District and Authorizer Information

Colorado charter schools are public schools that operate by way of a contract (charter) that has been authorized by a local school district or the Colorado Charter School Institute (CSI). The following links provide more information about Colorado school districts and charter school authorizers.

Districts and Authorizers

Charter School Institute (CSI)
Authorized to accept applications for schools (1) in districts without exclusive chartering authority (ECA) and (2) in districts which have retained ECA, with permission to the applicant from the district's board of education. Click on the link to be directed to the CSI Web site.

Exclusive Chartering Authority (ECA) - includes a list of Colorado districts with/without ECA.

Waivers - Information about how charter schools apply for state waivers, rules and laws that pertain to waiver requests, and a current list of waivers requested by each charter school.

Charter School Appeal Dispositions

Charter Appeals 2010 to Present (pdf)
Table of Appeals through 2010 (pdf)

Resources

Charter Applications

2018 Colorado New Standard Application and Evaluation Standards

This application has been developed in collaboration with the Colorado Association of Charter School Authorizers (CACSA), the Colorado Charter School Institute (CSI), the Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS) and the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). The application is intended to assist authorizers with creating rigorous charter review processes that also incorporate spaces for local priorities. Furthermore, it is designed to assist charter school founders of various backgrounds with developing proposals that meet community needs. This application is aligned with the Colorado Charter School Program (CCSP) grant to allow opportunities for schools to address eligibility criteria and requirements that are part of the grant application at the same time they are working on a charter application for the authorizer.

Standard Application & Evaluation Standards 2018 (docx)
Standard Application & Evaluation Standards 2018 (pdf)
Standard Application Rubric 2018 (docx)

2015 Colorado Standard Application

This standard application was revised to accommodate the changes to statute and best practice circa 2015. It is a comprehensive tool of application elements to be considered in the development of charter school applications for authorizers. This application is aligned to the Colorado Quality Standards.

Standard Application Guidebook & Rubric 2015 (pdf)
Standard Application Guidebook & Rubric 201 5 (docx)
Standard Application Rubric Tool (xlcs)

2011 Colorado Charter School Standard Application, Checklist, and Review Rubric

Developed to provide guidance in the writing and review of new charter school submissions. The target audience for this document is both the founding group (the applicant) as they develop a charter school application and the potential authorizer (the school district or Charter School Institute (CSI)) as they review and evaluate the quality and completeness of the application.

2011 Standard Application [docx]

Charter Contracts

Colorado Charter School: Sample Contract Language and Attachments

Intended to assist districts and charter schools in developing contracts that clearly spell out the rights and responsibilities of both parties and support high charter school student achievement and competent school operations. This second revision incorporates changes to Colorado law made during the 2009 and 2010 legislative sessions, including SB09-163 (accreditation) and HB10-1345 (emergency powers), and feedback received from charter schools and authorizers. This document is a companion to “Colorado Charter School: A Resource for Developing Charter School Contracts”.

Sample Contract Language and Attachments (docx)

Colorado Charter School: A Resource for Developing Charter School Contracts

Developed to provide useful information to assist districts and approved charter school applicants in writing effective charter school contracts. Because the charter contract is the foundational agreement that establishes a charter school’s autonomy and accountability and the district’s rights and obligations, it is essential that the contract meet legal requirements and adhere to best practices. This resource guide is a companion to the “Colorado Charter School Sample Contract Language and Attachments,” and complements the “Charter School Standard Application, Checklist and Review Rubric.”

Contract Narrative (docx)

Charter Renewal Frameworks

Colorado Charter School: Sample Renewal Framework

A Colorado-specific guide to charter school renewal. Considering renewal of a charter school contract is a process that an authorizer and a charter school undertake every three to five years, unless a longer contract has been signed to address facility financing issues. This resource provides guidance, within the framework of Colorado laws, for authorizers to establish a renewal process.

Sample Renewal Framework (docx)

Colorado Charter School: Sample Closure Framework

A Colorado-specific guide to charter school closure. Closing a charter school can present many challenges, given the data that must be compiled and analyzed, public meetings that must be held, and the political considerations that must be addressed before a charter school chooses to voluntarily close or before the authorizer votes to not renew or to revoke the charter school contract. This checklist of tasks in a template format was developed to assist authorizers and charter schools with the closure process.