State Board of Education grants Poudre School District exclusive chartering authority
DENVER – During its April meeting, the Colorado State Board of Education granted Poudre School District’s request for exclusive chartering authority to take effect July 1.
In February, Poudre’s Board of Education voted unanimously to seek the authority, which would give it the right to approve or reject any new charter schools seeking authorization within its boundaries.
Per state law, the State Board of Education must hold a public hearing when a school district of more than 3,000 students asks for exclusive chartering authority. Ten charter schools already operate in Poudre School District, and the change in the district’s chartering authority does not affect the authorization of those previously approved schools – half of which are authorized through the district and the other half are authorized through the Colorado Charter School Institute.
The state board on Thursday voted 5-4 to support Poudre’s request.
State board directs continued improvement efforts at Gateway High School
With a unanimous vote, the state board ordered Aurora Public Schools to implement its proposed targeted improvement efforts at Gateway High School under state accountability law after successive years of receiving low performance ratings on the School Performance Framework.
Under the order, Gateway will continue implementing its innovation plan, strengthen its work with TNTP as a partial external manager, and add the Center for High School Success as a partner. TNTP’s work will focus on strengthening data-driven professional learning communities and improving teacher observation and feedback cycles as drivers of instructional change across the school. The Center for High School Success will support the development of stronger attendance routines and systems for ninth-grade students.
CDE staff will continue to monitor Gateway’s progress with site visits each year. If the school continues on performance watch, in spring 2028, the State Review Panel will evaluate the school’s progress and make recommendations to the state board. If Gateway does not improve to at least an “Improvement” rating or higher by that time, the board will hold a hearing to determine next steps. The order will remain in effect until Gateway High School earns a rating of Improvement or higher on the School Performance Framework for two consecutive years.
Board passes revisions to rules for the Educator Recruitment and Retention Program, 1 CCR 301-113
The state board unanimously approved revisions to the rules for the Administration of the Educator Recruitment and Retention (ERR) Program (1 CCR 301-113), to increase the number of people who receive financial assistance toward completion of an educator preparation program by lowering the maximum award from $10,000 to $7,500.
Additionally, the board delayed a vote on proposed rules for the Administration of Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Sustain Funding (1 CCR 301-117) until May, requesting additional language that would include the ability for CDE to monitor local education provider use of the fund and possible additions to qualifying postsecondary credits.
In other action, the state board:
- Voted unanimously to deny an application for certification of a multi-district online school submitted by Education reEnvisioned BOCES on behalf of Colorado Virtual Tech Academy;
- Discussed an upcoming rulemaking hearing for 1 CCR 301-1, Rules for the Administration of Statewide Accountability Measures, for which written feedback is still being accepted;
- Voted to delay the inclusion of new Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness measures in School and District Performance Frameworks until 2028. The state board and CDE may pursue legislative changes to align with this revised implementation timeline next year; and
- Noticed rulemaking for the Rules for the Operation, Maintenance, and Inspection of School Transportation Vehicles and the Colorado Minimum Standards for Governing School Transportation Vehicles.
