Guidance for the 2020-21 School Year

Guidance for the 2020-21 School Year

Online Options for Supporting Students in the 2020-21 School Year

While planning for the 2020-21 school year, CDE has clarified that if schools and districts are planning remote programming intended to support students and families in response to COVID-19, they do not need to get formal approval as a designated online school or program. Below are three options for school and district consideration. Options 1 and 2 do not require applying for an online designation through CDE.

1. Temporary Fully Online Learning Option
   • The temporary fully online learning option is for students who are enrolled in a brick and mortar school and request to learn remotely during the 2020-21 school year while remaining a part of the same school.
   • Students in this option may decide to return to their school’s in-person programming.
   • This option also supports students who began in-person programming in their school and then later decide that the temporary fully online learning option better fits their needs.
   • This does not require applying for an online designation through CDE for 2020-21.
      
2.  Temporary Hybrid Learning Option
   • ​A hybrid learning option is adaptive to in-person and remote learning.
   • This option is a strategy to support a school’s physically-distanced approach that can adapt to possible rolling starts and stops to in-person learning.
   • This does not require applying for an online designation through CDE for 2020-21.
      
3. Permanent Online Education Schools or Programs (22-30.7-102, C.R.S.) Option
   • To permanently operate an online school or program, the authorizer must apply for an online designation through the state’s online office.
     • At this time, CDE encourages authorizers to consider applying for recognition of a new school or program if the program would continue to operate beyond the 2020-21 school year. If an authorizer is unsure, we would recommend utilizing flexibilities identified above and use the year to evaluate their long-term plan.
     • Multi-district online certification application deadlines have already passed for the 20/21 school year. The deadlines for 21/22 are January 2^nd and April 1^st of 2021.
   • If you are interested in operating an online school or program, please contact Renee Martinez with the online office.
   • Single-district online school and single-district online program applications deadlines for this school year have been extended to Friday, June 19.​