(1)The local school board for
each school district shall adopt policies for accreditation of the district public
schools. The institute board shall adopt policies for accreditation of the institute
charter schools. Each school district's and the institute's school accreditation
policies, at a minimum, shall include:
(a)The use of accreditation contracts that are comparable to the
accreditation contract between a school district or the institute and the state
board, as described in section 22-11-206;
(b)Accreditation categories that are comparable to the accreditation
categories for school districts and the institute specified in section 22-11-207;
(c)Determination of a public school's accreditation category based on the
public school's level of attainment of the performance
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(1) The local school board for
each school district shall adopt policies for accreditation of the district public
schools. The institute board shall adopt policies for accreditation of the institute
charter schools. Each school district's and the institute's school accreditation
policies, at a minimum, shall include:
(a) The use of accreditation contracts that are comparable to the
accreditation contract between a school district or the institute and the state
board, as described in section 22-11-206;
(b) Accreditation categories that are comparable to the accreditation
categories for school districts and the institute specified in section 22-11-207;
(c) Determination of a public school's accreditation category based on the
public school's level of attainment of the performance indicators; and
(d) Adoption and implementation of school performance, improvement,
priority improvement, and turnaround plans as required by the state board pursuant
to section 22-11-210 (1) and as described in sections 22-11-403 to 22-11-406.
(2) In adopting its school accreditation policies, a local school board or the
institute board may choose to be more rigorous in expectations and in the
imposition of remedial actions than the system for accreditation of school districts
and the institute specified in the provisions of part 2 of this article and the rules
adopted pursuant to said part 2.
(2.5) In adopting its school accreditation policies for its online schools, as
defined in section 22-30.7-102 (9.5), a local school board or the institute board shall
include a review of the online school's alignment to the quality standards outlined
in section 22-30.7-105 (3)(b).
(3) Each local school board shall annually assign each of its district public
schools to an accreditation category that correlates with the type of plan that the
department determines, pursuant to section 22-11-210, the district public school is
required to adopt. The institute shall annually assign each institute charter school
to an accreditation category that correlates with the type of plan that the
department determines, pursuant to section 22-11-210, the institute charter school
is required to adopt.
(4) If, pursuant to section 22-11-210 (5), the state board directs a local school
board or the institute to restructure or close a public school, the local school board
or the institute shall work with the department to implement the state board's
directions.
(5) (a) If a local school board or the institute decides or is directed by the
state board to close a public school because of low performance, the school district
and the institute must develop and update as necessary a school closure plan that
implements evidence-based best practices during the school closure process to
ensure that students who are enrolled in the public school that is closed are fully
supported in enrolling in the successor public school, if any, or in another public
school. The local school board or the institute shall make the school closure plan
and any updates available in writing to the staff of the public school, the local
teachers association, if any, the parents of students enrolled in the public school,
and the community surrounding the public school. At a minimum, the school closure
plan must include:
(I) A plan for communicating in writing with parents, school staff, the local
teachers association, if any, and the community surrounding the public school as
early as possible after the local school board or the institute decides to close the
public school and at regular intervals throughout the closure process;
(II) The procedures or mechanisms by which the local school board and the
institute will solicit and consider input on the school closure process from the staff
of the public school, the local teachers association, if any, the parents of the
students enrolled in the public school, and the community surrounding the public
school;
(III) A timeline for closing the public school that includes or is updated to
include all major steps and decision points in completing the school closure and
starts no later than the decision to close and continues at least through the
reassignment of students and the opening of a new public school, if applicable; and
(IV) A plan for reassigning students to other public schools, which must, to
the fullest extent practicable, take into account parents' choice concerning the
public schools to which students are reassigned.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (a) of this subsection (5) to
the contrary, a school closure plan that applies to the closure of an institute charter
school must specify that:
(I) The institute charter school will communicate directly with parents,
school staff, and the surrounding community; and
(II) The institute and the institute charter school will work with the school
district in which the institute charter school is located to ensure that students and
their parents have information concerning the school district's processes for
reassigning students to public schools and the school choice options that are
available to the students and their parents.