Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement

C.R.S. tit. 22, art. 14
in effect

C.R.S. § 22-14-101 Legislative declaration

22-14-101. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly hereby finds that: (a) The state of Colorado has placed a high priority on reducing the number of student dropouts in Colorado, including establishing the goal of decreasing the high school dropout rate by half by the 2017-18 academic year; (b) The Colorado department of education reports that the statewide graduation rate for Colorado high schools for the 2006-07 school year was seventy-five percent, an improvement of nine-tenths of a percentage point over the previous school year; (c) Although the overall graduation rate may have improved, serious gaps continue to exist in the graduation rates among ethnic and economic groups and, overall, twenty-five percent of the high school students in Colorado are not graduating from high school within four years; (d) Students with disabilities also continue to achieve a significantly lower graduation rate than other student groups. The graduation rate for Colorado students with disabilities is sixty-three and seven-tenths percent, compared with a statewide graduation rate of seventy-five percent. (e) According to the 2007 Colorado youth risk behavior survey, approximately one out of ten students did not go to school one or more days in a thirty-day period because they felt unsafe at school or in traveling to or from school. This statistic indicates that, to improve student attendance and graduation rates, schools and school districts must address school safety issues as well as student learning and engagement issues. (f) Studies clearly show that a student's level of education attainment will directly influence the student's level of achievement and success throughout the rest of his or her life; (g) The national center for education statistics reports that, in comparing employment rates and levels of education attainment across the country, in 2005, the unemployment rate for persons who dropped out of high school was seven and six-tenths percent, compared to an overall average unemployment rate for all education levels of four percent; and (h) Studies further show that students who drop out of school are more likely to be involved in crime or delinquency and to lose lifelong opportunities for personal achievement, resulting in economic and social costs to the state. (2) The general assembly therefore concludes that: (a) It is imperative that the department of education create an office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement to provide focus, coordination, research, and leadership to assist local education providers in implementing coordinated efforts to reduce the high school dropout rate and increase the high school graduation and completion rates and the levels of student engagement and re-engagement; (b) To significantly reduce the statewide dropout rate and increase the rates of student engagement and re-engagement, the office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement must also provide leadership in creating and facilitating systemic approaches that involve intersystem collaboration between local education providers and the foster care and child welfare systems, the juvenile justice system, the division of youth services in the department of human services, institutions of higher education, career and technical education providers, adult basic education, general educational development certificate, and English-as-a-second-language programs, offices of workforce development, school-based student support personnel, expanded learning opportunity and family education programs, general educational development programs, and facility schools.

C.R.S. § 22-14-102 Definitions

22-14-102. Definitions. As used in this article 14, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Completion" means a student graduates from high school or receives a certificate or other designation of high school completion such as a general educational development certificate. (2) "Department" means the department of education created and existing pursuant to section 24-1-115, C.R.S. (3) "Dropout prevention" means school and community-based initiatives to promote positive social, emotional, familial, and educational factors that maintain and strengthen student engagement and address barriers and conditions that may lead a student to drop out of school. (4) "Expanded learning opportunity programs" means programs that provide kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade supervised learning activities that may include, but need not be limited to, after-school programs, before-school programs, summer school programs, weekend programs, and extended-day and extended-year programs. (5) "Graduation" means a student meets the locally defined requirements for a high school diploma. (6) "Grant program" means the student re-engagement grant program established in section 22-14-109. (7) "High priority local education provider" means a local education provider that the office identifies pursuant to section 22-14-103 (4) as being most in need of technical assistance and support. (8) "Local education provider" means a school district, a board of cooperative services created pursuant to article 5 of this title, or the state charter school institute created pursuant to section 22-30.5-503. (9) "Office" means the office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement created within the department of education pursuant to section 22-14-103. (10) "Parent" means a student's biological or adoptive parent or the student's legal guardian or legal custodian. (10.5) "Performing arts" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 22-1-104.5 (1)(b). (11) "Priority local education provider" means a local education provider that the office identifies pursuant to section 22-14-103 (4) as being in significant need of technical assistance and support. (12) "State board" means the state board of education created and existing pursuant to section 1 of article IX of the state constitution. (13) "Student engagement" means a student's sense of belonging, safety, and involvement in school that leads to academic achievement, regular school attendance, and graduation. Elements of promoting student engagement include providing rigorous and relevant instruction, creating positive relationships with teachers and counselors, providing social and emotional support services for students and their families, creating partnerships with community organizations and families that foster learning outside of the classroom, and cultivating regular school attendance. (14) "Student graduation and completion plan" means a local education provider's plan, created pursuant to section 22-14-107, for reducing the student dropout rate and increasing the rates of student engagement, re-engagement, graduation, and completion. (15) "Student re-engagement" means that a student reenrolls in high school after dropping out prior to completion. Student re-engagement usually results from a local education provider's use of evidence- or research-based strategies to reach out to students who have dropped out of school and to assist them in transitioning back into school and obtaining their high school diplomas or otherwise completing high school. (16) "Student support personnel" means a state-licensed or state-certified school counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, or school nurse, or other state-licensed or state-certified mental health professional qualified under state law to provide support services to children and adolescents. (17) "Visual arts" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 22-1-104.5 (1)(c). ol. (16) "Student support personnel" means a state-licensed or state-certified school counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, or school nurse, or other state-licensed or state-certified mental health professional qualified under state law to provide support services to children and adolescents. (17) "Visual arts" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 22-1-104.5 (1)(c). (18) "Work-based learning" has the same meaning as set forth in section 8-83-601 (15).

C.R.S. § 22-14-103 Office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement - created - purpose - duties

22-14-103. Office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement - created - purpose - duties. (1) (a) There is hereby created within the department of education the office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement. The head of the office shall be the director of the office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement and shall be appointed by the commissioner of education in accordance with section 13 of article XII of the state constitution. The office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement shall consist of the director and an assistant director who shall be appointed by the director. The commissioner may assign or otherwise direct other personnel within the department to assist the director and assistant director in meeting the responsibilities of the office. (b) The office of dropout prevention and student re-engagement and the director of the office are type 2 entities, as defined in section 24-1-105, and exercise their powers and perform their duties and functions under the department of education, the commissioner of education, and the state board of education. (c) The department is strongly encouraged to direct, to the extent possible, any increases in the amount of federal moneys received by the department for programs under Title I, part A of the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965", 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq., programs under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act", 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400, et seq., or other federal programs to assist in funding the activities of the office as specified in this article. (d) The department shall seek and may accept and expend gifts, grants, and donations from public or private entities to fund the operations of the office, including the personnel for the office and execution of the duties and responsibilities specified in this article. Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, the department is not required to implement the provisions of this article until such time as the department has received an amount in gifts, grants, and donations from public or private entities that the department deems sufficient to adequately fund the operations of the office. (2) The office shall collaborate with local education providers to reduce the statewide and local student dropout rates and to increase the statewide and local graduation and completion rates in accordance with the goals specified in section 22-14-101. To accomplish this purpose, the office shall assist local education providers in: (a) Analyzing student data pertaining to student dropout rates, graduation rates, completion rates, mobility rates, truancy rates, suspension and expulsion rates, safety or discipline incidences, and student academic growth data at the state and local levels; and (b) Creating and evaluating student graduation and completion plans. (3) To accomplish the purposes specified in subsection (2) of this section, the office shall also: (a) Review state policies and assist local education providers in reviewing their policies pertaining to attendance, truancy, disciplinary actions under the local education provider's code of conduct, behavioral expectations, dropout prevention, and student engagement and re-engagement to identify effective strategies for and barriers to reducing the student dropout rates and increasing student engagement and re-engagement within the state; (b) Identify and recommend, as provided in section 22-14-104, best practices and effective strategies to reduce student dropout rates and increase student engagement and re-engagement; out prevention, and student engagement and re-engagement to identify effective strategies for and barriers to reducing the student dropout rates and increasing student engagement and re-engagement within the state; (b) Identify and recommend, as provided in section 22-14-104, best practices and effective strategies to reduce student dropout rates and increase student engagement and re-engagement; (c) Develop interagency agreements and otherwise cooperate with other state and federal agencies and with private, nonprofit agencies to collect and review student data and develop and recommend methods for reducing student dropout rates and increasing student engagement and re-engagement. The office shall, to the extent possible, collaborate with, at a minimum: (I) Career and technical education providers; (II) General educational development service providers; (III) The prevention services division in the department of public health and environment; (IV) The division of youth services and other agencies within the juvenile justice system; (V) The department of corrections; (VI) The judicial department; (VII) Institutions of higher education; (VIII) Offices of workforce development; (IX) Expanded learning opportunity and family education programs; (X) Adult basic education and English-as-a-second-language programs; (XI) Organizations that provide services for pregnant and parenting teens and students with special health and education needs; (XII) Agencies and nonprofit organizations within the child welfare system; (XIII) Private, nonprofit organizations that provide services for homeless families and youth; and (XIV) Private nonprofit or for-profit community arts organizations that work in either visual arts or performing arts; (d) Solicit public and private gifts, grants, and donations to assist in the implementation of this article; and (e) Evaluate the effectiveness of local education providers' efforts in reducing the statewide student dropout rate and increasing the statewide graduation and completion rates and to report progress in implementing the provisions of this article. (4) (a) The office shall collaborate with other divisions within the department to identify annually through the accreditation process those local education providers that do not meet their established graduation and completion rate expectations. Of those local education providers identified, the office shall use criteria adopted by rule of the state board to determine: (I) Which local education providers are most in need of improvement and assistance and shall recognize said local education providers as high priority local education providers; and (II) Which local education providers are in significant need of improvement and assistance and shall recognize said local education providers as priority local education providers. (b) The office shall provide technical assistance to each high priority local education provider and to priority local education providers as provided in this article. (5) In addition to the assistance specified in sections 22-14-106 (3) and 22-14-107 (5), the office shall provide technical assistance in the areas of dropout prevention and student engagement and re-engagement to the high priority local education providers and, to the extent practicable within existing resources, to priority local education providers. Technical assistance may include, but need not be limited to: (a) Training in implementing identified, effective, research-based strategies for dropout prevention and student engagement and re-engagement; (b) Assistance in estimating the cost of implementing the identified strategies in the schools operated or approved by the high priority or priority local education provider and analyzing the cost-effectiveness of the strategies; t need not be limited to: (a) Training in implementing identified, effective, research-based strategies for dropout prevention and student engagement and re-engagement; (b) Assistance in estimating the cost of implementing the identified strategies in the schools operated or approved by the high priority or priority local education provider and analyzing the cost-effectiveness of the strategies; (c) Identification and recommendation of effective approaches applied by other Colorado local education providers that may be similarly situated to the high priority or priority local education provider.

C.R.S. § 22-14-104 Report of effective policies and strategies - creation - use

22-14-104. Report of effective policies and strategies - creation - use. (1) On or before December 31, 2009, the office shall review the existing research and data from this state and other states and compile a report of effective dropout prevention and student engagement and re-engagement policies and strategies implemented by local education providers within this state and in other states. The office may use the findings and recommendations in the report to provide technical assistance to high priority and priority local education providers, to assist high priority and priority local education providers in creating student graduation and completion plans, and to recommend to the state board and the general assembly state policies concerning dropout prevention and student engagement and re-engagement. High priority and priority local education providers may use the report to review their policies, to formulate new policies and strategies, and to create and evaluate their student graduation and completion plans. (2) In preparing the report of effective policies and strategies, the office, at a minimum, shall consult, share information, and coordinate efforts with: (a) The governor's office; (b) The P-20 education coordinating council appointed by the governor pursuant to executive order B 003 07; (c) Local education providers within Colorado that have maintained low student dropout rates and high rates of student engagement and re-engagement in previous years; (d) State and national experts in dropout rate reduction and student engagement and re-engagement strategies who are knowledgeable about successful policies and practices from other states and local governments in other states; and (e) Federal government officials who administer dropout rate reduction and student engagement and re-engagement initiatives and programs. (3) The office shall periodically review and revise the report of effective policies and strategies as necessary to maintain the report's relevance and applicability. The office shall post the initial report of effective strategies and subsequent revisions on the department's website.

C.R.S. § 22-14-105 Assessment of statewide student attendance data - report

22-14-105. Assessment of statewide student attendance data - report. Beginning in the 2009-10 academic year, the office, with assistance from other divisions within the department, shall annually analyze data collected by the department from local education providers throughout the state concerning student attendance and the implementation of school attendance policies and practices and shall assess the overall incidence, causes, and effects of student dropout, engagement, and re-engagement in Colorado. On or before February 15, 2010, and on or before February 15 each year thereafter, the office shall provide to local education providers, the state board, the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees, and the governor's office the assessment and any recommended strategies to address student dropout, engagement, and re-engagement in Colorado. The office may combine this assessment and recommendation with the report required by section 22-14-111.

C.R.S. § 22-14-106 Local education provider practices assessment - technical assistance - rules

22-14-106. Local education provider practices assessment - technical assistance - rules. (1) (a) Each high priority and priority local education provider shall conduct a practices assessment as described in subsection (2) of this section. Each high priority and priority local education provider's practices assessment shall consider community partnerships with state and local government agencies and community-based organizations and current practices and policies as they relate to different types of dropout students or students at risk of dropping out. (b) Each high priority local education provider shall complete its initial practices assessment no later than June 30, 2010. Each priority local education provider shall complete its initial practices assessment no later than June 30, 2011. Following completion of the initial practices assessment, each high priority and priority local education provider shall review and update the practices assessment in accordance with timelines adopted by rule of the state board. (c) Each local education provider that is not a high priority or priority local education provider is encouraged to conduct a practices assessment and to periodically review and update the practices assessment. A local education provider that chooses to conduct a practices assessment pursuant to this paragraph (c) shall comply with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section. (d) If a high priority or priority local education provider has authorized one or more existing charter schools pursuant to article 30.5 of this title, each charter school shall conduct its own practices assessment in accordance with the deadlines specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) and submit the assessment to the department pursuant to subsection (4) of this section. A practices assessment conducted by a charter school shall conform to the requirements specified in subsection (2) of this section. (2) Each practices assessment, at a minimum, must address the high priority or priority local education provider's: (a) Attendance and truancy reporting and enforcement policies and definitions; (b) Risk factors and remedies applicable to students who are failing one or more courses, have experienced traumatic life events, or have lost academic interest or motivation and to students whose presence or actions are perceived to be detrimental to other students; (c) Interaction with the judicial system in enforcing compulsory school attendance; (d) Interaction with the juvenile justice system in: (I) Assisting in administering juvenile diversion programs and coordinating supports for all students transitioning out of the juvenile justice system to aid in the continuation of the students' education, especially for those students involved in the juvenile justice system as a result of school-related violations of the local education provider's code of conduct or crimes committed on school property; and (II) Coordinating with juvenile probation officers regarding school-related conditions of probation; (e) Coordination with child welfare services, including but not limited to county departments of human or social services, facility schools, and other youth services providers; (f) Grading policies; (g) Policies for grade repetition and remediation; (g.5) Practices relating to visual arts and performing arts education, including but not limited to the availability of courses in visual arts and performing arts, requirements for obtaining visual arts or performing arts course credits, the availability of extracurricular activities that involve visual arts or performing arts, and the high priority or priority local education provider's relationships with nonprofit or for-profit community arts organizations; (h) Course completion requirements and policies; and of courses in visual arts and performing arts, requirements for obtaining visual arts or performing arts course credits, the availability of extracurricular activities that involve visual arts or performing arts, and the high priority or priority local education provider's relationships with nonprofit or for-profit community arts organizations; (h) Course completion requirements and policies; and (i) Policies and practices relating to: (I) The use of individual career and academic plans; (II) Addressing ethnicity, language, and cultural barriers between students' homes and school; (III) English-language acquisition; (IV) Student acquisition of behavioral, social, and emotional skills; (V) Students' health-care needs; (VI) Alternative and flexible educational strategies; (VII) Family involvement and family support services; (VIII) Expanded learning opportunity programs; (IX) Staff development in implementing evidence-based strategies; (X) Innovations to address barriers to school engagement and success; (XI) Outreach services to re-engage students who drop out of school; and (XII) Review and analysis of data regarding dropout rates, graduation rates, school completion rates, truancy rates, the number of students who are habitually truant, suspension rates, and expulsion rates. (3) The office shall provide technical assistance to high priority local education providers to assist them in completing their practices assessments. The office may provide technical assistance to priority local education providers as allowable within available appropriations. In addition, at the request of a high priority or priority local education provider and to the extent practicable within available resources, the office shall provide a template, which includes any student data that is pertinent to the high priority or priority local education provider and to which the office has access, to assist the high priority or priority local education provider in preparing its practices assessment. (4) Upon completing its practices assessment or any updates to the assessment, each high priority and priority local education provider shall transmit the assessment to the department for publication on the internet.

C.R.S. § 22-14-107 Student graduation and completion plans - adoption - evaluation

22-14-107. Student graduation and completion plans - adoption - evaluation. (1) (a) Based on the completed practices assessment, by a date specified by rule of the state board, but not later than October 1, 2010, each high priority local education provider shall adopt a student graduation and completion plan for the schools operated or approved by the high priority local education provider. Each priority local education provider shall adopt a student graduation and completion plan by a date specified by rule of the state board, but not later than October 1, 2011. Following adoption of the initial student graduation and completion plan, each high priority and priority local education provider shall review and update the student graduation and completion plan in accordance with timelines adopted by rule of the state board. In setting the dates for adoption of the initial student graduation and completion plans and the timelines for reviewing and updating the student graduation and completion plans, the state board shall ensure that the dates coincide with the dates by which each local education provider is required to adopt the plan required by its accreditation category or its annual performance review. (b) Each local education provider that is not a high priority or priority local education provider is encouraged to adopt a student graduation and completion plan and to periodically review and update the plan. A local education provider that chooses to adopt a student graduation and completion plan pursuant to this paragraph (b) shall comply with the provisions of subsection (6) of this section. (c) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) to the contrary, if a high priority or priority local education provider has authorized one or more existing charter high schools pursuant to article 30.5 of this title, each charter high school shall adopt its own student graduation and completion plan in accordance with the deadlines specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) and submit the plan to the department pursuant to subsection (6) of this section. A student graduation and completion plan adopted by a charter high school shall conform to the requirements specified in subsection (2) of this section. (2) At a minimum, each high priority and priority local education provider's student graduation and completion plan shall include: (a) The percentage by which the high priority or priority local education provider anticipates reducing the student truancy rate and dropout rate and the timeline for achieving the reductions; (b) The percentage by which the high priority or priority local education provider anticipates increasing the student attendance, graduation, and completion rates and the timeline for achieving the increases; (c) Other objectives that the high priority or priority local education provider identifies that are designed to result in improved dropout prevention, improved student attendance, and improved student engagement and re-engagement within the schools operated or approved by the high priority or priority local education provider; (d) The manner in which the high priority or priority local education provider will measure success in achieving the goals and objectives of the student graduation and completion plan; (e) The manner in which school staff and parents will work together to address the risk factors and remedies for students; and chools operated or approved by the high priority or priority local education provider; (d) The manner in which the high priority or priority local education provider will measure success in achieving the goals and objectives of the student graduation and completion plan; (e) The manner in which school staff and parents will work together to address the risk factors and remedies for students; and (f) A description of the supports that the high priority or priority local education provider will provide to a student who leaves a public school prior to graduation or completion, which supports, at a minimum, shall include an explanation of the educational alternatives available to the student to assist him or her in re-engaging in school and other information to assist with his or her transition into other educational settings, including but not limited to an adult basic education, general educational development, or English-as-a-second-language program, or into the workforce or job training. (3) In designing its student graduation and completion plan, each high priority or priority local education provider is encouraged to: (a) Include a variety of innovative dropout reduction efforts in the plan, including new schools and programs that provide educational environments that are specifically designed to promote student re-engagement, including policies and programs that create alternative pathways to high school graduation; (a.5) Expand the availability of visual arts and performing arts courses and opportunities through the regular school curriculum and through increased access to extracurricular activities, including but not limited to entering into agreements with nonprofit or for-profit community arts organizations to provide expanded visual arts and performing arts educational programs; and (b) Review existing supports and resources that the high priority or priority local education provider may leverage to support implementation of the plan, including but not limited to grants for expelled and at-risk student services available pursuant to section 22-33-205, grants available through the school counselor corps grant program created in article 91 of this title, assistance available through the closing the achievement gap program pursuant to section 22-7-611, and federal moneys available pursuant to the "Safe and Drug-free Schools and Communities Act", 20 U.S.C. sec. 7101 et seq. (4) Each high priority or priority local education provider, in adopting its student graduation and completion plan, shall also adopt a process by which annually to review and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan. Each high priority or priority local education provider that is a school district shall include its practices assessment and its student graduation and completion plan with the plan the school district is required to adopt based on its accreditation category. (5) The office shall provide technical assistance to high priority local education providers to assist them in completing their student graduation and completion plans. The office may provide technical assistance to priority local education providers as allowable within available appropriations. (6) Upon adopting its student graduation and completion plan or any updates to the plan, each high priority or priority local education provider shall transmit the plan to the department for publication on the internet. ting their student graduation and completion plans. The office may provide technical assistance to priority local education providers as allowable within available appropriations. (6) Upon adopting its student graduation and completion plan or any updates to the plan, each high priority or priority local education provider shall transmit the plan to the department for publication on the internet. (7) (a) Beginning in the 2011-12 academic year, the office shall annually evaluate each high priority local education provider's student graduation and completion plan as part of the accreditation review process. The office shall evaluate the components of each student graduation and completion plan, the high priority local education provider's implementation of the plan, and the results achieved. In evaluating the student graduation and completion plans, the office shall generally ensure that the high priority local education provider applies best practices and strategies and employs rigorous ongoing program evaluation and oversight in implementing the plan. On completion of the evaluation, the office may provide recommendations to the high priority local education provider concerning improvements in the plan design and implementation. (b) The office may evaluate, as described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (7), the student graduation and completion plans of priority local education providers as allowable within available appropriations.

C.R.S. § 22-14-108 Local education provider - notice to parent of dropout status

22-14-108. Local education provider - notice to parent of dropout status. (1) Each local education provider shall adopt and implement policies and procedures pursuant to which the local education provider or the public school in which the student was enrolled shall notify a student's parent if the student drops out of school, even if the student is not subject to the compulsory attendance requirement specified in section 22-33-104. The local education provider shall develop the policies and procedures with the goal of encouraging the student to re-enroll in school and of conveying to the student's parent the long-term ramifications to the student of dropping out of school. (2) At a minimum, the policies and procedures shall specify the time frames by which the local education provider or the public school in which the student was enrolled shall notify the student and his or her parent and shall require the personnel at the public school to attempt to meet in person with the student and his or her parent. (3) At a minimum, the notice shall include written notification of the student's dropout status and an explanation of the educational alternatives available to the student to assist him or her in re-engaging in school.

C.R.S. § 22-14-109 Student re-engagement grant program - rules - application - grants - report

22-14-109. Student re-engagement grant program - rules - application - grants - report. (1) There is hereby created within the department the student re-engagement grant program to provide grant money to local education providers to use in providing educational services and supports, including work-based learning, to students to maintain student engagement and support student re-engagement in high school. Subject to available appropriations, the state board shall award student re-engagement grants to local education providers from money appropriated pursuant to subsection (4) of this section. (2) The state board shall adopt rules pursuant to the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., for implementing the grant program. At a minimum, the rules shall include: (a) Timelines and procedures by which a local education provider may apply for a grant; (b) The information to be included on grant applications, including at a minimum: (I) The local education provider's plan for providing educational services, including social and emotional support services; (II) A description of the services to be provided; (III) The estimated cost of providing the services; (IV) The criteria the local education provider will apply to measure the effectiveness of the services provided; and (V) A description of the local education provider's policies and practices related to: (A) Course completion and credit recovery; (B) Attendance and behavior improvements; (C) Alternative and flexible learning strategies; (D) Safe and welcoming school environments; (E) Student social and emotional supports; (F) Family engagement and family support strategies; (G) Staff development; (H) Innovations to address barriers to school engagement and success; (I) Transference of student records to and receipt of student records from other local education providers; and (J) Student participation in and the availability of visual arts and performing arts education. (3) Each local education provider that seeks to receive a grant pursuant to this section shall submit an application to the department in accordance with the rules adopted by the state board. The department shall review the grant applications received and recommend grant recipients and grant amounts to the state board. The state board shall annually award grants through the grant program based on the department's recommendations. (4) The general assembly may annually appropriate money to the department to implement the student re-engagement grant program created in this section, including money from the marijuana tax cash fund created in section 39-28.8-501. In addition, the department may accept and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of the program; except that the department may not accept a gift, grant, or donation if it is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with this article 14 or any other law of the state. (5) (a) On or before February 15, 2011, and on or before February 15 each year thereafter, the department shall evaluate the student re-engagement services provided by each local education provider that received a grant pursuant to this section in the preceding fiscal year; except that the department need not provide an evaluation for any fiscal year in which grants were not awarded. At a minimum, the department shall review: (I) The outcomes and effectiveness of the services provided as measured by the demonstrated degree of student re-engagement; (II) The academic growth of students who received services as a result of the grant, to the extent the information is available; (III) The reduction in the dropout rate; and (IV) The increase in the graduation and completion rates for the grant recipients' schools. view: (I) The outcomes and effectiveness of the services provided as measured by the demonstrated degree of student re-engagement; (II) The academic growth of students who received services as a result of the grant, to the extent the information is available; (III) The reduction in the dropout rate; and (IV) The increase in the graduation and completion rates for the grant recipients' schools. (b) The department shall report the evaluation results to the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees, in conjunction with the report submitted pursuant to section 22-14-111.

C.R.S. § 22-14-109.5 Ninth-grade success grant program - created - criteria - use of grant money - appropriation - report - rules - definitions - repeal

22-14-109.5. Ninth-grade success grant program - created - criteria - use of grant money - appropriation - report - rules - definitions - repeal. (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Charter school" means a charter school authorized by a school district pursuant to part 1 of article 30.5 of this title 22 or an institute charter school authorized by the state charter school institute pursuant to part 5 of article 30.5 of this title 22. (b) "Program" means the ninth-grade success grant program created in this section. (c) "Small rural school district" means a school district in Colorado that the department determines is rural based on the geographic size of the school district and the distance of the school district from the nearest large, urbanized area, and that enrolls fewer than one thousand students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. (d) "Student group" has the same meaning as provided in section 22-11-103. (e) "Success team" means a cross-disciplinary team of ninth-grade teachers and support staff as described in subsection (5) of this section. (2) (a) There is created in the department the ninth-grade success grant program to provide funding to local education providers and charter schools to implement a ninth-grade success program, as described in subsection (5) of this section, to assist students enrolled in ninth grade to develop the skills they need to successfully persist to high school graduation and succeed in their education and professional careers. (b) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, an alternative education campus designated pursuant to section 22-7-604.5 may not apply for or receive money or services through a grant awarded pursuant to this section. (3) (a) A local education provider or charter school that serves students enrolled in grades nine through twelve and that chooses to apply for a grant through the program must submit a grant application to the department in accordance with rules adopted by the state board. A local education provider or charter school that is selected to receive a grant must, as a condition of accepting the grant, provide a grant match, which may include in-kind contributions, in an amount set by the state board, which amount must not exceed: (I) Fifteen percent of the grant amount for a local education provider that is a small rural school district or for a charter school; and (II) Twenty-five percent of the grant amount for all other local education providers. (b) A grant application at a minimum must include: (I) The applicant's four-year graduation rate for the three preceding school years; (II) Whether the applicant has a data system that allows school leaders and teachers real-time access to integrated data concerning a student's behavior, attendance, and grades and allows comparison of the data across demographic categories and student groups; (III) For a local education provider, designation of the schools in which the local education provider will use the grant money to implement ninth-grade success teams; (IV) Indication of the applicant's ability to provide the required grant match and any type and value of in-kind contribution that the applicant may provide; and (V) Any additional information required by rule of the state board that assists the department in determining the likelihood that, in implementing the success teams, the applicant will be successful in improving the success of students enrolled in ninth grade. applicant's ability to provide the required grant match and any type and value of in-kind contribution that the applicant may provide; and (V) Any additional information required by rule of the state board that assists the department in determining the likelihood that, in implementing the success teams, the applicant will be successful in improving the success of students enrolled in ninth grade. (4) (a) The department shall review each of the applications received pursuant to this section and recommend to the state board applicants to receive grants and the amount, duration, and grant match amount of each recommended grant. Beginning in the 2019-20 budget year, the state board, subject to available appropriations, shall award the grants, taking into consideration the recommendations of the department. In awarding a grant, the state board shall specify the amount and duration of the grant and the amount of the grant match, including any type of in-kind contribution, that the grant recipient must provide. (b) The department and the state board, in recommending and awarding grants, shall prioritize applicants that: (I) Have a four-year graduation rate that, over the preceding three school years, has consistently ranked within the lowest twenty percent of the four-year graduation rates for public high schools in the state; (II) Propose programming focused on evidence-informed, as defined in section 22-2-146.6, mathematics skills, intervention strategies, and acceleration strategies, including a focus on students who are below grade level or struggling in mathematics; and (III) Have academic achievement levels in mathematics that are consistently ranked the lowest for public high schools in the state, as determined by the department. (c) To the extent practicable, the state board shall also ensure that the grant recipients vary in student population size and are located in urban, suburban, and rural areas throughout the state. (d) The department shall not use more than eight percent of state funds to administer the grant program. (5) A local education provider or charter school that receives a grant through the program must use the grant money to implement a ninth-grade success program that, at a minimum, must include the following elements: (a) (I) Creating and implementing a cross-disciplinary success team of ninth-grade teachers and support staff, which must include at least one school counselor, school mental health professional, or school social worker. To the extent practicable, a success team must include all of the ninth-grade teachers who teach core courses, as defined in section 22-11-503.5. The local education provider or charter school shall designate a member of the success team to serve as the success team leader and reduce the team leader's workload to a level that allows the team leader sufficient time to complete the leadership duties, which include team logistics, preparing team meeting agendas, and facilitating team meetings. (II) The success team must meet at least every two weeks, to the extent practicable, throughout the school year to collaborate on identifying and implementing strategies to improve outcomes for ninth-grade students who are found to be at risk of dropping out of school before graduation and to address systems-level barriers to success for all ninth-grade students. The strategies must be informed by data concerning, at a minimum, ninth-grade students' behavior, attendance, and grades across demographic categories and student groups. The local education provider or charter school shall allow success team members time during the work day for planning and collaboration or provide incentives to meet outside of the work day. (b) Organizing the school staff to ensure that, to the extent practicable, the ninth-grade classes are taught by a single group of teachers who teach only or mostly ninth-grade classes; es and student groups. The local education provider or charter school shall allow success team members time during the work day for planning and collaboration or provide incentives to meet outside of the work day. (b) Organizing the school staff to ensure that, to the extent practicable, the ninth-grade classes are taught by a single group of teachers who teach only or mostly ninth-grade classes; (c) Implementing a data system that provides real-time access to integrated data concerning a student's behavior, attendance, and grades and provides the ability to compare the data across demographic categories and student groups; (d) Identifying and prioritizing services, such as work-based learning, for ninth-grade students who are at risk of academic failure in ninth grade; (e) Providing instructional support for ninth-grade students including attendance support, content-specific academic interventions, tutoring, course-completion programs, social-emotional learning, and trauma-informed instruction; (f) Ensuring that school leadership, guidance counselors, and key members of the success team receive and review data on all incoming ninth-grade students and plan course work and supports for the students based on the data received; (g) Ensuring that all ninth-grade teachers receive data concerning the incoming ninth-grade students before the start of the school year and receive professional development concerning how to use the data to inform instruction for the students. To the extent possible, the local education provider or charter school shall ensure that middle school teachers provide information to ninth-grade teachers concerning the incoming ninth-grade students. (h) Providing summer orientation for incoming ninth-grade students and their parents to introduce students to the behavioral and academic expectations of high school; and (i) Evaluating with rigor the impact of the interventions provided through the ninth-grade success program on student attendance, behavior, course completion, academic results, discipline rates, teacher surveys, student surveys, dropout rates, and graduation rates as the information becomes available for ninth-grade students who receive interventions through the program. (6) The general assembly may annually appropriate money to the department to implement the program, including money from the marijuana tax cash fund created in section 39-28.8-501. In addition, the department may accept and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of the program; except that the department may not accept a gift, grant, or donation if it is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with this article or any other law of the state. (7) (a) Each local education provider and charter school that receives a grant through the program shall submit to the department, in accordance with the reporting timelines specified in rules of the state board, information concerning the implementation of the ninth-grade success program and the evaluation of the impact, as described in subsection (5)(i) of this section, in total and disaggregated by student group. The department shall specify the information to be reported to enable the department to prepare the report required in subsection (7)(b) of this section. specified in rules of the state board, information concerning the implementation of the ninth-grade success program and the evaluation of the impact, as described in subsection (5)(i) of this section, in total and disaggregated by student group. The department shall specify the information to be reported to enable the department to prepare the report required in subsection (7)(b) of this section. (b) On or before March 15, 2022, and on or before March 15 each year thereafter, the department shall prepare and submit to the state board and to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees, a report of the ninth-grade success programs implemented using grants received through the program. At a minimum, the report shall: (I) Specify the grant recipients and the amount and duration of the grants awarded; (II) Describe the ninth-grade success programs that are implemented using the grant money; and (III) Provide a summary of the evaluations of the impact of the interventions provided through the ninth-grade success programs, as described in subsection (5)(i) of this section, in total and disaggregated by student group. (c) Notwithstanding the requirement in section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the report required in subsection (7)(b) of this section continues indefinitely. (7.5) For the 2023-24 budget year, the general assembly shall appropriate one million six hundred thousand dollars from the general fund to the department for purposes of the program. (7.7) (a) For the 2024-25 state fiscal year through the 2027-28 state fiscal year, the general assembly shall annually appropriate two million dollars from the state education fund to the department for purposes of this section. (b) The general assembly declares that for the purposes of section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution, providing funding to the department for the purposes of the ninth-grade success grant program is an accountable program to meet state academic standards, and therefore the department may receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution for this purpose. (c) (I) Any one-time technology-associated costs in fiscal year 2024-25 are exempt from the administrative cap pursuant to subsection (4) of this section. (II) This subsection (7.7)(c) is repealed, effective January 1, 2026. (8) Repealed.

C.R.S. § 22-14-110 State board - rules

22-14-110. State board - rules. (1) The state board shall promulgate, pursuant to the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article 4 of title 24, such rules as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this article 14. At a minimum, the rules must include: (a) The rules required pursuant to section 22-14-103 (4) to establish criteria for identifying high priority and priority local education providers; (b) The rules required pursuant to section 22-14-109 for the student re-engagement grant program; (b.5) The rules required pursuant to section 22-14-109.5 for the ninth-grade success grant program; and (c) Rules to define and calculate the following rates: (I) The student dropout rate; (II) The graduation rate; (III) The completion rate; (IV) The student re-engagement rate; (V) The truancy rate; (VI) The student mobility rate; (VII) The student suspension rate; and (VIII) The student expulsion rate. (2) To the extent the state board, as of May 21, 2009, has already promulgated any of the rules specified in subsection (1) of this section, the state board shall review said rules and determine whether they should be revised based on the provisions of this article.

C.R.S. § 22-14-111 Report to general assembly, state board, and governor - exception to three-year expiration

22-14-111. Report to general assembly, state board, and governor - exception to three-year expiration. (1) On or before February 15, 2010, through February 15, 2016, and on or before March 15, 2017, and on or before March 15 each year thereafter, the office shall submit to the state board, to the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees, and to the governor a report making state policy findings and recommendations to reduce the student dropout rate and increase the student graduation and completion rates. At a minimum, in preparing the findings and recommendations, the office shall: (a) Consider which state statutes and rules may be appropriately amended to provide incentives and support for and remove barriers to reducing the student dropout rate and increasing the student graduation and completion rates, including but not limited to statutes and rules pertaining to funding for local education providers' operating costs, funding for categorical programs, and truancy; (b) Consider research-based dropout prevention and student engagement and re-engagement strategies; (c) Determine the amount of state moneys spent on reducing the dropout rates in schools operated or approved by local education providers in the preceding fiscal year and determine the effects of those expenditures; and (d) Consult with the persons specified in section 22-14-104 (2). (2) Beginning with the report submitted pursuant to this section on February 15, 2012, the office shall add to the report a summary of the actions taken by local education providers statewide to reduce the student dropout rate and increase the graduation and completion rates and the progress made in achieving these goals. At a minimum, the summary shall include: (a) A summary and evaluation of the student graduation and completion plans adopted by the local education providers; (b) A list of the local education providers whose schools have experienced the greatest decrease in student dropout rates and the greatest increase in student graduation and completion rates in the state in the preceding academic year; (c) Identification of local education providers and public schools that are achieving the goals and objectives specified in their student graduation and completion plans and those that are not achieving their goals and objectives; (d) Explanation of the actions taken and strategies implemented by the local education providers with the highest student dropout rates to reduce those rates and by the local education providers with the lowest student graduation and completion rates to increase those rates; (e) Identification of the local education providers that have demonstrated the greatest improvement in reducing their student dropout rates and increasing their student graduation and completion rates and descriptions of the actions taken and strategies implemented by the local education providers operating or approving these schools to achieve these improvements; and tes to increase those rates; (e) Identification of the local education providers that have demonstrated the greatest improvement in reducing their student dropout rates and increasing their student graduation and completion rates and descriptions of the actions taken and strategies implemented by the local education providers operating or approving these schools to achieve these improvements; and (f) An evaluation of the overall progress across the state in meeting the goals specified in section 22-14-101 for reducing the student dropout rate and increasing the student graduation and completion rates. (2.5) (a) Beginning with the report submitted pursuant to this section on March 15, 2026, the office shall include information regarding ninth-grade performance. At a minimum, the following measures must be included: (I) For each public school that serves the ninth grade, the number and percentage of first-time ninth-grade students who at the end of the school year have not earned at least four core credits or have failed one or more core credits, reported for the school in total and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, English language learner status, and whether or not the student has an individualized education program; (II) For each school district, the number and percentage of first-time ninth-grade students who at the end of the school year have not earned at least four core credits or have failed one or more core credits, reported for the school district in total and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, English language learner status, and whether or not the student has an individualized education program; (III) For the charter school institute, the number and percentage of first-time ninth-grade students who at the end of the school year have not earned at least four core credits or have failed one or more core credits, reported for the charter school institute in total and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, English language learner status, and whether or not the student has an individualized education program; and (IV) For the state as a whole, the number and percentage of first-time ninth-grade students who at the end of the school year have not earned at least four core credits or have failed one or more core credits, reported for the state as a whole in total and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, English language learner status, and whether or not the student has an individualized education program. (b) In performing their duties pursuant to this subsection (2.5), the department, the office, each school district, the charter school institute, and each public school shall comply with the federal and state laws regarding privacy, including the federal "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Rights Act of 1974", 20 U.S.C. sec. 1232g, as amended, and its implementing regulations, and the "Student Data Transparency and Security Act" created pursuant to article 16 of this title 22, as amended, and its implementing rules. (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 24-1-136 (11), C.R.S., the reporting requirements specified in this article shall not expire but shall continue to be required until repealed by the general assembly.
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