SENATE 3rd Reading Unamended April 16, 2014 SENATE Amended 2nd Reading April 15, 2014Second Regular Session Sixty-ninth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO REENGROSSED This Version Includes All Amendments Adopted in the House of Introduction LLS NO. 14-0761.01 Julie Pelegrin x2700 SENATE BILL 14-167 SENATE SPONSORSHIP Zenzinger, HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Fields, Senate Committees House Committees Education Appropriations A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning an initiative to support innovation among alternative education campuses in serving high-risk students, and, in connection therewith, making an appropriation. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) The bill creates the opportunity schools pilot initiative (initiative) in the department of education (department). The goal of the initiative is to provide additional funding and support for alternative education campuses that serve populations of 95% high-risk students to enable the campuses to implement research-based, transformative school models that will improve students' postsecondary and career success. The initiative will also result in identification of best practices and models that other schools may replicate. The commissioner of education must appoint an advisory committee to assist the department in implementing the initiative. Based on recommendations from the department and the advisory committee, the state board of education (state board) must adopt rules to implement the initiative. Beginning in the 2015-16 school year, the state board will select 2 cohorts of alternative education campuses, for a total or 3 or more alternative education campuses that serve no more than 600 students, to participate in the initiative. The applicants and the school designs that they propose to implement must meet several criteria. Applicants that the state board selects to participate in the initiative are called opportunity schools. In addition to the funding an opportunity school normally receives, each opportunity school receives an amount equal to 30% of the statewide average per pupil revenues multiplied by the school's pupil enrollment in each budget year in which it participates in the initiative. The extra funding is paid from the opportunity schools pilot initiative fund (fund) created in the bill. The fund consists of a one-time appropriation of moneys and such gifts, grants, and donations as the advisory committee may solicit and receive. Each opportunity school is subject to the same accountability requirements as other alternative education campuses. In addition, the department must annually collect and publish data concerning the support services that the opportunity schools provide, and the department and the advisory committee will regularly review each opportunity school's performance focusing on indicators that demonstrate that students are successfully obtaining skills needed to achieve postsecondary and workforce success. After at least 2 school years of performance data are available, the department and the advisory committee must determine whether the opportunity school is making adequate progress and, if it is not, may recommend that the state board reduce or discontinue the amount of additional funding the opportunity school receives. The department and the advisory committee must develop clear measures to evaluate the success of the initiative. After the initiative has been operating for 3 years, and every 3 years thereafter, the department will hire an independent entity to perform a review of the initiative, using the measures, and prepare a report to assist the general assembly in deciding whether to continue funding the initiative. The department will submit the report to the education committees of the general assembly and post the report on its web site. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add article 15 to title 22 as follows: ARTICLE 15 Opportunity Schools Pilot Initiative 22-15-101. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly finds that: (a) There are significant numbers of high school students in the state who are at high risk for academic failure. Many, despite having attended high school for four years or more, are unable to graduate because they lack the necessary number of credits. Others have dropped out of school or been expelled and do not have a plan for obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent. (b) Research demonstrates that young adults ages sixteen through twenty-one who are neither in school nor working in stable employment face many obstacles that prevent them from pursuing a direct path to postsecondary education and careers. However, there are some innovative high school models that have been successful with this age group, enabling these students to find increased success in attaining high school credentials and in enrolling and persisting in postsecondary institutions. (c) There are not enough high-quality high school options available in the state to serve these high-risk students, resulting in a serious loss in human capital for the state's workforce and a greater loss in the potential for earnings, quality of life, and accomplishment for these students; (d) Creating an initiative within the department of education to encourage and support the creation and implementation of innovative school models that serve this population of high-risk students and prepare them for postsecondary and career success will establish models of success for the state that can be replicated and used to identify and publish promising best practices that transform services for high-risk students across educational settings; and (e) To be successful, these innovative school models require favorable operating conditions, including increased levels of per pupil funding, clear school designs, and appropriate and rigorous accountability requirements. (2) The general assembly finds, therefore, that it is in the best interests of the state to establish the opportunity schools initiative in the department of education to identify, support, and hold accountable innovative designs for high schools to transform education for high-risk students and prepare them for postsecondary and career success. In addition, these new school designs will create models of success that can be replicated across the state and will demonstrate best practices that educators can apply in diverse educational settings. (3) The general assembly declares that, for purposes of section 17 of article IX of the state constitution, the opportunity schools pilot initiative created in this article is a program of accountable education reform and may therefore receive funding from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) of article IX of the state constitution. 22-15-102. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Advisory committee" means the committee convened by the commissioner pursuant to section 22-15-103 (2) to assist the department in implementing the initiative. (2) "Alternative education campus" means a public school that the state board designates as an alternative education campus pursuant to section 22-7-604.5. (3) "Authorizer" means a school district or board of cooperative services or the state charter school institute that operates or authorizes a public school. (4) "Commissioner" means the office of the commissioner of education created and existing pursuant to section 1 of article IX of the state constitution. (5) "Department" means the department of education created and existing pursuant to section 24-1-115, C.R.S. (6) "Fund" means the opportunity schools pilot initiative fund created in section 22-15-105. (7) "High-risk student" has the same meaning as provided in section 22-7-604.5 (1.5). (8) "Initiative" means the opportunity schools pilot initiative created in section 22-15-103. (9) "Opportunity school" means a public school that is selected to participate in the initiative. (10) "Public school" means a school that derives its support, in whole or in part, from moneys raised by a general state, county, or school district tax, including a charter school authorized pursuant to article 30.5 of this title. (11) "Pupil enrollment" has the same meaning as provided in section 22-54-103 (10). (12) "State board" means the state board of education created in section 1 of article IX of the state constitution. (13) "Statewide average per pupil revenues" has the same meaning as provided in section 22-54-103 (12). 22-15-103. Opportunity schools pilot initiative - created - advisory committee - rules. (1) There is created in the department the opportunity schools pilot initiative to identify and support transformative design models for high schools to serve high-risk students. The state board, based on recommendations from the department and the advisory committee and subject to available appropriations, shall select two cohorts of public schools to participate in the initiative, which cohorts in total consist of three or more public schools serving no more than six hundred students in total. The first cohort of public schools must begin participating in the initiative in the 2015-16 school year, and the second cohort of public schools must begin participating in the initiative in the 2016-17 school year. A public school that the state board selects to participate in the initiative receives funding as provided in section 22-15-105 and must meet the accountability requirements specified in section 22-15-106. (2) The commissioner shall convene an advisory committee no later than July 1, 2014, to assist the department in implementing the initiative. The members of the advisory committee may include, but need not be limited to, school leaders and teachers, representatives of charter schools, representatives of nonprofit education advocacy groups, representatives from county human services or social services agencies, nationally recognized experts in serving high-risk students and in measuring postsecondary and workforce readiness, and philanthropic leaders. The members of the advisory committee serve without compensation and without reimbursement for expenses. (3) Beginning July 1, 2014, the advisory committee and the department shall create and recommend to the state board the parameters for the initiative in accordance with this article, including application procedures and requirements, minimum school design requirements, criteria for selecting initiative participants, reporting and accountability requirements, and the methods and indicators for measuring the success of the initiative. The advisory committee shall solicit gifts, grants, and donations to provide funding for the initiative, which gifts, grants, and donations the state treasurer shall credit to the opportunity schools pilot initiative fund created in section 22-15-105. (4) The state board shall promulgate rules pursuant to the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., to implement the initiative. The state board shall base the rules on the recommendations of the department and the advisory committee. 22-15-104. Opportunity schools pilot initiative - applications - eligibility - program design requirements. (1) The department, with advice from the advisory committee, shall issue a request for applicants to participate in the initiative. A public school that meets the requirements specified in subsection (2) of this section may submit an application in accordance with the rules of the state board. The department, working with the advisory committee, shall review the applications and recommend to the state board the public schools that should participate in the initiative, taking into account the priorities specified in subsection (4) of this section and the criteria specified in rules of the state board. No later than January 15, 2015, the state board shall select the first cohort of public schools that participate in the initiative, and no later than January 15, 2016, the state board shall select the second cohort of public schools that participate in the initiative. (2) A public school may apply to participate in the initiative if the public school: (a) Is operating as of the effective date of this article or is a new school and serves or will serve students who are at least sixteen but less than twenty-one years of age; (b) Is designated by July 1, 2015, for the first cohort or July 1, 2016, for the second cohort as an alternative education campus because at least ninety-five percent of the students it serves or will serve meet the definition of a high-risk student and the public school meets the other criteria for designation as an alternative education campus specified in section 22-7-604.5 (1) (a) (I) to (1) (a) (V); (c) Is authorized to grant high school diplomas through its authorizer or offers a general education development program that includes additional skills training to ensure a student achieves postsecondary and workforce readiness, as defined in section 22-7-1003 (15); (d) Demonstrates that the public school's authorizer has notice of the public school's participation in the initiative; and (e) Is not an on-line school as defined in section 22-30.7-102 (9.5); except that a multi-district on-line school that operates one or more learning centers as provided in section 22-30.7-111 may apply to participate in the initiative. (3) A public school that applies to participate in the initiative must describe the transformative, research-based model that it will implement to serve high-risk students. In its application, the public school must demonstrate that the model is replicable, scalable, measurable, and sustainable. In addition, the model must include at least two of the following three elements: (a) High-quality college and career-ready instruction that includes strong academic and social support services; (b) Programs to build college and career-ready skills and to provide informed counseling to assist students in the transition from high school to postsecondary enrollment; and (c) Appropriate supports for students in the first year of postsecondary enrollment to ensure postsecondary persistence and success. (4) In recommending applicants to the state board, the department and the advisory committee shall give priority to applicants that: (a) Design a program to serve specific segments of the student population; (b) Demonstrate a record of achieving academic growth with students if the applicant has been operating for at least two school years, especially with regard to re-engaging students who have dropped out of school or been expelled; (c) Present programs that are based on clear design principles that may include, but need not be limited to: (I) A student-centered focus in which educational services are designed specifically to meet the needs of individual students, including flexible programming, competency-based and applied-learning approaches, and the use of accountability indicators that take into account student academic progress over time and relative academic gains; (II) A college and career readiness focus that includes multiple pathways to postsecondary enrollment, transition services to support students who are moving from high school to postsecondary enrollment, work-based learning, concurrent enrollment including fifth-year concurrent enrollment programs, and other accelerated learning options; and (III) A focus on providing wraparound support services for students through partnerships with multiple public agencies and private entities. Support services may include, but need not be limited to, drug and alcohol treatment, health care, mental health care, child care, behavioral supports, and career opportunities; (d) Implement effective enrollment stabilization policies; (e) Enroll a sufficiently large number of students to be able to report, and to enable the department to effectively analyze, accountability measures; and (f) Demonstrate effective strategies for sustaining the model beyond the duration of the initiative. 22-15-105. Opportunity school pilot initiative fund - created - funding for opportunity schools. (1) (a) There is created in the state treasury the opportunity school pilot initiative fund to provide additional moneys for opportunity schools and to offset the costs incurred by the department in implementing this article. The fund consists of the moneys the general assembly appropriates during the 2014 regular legislative session to the fund and any amounts credited to the fund pursuant to section 22-15-103 (3). (b) The moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the department for the direct and indirect costs incurred in implementing this article. The state treasurer may invest any moneys in the fund not expended for the purpose of this article as provided by law. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of moneys in the fund to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year must remain in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund. (2) For the 2015-16 budget year and each budget year thereafter, each opportunity school receives an amount equal to thirty percent of the statewide average per pupil revenues for the applicable budget year multiplied by the opportunity school's pupil enrollment for the applicable budget year. The department shall distribute the amount for each opportunity school to the school's authorizer, and the authorizer shall forward the entire amount to the opportunity school. The amount that the opportunity school receives pursuant to this subsection (2) is in addition to the amount that the opportunity school otherwise receives from the authorizer for each budget year. (3) The department may use up to three percent of the moneys credited and appropriated to the fund to offset the direct and indirect costs incurred in implementing this article and to provide technical support to opportunity schools. 22-15-106. Accountability - opportunity schools. (1) An opportunity school is subject to the same accountability requirements that apply to other alternative education campuses as specified in article 11 of this title and in rules of the state board. In addition, each opportunity school shall propose additional performance measures that are related to the performance indicators specified in section 22-11-204 and that are valid, reliable, and measurable and specifically tailored to measure performance under the opportunity school's unique design and mission. The department, with advice from the advisory committee, shall review the optional measures to ensure they meet the requirements of this subsection (1). (2) The department shall annually collect and publicly report on the department web site data concerning the support services provided through opportunity schools to students enrolled in the opportunity schools. The department shall comply with federal and state privacy laws in collecting and publishing data pursuant to this subsection (2). (3) The department and the advisory committee shall regularly review the performance of each opportunity school, focusing on the school's level of student achievement, academic growth, student engagement, and other indicators that demonstrate that students are successfully obtaining skills needed to achieve postsecondary and workforce success. (4) After at least two school years of performance data are available after an opportunity school begins participating in the initiative, if the opportunity school is not meeting the expectations established by the opportunity school and by the department for the initiative, the department, with the advice of the advisory committee, may recommend that the state board reduce or discontinue the amount of additional funding the opportunity school receives. (5) The authorizer of an opportunity school retains the authority to oversee and, if deemed necessary, close an opportunity school, regardless of the school's status as an opportunity school. 22-15-107. Opportunity school pilot initiative - reporting - evaluation. (1) The department, with the advice of the advisory committee, shall establish clear measures to evaluate the success of the initiative. The measures may include, but need not be limited to: (a) Overall opportunity school performance, academic growth of students enrolled in opportunity schools, and other measures of student gains established specifically for the opportunity schools; (b) Evidence that the accountability measures that the opportunity schools adopt are impacting the department's oversight of other public schools and impacting the accountability measures that other schools adopt; (c) Evidence that the increased level of funding that opportunity schools receive pursuant to section 22-15-105 (2) is positively impacting the opportunity schools' performance; and (d) Evidence that other alternative education campuses and other public schools are replicating the models and practices implemented by the opportunity schools. (2) The department shall contract with an independent entity to evaluate the initiative in the third year of operations and every third year thereafter. The entity shall prepare a qualitative and quantitative report of the initiative that the general assembly may use in determining whether to continue funding the initiative. The qualitative report may include recommendations for changes in policy and practice in implementing the initiative. The department shall submit the report to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees, and publish the report on the department's web site. SECTION 2. Appropriation. In addition to any other appropriation, there is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the state education fund created in section 17 (4) (a) of article IX of the state constitution, not otherwise appropriated, to the opportunity school pilot initiative fund created in section 22-15-105 (1) (a), Colorado Revised Statutes, the sum of $2,116,437, to be used for purposes consistent with the creation of the fund. SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.