notice, the state board may hold community meetings in the area where each pilot school is to be located.
(4) The state board shall select applicants for contracts for operation of pilot schools in a public hearing, upon reasonable public notice.
C.R.S. § 22-38-107 Negotiation of pilot school contract
22-38-107. Negotiation of pilot school contract. (1) The state board shall enter into negotiations for a contract to operate a pilot school with each applicant it has selected. The contract shall be for five years' duration, commencing upon the date of its execution, and shall set forth the terms under which the pilot school shall operate. The contract may be renewed for an additional period of up to five years. The contract shall incorporate the pertinent provisions from the application and shall provide for termination for cause. The contract shall reflect all agreements regarding the release of the pilot school from state board policies and state statutes and regulations.
(2) The state board's decisions regarding the award and contents of a contract shall be final and shall not be reviewable by appeal, certiorari, mandamus, injunction, or otherwise.
C.R.S. § 22-38-108 Pilot school contracts - renewal of application - grounds for nonrenewal or revocation
22-38-108. Pilot school contracts - renewal of application - grounds for nonrenewal or revocation. (1) A pilot school renewal application shall be submitted to the state board no later than six months before the expiration of the original contract and shall contain:
(a) A report on the progress of the pilot school in achieving the goals, objectives, student performance standards, content standards, and other terms of the initial approved pilot school application;
(b) A financial statement in a format determined by the state board that discloses the costs of administration, instruction, and other spending categories for the pilot school for each of the years of the contract. Such a statement shall be understandable to the general public and should allow comparison of such costs to other schools or other comparable organizations.
(c) A report on the population of the pilot school that discloses the following:
(I) The ethnic, racial, and gender composition of the school and the ages of the students who have attended the school since its inception;
(II) Disciplinary records of the students, including the dates, reasons, and background for each disciplinary incident;
(III) Records of student contacts with the juvenile or criminal justice systems;
(IV) Data on the dropout or graduation rates of the students;
(V) Information on the attendance of the students; and
(VI) Information on the success of the school in educating expelled students.
(2) A pilot school may be closed or a renewal application may be denied by the state board if the state board determines that the pilot school:
(a) Committed a material violation of any of the conditions, standards, or procedures set forth in the application;
(b) Failed to meet or make reasonable progress toward achievement of the content standards or pupil performance standards identified in the pilot application;
(c) Failed to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management; or
(d) Violated any provision of law from which the pilot school was not specifically exempted.
(3) A decision by the state board to close a pilot school or not to renew a pilot school application is subject to judicial review pursuant to the provisions of the "State Administrative Procedure Act".
C.R.S. § 22-38-109 Pilot school employees
22-38-109. Pilot school employees. (1) Any teacher employed by a school district who becomes a teacher employed by a pilot school shall be deemed to continue to be a teacher within the school district for seniority purposes in the event that teacher returns to that school district.
(2) Employees of a pilot school may elect to become members of the public employees' retirement association or other tax-deferred annuity program, whichever is applicable. If the employee makes an election, the pilot school and the teacher shall contribute amounts as required by the association or program.
(3) Pilot schools may employ as teachers noncertified individuals or persons who do not belong to the collective bargaining group that represents teachers in the place where the school is located. Such persons must be approved by the state board of education.
C.R.S. § 22-38-110 Pilot school evaluation - report
22-38-110. Pilot school evaluation - report. (Repealed)
C.R.S. § 22-38-111 Pilot schools - admission of students
22-38-111. Pilot schools - admission of students. (1) Expelled students and any at-risk students otherwise eligible to attend sixth through ninth grades and under seventeen years of age may voluntarily apply to any pilot school. No student shall be compelled to attend a pilot school. Each pilot school shall devise its own application and admission procedures. An application shall, at a minimum, include:
(a) The name, address, gender, race, ethnicity, and age of the student;
(b) If the student was expelled, the reasons for the expulsion, the date of the expulsion, and the disciplinary record of the student;
(c) Whether the student is applying to be a full-time residential student;
(d) A statement from the student explaining why he or she would benefit from the pilot school program;
(e) Academic records for the prior three years, including classes taken, grades or evaluations received, grade point average, results of any diagnostic testing, and results of standardized tests;
(f) The student's and parent's, guardian's, or legal custodian's consent to submit to drug testing if required by the pilot school;
(g) Information concerning the financial resources and income of the parent or legal guardian of the student consistent with the state board's guidelines promulgated pursuant to section 22-38-104 (7);
(h) Information about the extracurricular activities, sports, hobbies, or out-of-school employment of the student before expulsion; and
(i) Any other application information required by the pilot school to which the student is applying.
(2) Each student is eligible to apply to the pilot school serving the county where the student resides. A student may also apply to any other pilot school that has not filled all of its sixty student slots.
(3) Students admitted to a pilot school may continue to be enrolled at the pilot school after the expiration of any period of expulsion from their original schools. Students of pilot schools who were not originally enrolled as expelled students may continue to be enrolled pursuant to the policies and regulations adopted by the pilot school.
(4) Students enrolled in a pilot school pursuant to this section are in addition to students receiving educational services from the pilot school under an agreement entered into pursuant to section 22-33-203 (2). Students receiving such educational services shall not be subject to the admissions requirements that are applied to enrolling students, but shall be eligible to receive services as provided under the agreement.
C.R.S. § 22-38-112 Discipline and expulsion of students
22-38-112. Discipline and expulsion of students. (1) A pilot school may discipline, suspend, and expel students as provided in article 33 of this title.
(2) Based upon a reasonable belief that a student is using drugs, a pilot school may require a student to submit to drug testing after providing notice to the student's parent, guardian, or legal custodian.
C.R.S. § 22-38-113 Notification requirements
22-38-113. Notification requirements. (1) Within five days of expelling a student, the school district that expelled the student shall:
(a) Notify the student and the student's parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the student's opportunity to apply to a pilot school;
(b) Provide the student's parent, guardian, or legal custodian with a copy of the student's academic and disciplinary records; and
(c) Notify the appropriate pilot school of the student's expulsion.
C.R.S. § 22-38-114 Evaluation
22-38-114. Evaluation. A pilot school shall contract with one or more universities to monitor and track the progress of students in the pilot school.
C.R.S. § 22-38-115 Funding
22-38-115. Funding. (1) The department of education and the department of human services may pursue additional sources of funding for the financing of pilot schools, including but not limited to grants, donations, and contributions from public or private sources and any funds available pursuant to article 20 of this title.
(2) A pilot school may have access to any public or private funding sources available for vocational training, including any funds available pursuant to part 1 of article 8 of title 23.
(3) A pilot school may apply for a grant from the expelled student services grant program as provided in section 22-33-205 to use in providing educational services to expelled students under agreements entered into pursuant to section 22-33-203 (2).
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-22.docxFetched: 10/6/2026