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State Board Accountability Hearings
Background
The state’s Accountability Clock requires the State Board of Education to direct a course of action to the local board of education if the school or district has received Priority Improvement or Turnaround ratings for five consecutive years. These courses of action are called “Accountability Pathways”, and are directed by the state board during an Accountability Hearing.
View the Accountability Pathways and Hearings Fact Sheet (PDF).
For more information about the accountability pathways, visit the Accountability Pathways webpage,
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Accountability Hearings
When deciding a course of action for a school or district that has received five consecutive ratings of Priority Improvement or Turnaround, the state board holds an Accountability Hearing. The state board must make their determination by considering only the following during an Accountability Hearing:
- Commissioner and Department Report: the Commissioner and CDE staff provide relevant academic data, prior improvement efforts, and other information as requested by the state board in the form of a submitted report.
- State Review Panel Recommendation: prior to the hearing, the State Review Panel (third-party education experts) will visit the school or district to review documents and interview school and/or district staff. The State Review Panel will issue a written recommendation regarding which Accountability Pathway can best improve student outcomes.
- District Proposal: CDE staff will work with the district to select a pathway that is best suited to create dramatic change at the school or district.
- Public Comment: the State Board Office collects comments, feedback, and testimony submitted in advance of the hearing by parents, community members, local officials, and others.
The official Accountability Hearing procedures are available in the Administrative Procedures for State Board Accountability Actions (PDF).
If the school or district continues to receive Priority Improvement or Turnaround ratings after implementing their state board directed-pathway, the state board may in any year - and must every two years - hold an additional Accountability Hearing and direct the district to continue the previously directed action or undertake additional or different actions. If a school or district receives two consecutive ratings of Improvement or Performance, then the school or district is no longer required to implement the state board directed-pathway and is considered off of the Accountability Clock and Performance Watch. The Accountability Hearing process is outlined in the figure below.
Early Action Accountability Hearings
Early Action is a voluntary process through which schools and districts in Year 3 or Year 4 of Performance Watch can pursue an improvement pathway before the required state board-directed action in Year 5. An Early Action hearing replaces the Year 5 hearing. During this hearing, the state board has the opportunity to approve or deny the proposed school or district pathway plan. The state board does not have the opportunity to direct a different pathway during an Early Action hearing.
The official Early Action Accountability Hearing procedures are available in the Administrative Procedures for Considering Early State Board Accountability Actions (PDF).
Active State Board Orders
The schools and districts below have been directed by the State Board of Education to implement an accountability pathway, and are currently on the Accountability Clock or Performance Watch. If a school or district receives two consecutive years of being rated Improvement or Performance, then the school or district will fully exit Performance Watch, and their state board order will expire.
District |
School |
Accountability Pathway |
Current Pathway Plan |
Active State Board Orders |
Prior State Board Orders |
Adams County 14 |
District-level |
Partial Management (TNTP) |
|||
Adams County 14 |
Adams City High School |
Partial Management (TNTP) |
|||
Adams County 14 |
Central Elementary School |
Partial Management (TNTP) & Innovation |
|||
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
Aurora Central Campus |
Partial Management (TNTP) & Innovation |
|||
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
Gateway High School |
Innovation |
|||
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
North Middle School |
Partial Management (TNTP) |
2019 Order | ||
Aguilar Reorganized 6 |
Aguilar Elementary School |
Partial Management (TNTP) |
-- |
||
Colorado Springs 11 |
Mitchell High School |
Innovation |
-- | ||
Denver Public Schools |
Abraham Lincoln High School |
Innovation |
|||
Pueblo City 60 |
Risley International Academy of Innovation |
Partial Management (Relay GSE) |
Progress Monitoring
Department staff monitors the implementation of state board orders, and provides progress updates to the state board twice per year. Materials from the most recent progress monitoring update are available on BoardDocs from the September 11, 2024 State Board of Education meeting.
Upcoming State Board Accountability Hearings
The State Board of Education acts in a quasi-judicial manner during accountability hearings. This means that once an accountability hearing has been officially noticed, state board members are not allowed to have ex parte communication with any interested parties or members of the public. The public is allowed to submit public comment regarding the accountability hearing prior to its date. The public comment period is open for approximately one month prior to the scheduled hearing.
As such, state board members are not allowed to communicate with any interested parties or members of the public for hearings listed in the table below.
District |
School |
Hearing Date |
Public Comment Period |
The state board does not currently have any upcoming Accountability Hearings scheduled. |
Public Comment
The State Board of Education seeks input from students, families, school staff, and community members on upcoming accountability hearings. Members of the public may:
- comment on the school's current status and effectiveness, and
- provide input regarding state board directed-actions (what should be done moving forward).
Comments may be submitted ANY of the following ways:
- By completing a short online survey
- By sending an e-mail to state.board@cde.state.co.us
- By submitting in writing to the State Board of Education Office: State Board Office, 201 E. Colfax, Room 500, Denver, CO 80203.
Public comment submissions may not be related to personnel matters.
The deadline for all written comments is four business days prior to the accountability hearing. Comments will be compiled by the State Board of Education Office and sent to all state board members. All submissions will become part of the official record for the hearings and posted publicly. Personal information will be redacted before public posting. Comments submitted in languages other than English will be translated into English as time permits. Comments received past the deadline will not be included in the record or forwarded to the state board.
Past State Board Accountability Hearings - Active Orders
The table below lists all completed accountability hearings for schools and districts that currently have an active State Board of Education order, and remain on the Accountability Clock or Performance Watch.
District |
School |
Hearing Date |
Hearing Type |
Hearing Materials |
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
Aurora Central Campus |
June 12, 2024 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
North Middle School |
June 12, 2024 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
Adams City High School |
May 8, 2024 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
District-level |
May 8, 2024 |
Rehearing |
|
Denver Public Schools |
Abraham Lincoln High School |
March 13, 2024 |
Rehearing |
|
Aguilar Reorganized 6 |
Aguilar Elementary School |
February 14, 2024 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Risley Intl. Academy |
November 8, 2023 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
Gateway High School |
June 14, 2023 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
Central Elementary School |
June 8, 2022 |
Rehearing |
|
Denver Public Schools |
Abraham Lincoln High School |
June 8, 2022 |
State of the Schools |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Risley Intl. Academy |
May 11, 2022 |
State of the Schools |
|
Adams County 14 |
District-Level |
May 10, 2022 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
District-Level |
April 14, 2022 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
Central Elementary School |
April 14, 2022 |
Rehearing |
|
Colorado Springs 11 |
Mitchell High School |
April 12, 2022 |
Early Action Hearing |
|
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
Gateway High School |
September 10, 2021 |
Order Modification |
|
Adams County 14 |
District-Level |
September 9, 2021 |
Appear and Show Cause Hearing |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Risley Intl. Academy |
March 10, 2021 |
Order Modification |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Risley Intl. Academy |
September 9, 2020 |
Order Modification |
|
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
Aurora Central Campus |
June 11, 2020 |
Order Modification |
|
Denver Public Schools |
Abraham Lincoln High School |
February 13, 2020 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
Aurora Central Campus |
November 13, 2019 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
Central Elementary School |
May 9, 2019 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
Gateway High School |
April 11, 2019 |
Early Action Hearing |
|
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
North Middle School |
April 11, 2019 |
Early Action Hearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
District-Level |
November 14, 2018 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
Adams City High School |
November 14, 2018 |
Rehearing |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Risley Intl. Academy |
November 14, 2018 |
Rehearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
District-Level |
May 11, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Adams County 14 |
Adams City High School |
May 11, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Risley Intl. Academy |
April 24, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Adams-Arapahoe 28J |
Aurora Central Campus |
April 12, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
Past State Board Accountability Hearings - Expired Orders
The table below lists all completed accountability hearings for schools and districts that have either since exited Performance Watch in the past or have closed. These schools and districts no longer have an active state board order.
District |
School |
Hearing Date |
Hearing Type |
Hearing Materials |
Denver Public Schools |
Manual High School |
June 8, 2022 |
State of the Schools |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Central High School |
May 11, 2022 |
State of the Schools |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Minnequa Elementary School |
May 11, 2022 |
State of the Schools |
|
Denver Public Schools | Manual High School |
February 13, 2020 |
Year 5 Hearing | Materials |
Monte Vista C8 |
Bill Metz Elementary School |
February 12, 2020 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Douglas County Re 1 |
HOPE Online Elementary School |
January 9, 2020 |
Rehearing |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Central High School |
January 8, 2020 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Minnequa Elementary School |
June 12, 2019 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Heroes Middle School |
November 14, 2018 |
Rehearing |
|
Montezuma Cortez RE-1 |
Manaugh Elementary School |
May 9, 2018 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Greeley 6 |
Martinez Elementary School |
February 15, 2018 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Huerfano Re-1 |
Peakview School |
May 10, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Aguilar Reorganized 6 |
District-Level |
May 4, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Aguilar Reorganized 6 |
Aguilar Jr./Sr. High School |
May 4, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Westminster Public Schools |
District-Level |
May 4, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Greeley 6 |
Franklin Middle School |
April 24, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Greeley 6 |
Prairie Heights Middle School |
April 24, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Bessemer Elementary School |
April 24, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Pueblo City 60 |
Heroes Middle School |
April 24, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Douglas County Re 1 |
HOPE Online Elementary School |
April 13, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Douglas County Re 1 |
HOPE Online Middle School |
April 13, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Julesburg Re-1 |
District-Level |
March 9, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Julesburg Re-1 |
Destinations Career Academy |
March 9, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
|
Montezuma Cortez RE-1 |
District-Level |
March 9, 2017 |
Year 5 Hearing |
Contacts
Nate Goss, Accountability Project Manager
720-682-8535, Goss_N@cde.state.co.us
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