(1)
(a) Upon application of the board of education of any school district, the state
board, except as prohibited in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1), may waive any of
the requirements imposed by this title or by rule promulgated by the state board.
The state board shall grant the waiver if it determines that it would enhance
educational opportunity and quality within the school district and that the costs to
the school district of complying with the requirements for which the waiver is
requested significantly limit educational opportunity within the school district. Any
school district board of education that applies for a waiver pursuant to this section
shall specify in such application the manner in which it shall comply with the intent
of the waived rules or statutes and shall be accountable to the state board for such
compliance.
(b) The state board shall not waive any of the requirements specified in any
of the following statutory provisions:
(I) The Public School Finance Act of 2025, article 54 of this title 22;
(II) The Exceptional Children's Educational Act, article 20 of this title;
(III) Any provision of part 5 of article 11 of this title pertaining to the data
necessary for performance reports;
(IV) Any provision of this title 22 that relates to fingerprinting and criminal
history record checks of educators and school personnel;
(V) The Children's Internet Protection Act, article 87 of this title 22;
(VI) The requirement to post on the internet the statutes for which waivers
are granted as provided in section 22-44-305;
(VII) Any provisions of section 22-1-130 relating to notification to parents of
alleged criminal conduct by school district employees;
(VIII) Section 22-33-106.1 concerning suspension and expulsion of students
in preschool through second grade;
(IX) Any provisions of section 22-1-128 relating to comprehensive human
sexuality education content requirements;
(X) Any provision of section 22-30.5-104 (3), 22-30.5-507 (3), 22-32-109
(1)(ll), 22-32-110 (1)(k), 22-38-104 (1)(d), or 22-63-206 (1) relating to discrimination
based on hair texture, hair type, hair length, or a protective hairstyle that is
commonly or historically associated with race;
(XI) Any provision of section 22-1-145 relating to the use of a student's
chosen name, as defined in section 22-1-145 (1), in a public school;
(XII) The wearing of cultural or religious objects at school graduation
ceremonies pursuant to section 22-1-142.5; or
(XIII) A provision of article 74.1 of title 24 concerning the policies to comply
with information and access.
(c) A principal of a public school may initiate a request for a waiver pursuant
to this section and shall submit such request to the superintendent and the board of
education of the school district in which the public school is located. Such waiver, if
granted, shall be limited in application to the public school, unless otherwise
designated by the school district. The school district may choose either to adopt
such request and apply to the state board for a waiver pursuant to this section or
not adopt such request.
(d) In addition to any requirements for a waiver application that are specified
in this subsection (1), any application submitted by a school district that has a
funded pupil count, as determined pursuant to article 54 of this title 22, of three
thousand or more pupils shall demonstrate that the application has the consent of a
majority of the appropriate accountability committee, a majority of the affected
licensed administrators, and a majority of the teachers of the affected school or
district.
(1.5) Notwithstanding any provision of this section or any other provision of
law, the state board shall not waive requirements contained in article 11 of this title
or sections 22-7-1006.3, 22-32-105, 22-32-109 (1)(bb)(I) and (2), 22-32-109.1 (2)(a),
22-32-146, and 22-33-104 (4).
(2) Prior to submitting an application for a waiver as provided in subsection
(1) of this section, a school district board of education, in a public meeting including
a public hearing, shall adopt a resolution stating the board's intent to apply for a
waiver and specifying the statutes and rules for which the board will request
waivers. The school district board of education shall post notice of such public
meeting in three public places within the district for a period of not less than thirty
calendar days prior to such meeting, giving the time and location of such meeting
and a description of the waiver request, and, if a newspaper is published within the
county, shall publish such notice once each week for at least four weeks prior to
the meeting in such newspaper. At least sixty days prior to such public meeting and
hearing, the school district board of education shall meet with the school district
accountability committee to consult with the committee concerning the intent to
seek the waiver.
(3) (a) Any waiver made pursuant to the provisions of this section shall
continue until such time as:
(I) The school district board of education that holds the waiver by resolution
requests revocation of the waiver; or
(II) The state board receives evidence that constitutes good and just cause
for revocation of the waiver, as determined by the state board.
(b) The state board may revoke a waiver granted pursuant to this section
only by action taken in a public meeting and hearing.
(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any waiver requested by a
charter school pursuant to sections 22-30.5-104 (6) and 22-30.5-105 (3). Waiver
requests by a charter school shall be governed by the provisions of said sections.
(5) The state board shall promulgate such rules as are necessary to
implement the provisions of this section regarding the waiver application process.
(6) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, a school
district that has been granted by the state board exclusive authority to charter
schools within its geographic boundaries pursuant to section 22-30.5-504 shall not
be required to demonstrate that it has obtained the consent of a majority of the
appropriate accountability committee, a majority of the affected licensed
administrators, and a majority of the teachers of the affected school or district in
order to apply for a waiver of any of the requirements imposed by this title or by
rule promulgated by the state board; except that such consent shall be required for
an application for a waiver from any provisions of article 9 or articles 60.5 to 64 of
this title.
Source: L. 89: Entire section added, p. 946, � 1, effective April 17. L. 93: (4)
amended, p. 1061, � 2, effective June 3. L. 94: (2) amended, p. 1380, � 5, effective
May 25. L. 96: (3) repealed, p. 1233, � 66, effective August 7. L. 97: (1) amended, p.
460, � 3, effective August 6. L. 98: (4) repealed, p. 317, � 1, effective April 17. L.
2000: (1) amended and (1.5) added, pp. 369, 349, �� 20, 3, effective April 10; entire
section R&RE, p. 522, � 1, effective August 2; (1)(b) amended, p. 375, � 33, effective
August 2. L. 2001: (1.5) amended, p. 1271, � 23, effective June 5; (1)(b)(III) amended,
p. 1498, � 20, effective June 8. L. 2003: (1)(b) amended, p. 2515, � 3, effective June 5;
(1)(b)(V) added, p. 2477, � 32, effective August 15. L. 2004: (6) added, p. 1617, � 3,
effective July 1. L. 2009: (1)(b)(III) and (1.5) amended, (SB 09-163), ch. 293, p. 1529, �
10, effective May 21. L. 2012: (1.5) amended, (HB 12-1345), ch. 188, p. 747, � 34,
effective May 19. L. 2015: (1.5) amended, (HB 15-1323), ch. 204, p. 721, � 21, effective
May 20. L. 2017: (1)(b)(IV) and (1)(b)(V) amended and (1)(b)(VI) added, (HB 17-1375),
ch. 287, p. 1596, � 6, effective June 2. L. 2018: (1)(b)(V) and (1)(b)(VI) amended and
(1)(b)(VII) added, (HB 18-1269), ch. 268, p. 1653, � 2, effective August 15. L. 2019: (1)(b)(VI) and (1)(b)(VII) amended and (1)(b)(IX) added, (HB 19-1032), ch. 408, p. 3603,
� 7, effective May 31; (1)(b)(VI) and (1)(b)(VII) amended and (1)(b)(VIII) added, (HB 19-1194), ch. 160, p. 1887, � 3, effective July 1, 2020. L. 2020: (1)(b)(VIII) and (1)(b)(IX)
amended and (1)(b)(X) added, (HB 20-1048), ch. 8, p. 15, � 3, effective September 14. L. 2024: (1)(b)(IX) and (1)(b)(X) amended and (1)(b)(XI) added, (HB 24-1039), ch. 127,
p. 425, � 3, effective April 29; (1)(b)(I) and (1)(d) amended, (HB 24-1448), ch. 236, p.
1526, � 28, effective May 23; (1)(b)(X) amended, (HB 24-1451), ch. 354, p. 2411, � 1,
effective June 3; (1)(b)(IX) and (1)(b)(X) amended and (1)(b)(XII) added, (HB 24-1323),
ch. 419, p. 2861, � 2, effective June 5. L. 2025: (1)(b)(XI) and (1)(b)(XII) amended and
(1)(b)(XIII) added, (SB 25-276), ch. 240, p. 1223, � 24, effective May 23.