Starting a Charter School in Colorado

Charter school law in Colorado was designed to support grassroots efforts to open new and innovative charter school programs. However, the process of submitting an application can be difficult to navigate and, at times, confusing. This website was developed as a collaborative effort to assist charter school applicants as they formulate their submittals. The website contains three major components described below: “The Application Process Flowchart”, “The Colorado Charter School Standard Application, Checklist and Review Rubric.”, and “Sample Contract Resources”.

Each year the Schools of Choice Unit at the Colorado Department of Education, in collaboration with the Charter School Institute and The Colorado League of Charter Schools, hosts a Charter School Boot Camp. This 3-day intensive training is a must for charter school organizers in understanding the substantive information that is required in a charter school application.

Application Process Flowchart

This flowchart suggests a process by which founding groups, and authorizers alike, might follow a plan for submitting an application. The flowchart is divided into major steps for development: Preliminary Exploration, Initial Draft of the Application, Obtain Assistance and Feedback, Submit to the Authorizer, Contract and Negotiations. Each step is further subdivided into three components: Communication and Networking, Development and Process, and Training and Education.

View Application Process Flowchart

Colorado Charter School Standard Application, Check List, and Review Rubric

This document was 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 CSI) as they review and evaluate the quality of the application.

View Colorado Charter School Standard Application - MS Word

Sample Contract Resources

The Contract Narrative is a resource guide for developing Colorado charter school contracts. This guide is intended to assist districts and charter schools in developing contracts that clearly spell out the rights and responsibilities of the parties and support high charter school achievements and competent school operations. Feedback from authorizers and schools will be gathered over time to improve this document and to ensure it reflects best Colorado authorizing practices.

View Contract Narrative - MS Word

The Contract Language document is a resource that provides sample contract language with attachments.

View Contract Language - MS Word

Further Resources and Technical Assistance For Starting a Colorado Charter School

This website is the result of a collaboration between the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), the Colorado League of Charter Schools (The League), and the Charter School Institute (CSI). Please note that professionals from CSI participated in this collaborative effort to bring best practices in authorizing to light. While CSI’s contributions to this process are invaluable, the actual expectations and process for applicants wishing to submit to CSI may differ slightly. Please contact CSI directly for more information.

Wherever possible, the legally required elements of an application or application process have been noted. The information provided in this website is generalized and intend as a structural template for the application process. The actual process will vary and applicants should follow the individual authorizer’s timelines, documentation requirements, and application protocol.

Information presented on this website does not constitute legal advice. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this website; content is regularly reviewed and updated. It is the responsibility of the reader to independently check the accuracy of the information contained in these pages before taking any action or entering into any commitment based upon that information. Links to other websites are provided solely for information and no inference should be drawn from the inclusion or exclusion of a site.

Collaborators On The Information Presented By This Web Site Include:

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