Colorado § 22-2-405 - Facility schools office - duties.

§ 22-2-405. Facility schools office - duties.

(1) In addition to any other duties that may be required by law, the office shall:

(a) Develop and maintain, as described in section 22-2-407, the list of approved facility schools and the list of approved facility schools that receive accreditation;

(b) Make recommendations to the facility schools board regarding the curriculum for use in the approved facility schools;

(c) Make recommendations to the facility schools board regarding graduation requirements for students in approved facility schools. The unit's recommendations shall follow the comprehensive guidelines for high school graduation requirements specified by the state board pursuant to section 22-2-106 (1)(a.5);

(d) Maintain, and make available as provided by law, student information and records for the students who receive educational services from approved facility schools;

(e) Ensure that each student who receives educational services from an approved facility school and who, upon leaving the facility, will reside in Colorado receives a unique identifying number, as provided in rules adopted pursuant to section 22-11-104, if the student has not already been assigned a number by the department; and

(f) Communicate and collaborate with the state department of human services, the county departments of human or social services, and referring agencies regarding the placement and transfer of students in facilities, including but not limited to communication concerning academic testing prior to and following placement and other academic and achievement testing.

(2) In complying with the duties specified in subsection (1)(d) of this section, the office shall:

(a) Adopt data reporting protocols and records transfer procedures for use by approved facility schools; and

(b) In purchasing a data system to maintain the records of students who are receiving educational services from approved facility schools, ensure that the data system selected is compatible with the system used by school districts in serving a majority of the students enrolled in public schools of the state.

(3) The office shall create, maintain, and annually publish:

(a) The accreditation outcome reports that the office develops for each approved facility school pursuant to section 22-2-406 (4)(c) on the office's public website; and

(b) A list of independent national accreditation organizations that are approved by the facility schools board pursuant to section 22-2-406 (4)(a)(IV).

(4) (a) The office shall contract with a qualified third-party evaluator to evaluate and report whether the work group recommendations made pursuant to section 22-2-407.5 resulted in more effective services and better access to those services for students with exceptionally severe and specialized needs. The office shall consult with the work group and qualified third-party evaluator to evaluate and report the following:

(I) Whether the number of approved facility school placements for students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs has stabilized or increased;

(II) Whether reliance on homebound and out-of-state placements has decreased;

(III) Whether administrative units that are unable to access approved facility school placements due to geographic or other constraints receive sufficient support from the technical assistance center created in section 22-2-412 to provide effective services to students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs;

(IV) Whether parents, guardians, advocates, county departments of human or social services, and other interested parties assess that the work group's implementation plan described in section 22-2-407.5 (4) has had a positive impact on services for students with exceptionally severe or specialized needs; and

(V) Any other measure of success the office, work group, and third-party evaluator determine necessary.

(b) On or before September 1, 2026, the qualified third-party evaluator shall submit a report to the work group and the office summarizing the measures and recommendations described in subsection (4)(a) of this section. The report must be included in the October 1, 2026, report required pursuant to section 22-2-407.5 (4)(e).

(5) (a) The office shall assemble stakeholders, including members of the work group, to analyze and recommend changes to the methods used for calculating tuition costs for approved facility schools pursuant to section 22-20-109 (2).

(b) As part of the October 1, 2023, report required pursuant to section 22-2-407.5 (4)(e), the office shall summarize the stakeholder recommendations described in subsection (5)(a) of this section, including whether statutory or rule updates are required to implement the recommendations.

(c) On or before July 1, 2024, the state board shall consider the proposed changes and promulgate rules implementing the new methods used for calculating tuition costs.

(d) As part of the October 1, 2024, report required pursuant to section 22-2-407.5 (4)(e), the office shall include an update describing the tuition changes adopted as of July 1, 2024.

Source: L. 2008: Entire part added, p. 1378, § 1, effective May 27. L. 2009: (1)(e) amended, (SB 09-163), ch. 293, p. 1529, § 12, effective May 21. L. 2018: (1)(f) amended, (SB 18-092), ch. 38, p. 436, § 86, effective August 8. L. 2023: IP(1), (1)(a), and IP(2) amended and (3), (4), and (5) added, (SB 23-219), ch. 88, p. 317, § 5, effective April 20. L. 2024: (4)(b) amended, (SB 24-188), ch. 235, p. 1476, § 12, effective May 23; (3)(b) amended, (HB 24-1450), ch. 490, p. 3414, § 34, effective August 7.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 18-092, see section 1 of chapter 38, Session Laws of Colorado 2018. For the legislative declaration in SB 24-188, see section 1 of chapter 235, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.