Garfield Re-2 Policies

LBD

Relations with District Charter Schools

The Board of Education supports efforts by parents/guardians, teachers or other interested persons or organizations interested in establishing district charter schools within the district.  In accordance with state law, district charter schools are intended to:

• Expand learning opportunities for all students

• Encourage diverse approaches to learning through the use of different, innovative, research-based, or proven teaching methods

• Provide parents/guardians and students with expanded choices in the types of educational opportunities that are available within the public school system

• Encourage parental and community involvement with public schools

A district charter school is a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious, non-home-based school that operates within the school district and is accountable to the district’s Board of Education.  It 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, marital status, national origin, religion, ancestry, age, genetic information need for special education services., or conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. A district charter school has standing to sue and be sued in its own name for the enforcement of any contract it is authorized by law to enter into.

Enrollment is open to any child who resides within the school district or in contiguous school districts and who meets the criteria in the district charter application.  However, no district charter school is required to make alterations in the structure of its facility or the arrangement or function of rooms within the facility except as may be required by state or federal law.  The majority of the district charter school’s students, other than online students, must reside in the school district or in contiguous school districts.  Students participating in any online program offered by the district charter school are not required to reside in the district or contiguous districts and there is no restriction on the number of online students that may enroll in any online program offered by the district charter school.  A district charter school will not charge tuition except as otherwise provided by law.

Each district charter school is governed by its own governing body in a manner agreed to by the district charter school applicant and the Board.  An approved district charter application will serve as the basis for negotiating a contract between the district charter school and the district.  The contract must reflect all agreements between the district and the district charter school, including the waiver of local district policies and the waiver of statutory requirements or rules by the State Board of Education.

A district charter school must comply with all the state financial and budget rules, regulations, and financial reporting requirements with which the school district is required to comply.

A district charter school is responsible for its own operation, including but not limited to the preparation of a budget, contracting for services, and personnel matters.  Services for which a district charter school contracts with the school district will negotiated and provided at district cost.  No rent shall be charged for use of district facilities, which may be available for the district charter school.  Any moneys received by a district charter school from any source that remains at the end of any budget year will remain in the district charter school account for use by the district charter school in subsequent years.  

A district charter school may offer any educational program that may be offered by a school district, including an online program unless expressly prohibited by its district charter or by state law.  

The Board encourages district charter applicants to develop an educational program to serve the needs of students considered “at-risk” academically, as evidenced by poor performance on the state assessments, among other things.

If the Board approves a district charter school’s application, a district charter school will use the school and fiscal year, July 1 to June 30, following the submission of their charter application as a planning year. A district charter school will begin in the fall of the school and fiscal year following the planning year unless another starting time is agreed upon by the board and the applicant.

A district charter school will begin at the beginning of the next school year following the date the application is approved unless another starting time is agreed upon by the Board and the applicant.  

The period for which a new district charter may be approved is a minimum of four academic years.  Renewal of a district charter must be for specified periods of time.   

Adopted: March 27, 2001

Revised: September 25, 2007

Revised: September 14, 2020

Revised: November 10, 2021

LEGAL REFS.: C.R.S. 19-2-402 (3)(c) (charter schools pay the proportionate share of the educational expense of students in juvenile detention facilities)

C.R.S. 22-30.5-101 et seq. (Charter Schools Act)

C.R.S. 22-32-124 (Pursuant to section 104 of the Charter School Act, all decisions regarding the planning, sitting, and inspection of charter schools shall be made in accordance with the same statute that applies to school districts)

42 U.S.C.§ 2000ff et seq. (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008)

C.R.S. 13-80-103.9 (liability for failure to perform an education employment required background check)

C.R.S. 22-30.5-110 (1.3) (district shall adopt procedures and timelines for the charter renewal process)

C.R.S. 22-30.5-107(2) (charter school shall begin after a planning year, which shall be the next fiscal year following submission of charter application)

C.R.S. 22-30.5110 (6) (district shall adopt procedures for closing a charter)

1 CCR 301-88 (State Board of Education’s rules establishing guiding principles for charter schools and charter school authorizers)

Garfield School District No. Re-2, Rifle, Colorado