Fighting for Our Schools, Responding to Member Needs
It was great to see so many of you at our annual conference a couple of weeks ago. Over 30 years after the creation of charter schools in Colorado, it was one of our most well-attended conferences ever, which speaks to the energy and enthusiasm that continue to drive and define our collective work on behalf of Colorado kids.
There was a palpable sense of this at the conference, but our members are truly the lifeblood of all the work we do at the League. It’s why we’re constantly striving to up our game on your behalf and ensure the services and supports we’re providing are meeting your needs and protecting you in ways you may not even always recognize.
HOW DO FEDERAL ACTIONS AFFECT ALL OF US?
For example, one of the items we’ve heard consistently from you in recent weeks is needing to better understand recent federal actions and their possible implications for your school. There’s been such a flurry of activity and announcements that it can be hard to keep up with it all and separate fact from fiction.
In order to help with this, we not only lined up respected Colorado charter attorney Eric Hall to provide a breakout session on it at our conference, but we’ve also now engaged with him to present on this topic at our next Town Hall next Friday, March 21, at 10 am. We’ve also asked him to develop a series of briefs on some of the most noteworthy federal actions and what school leaders need to know, the first one of which we’re rolling out today, entitled What Will Happen if the U.S. Department of Education Closes? Be on the lookout for more briefs like this from us in the coming weeks.
PROTECTING THE SECTOR
We’re also currently engaged in numerous efforts to help protect the sector and your school at both the Capitol and in the courts. As noted in early February, the League – in close partnership with CSI – was instrumental in stopping a bill from getting introduced that would have granted veto power to the legislature to overturn decisions made by the CSI board and, in the process, made it nearly impossible for new CSI schools to open or for existing ones to expand.
Continuing the fight from last year, we filed an amicus brief in Denver District Court last month that supports the effort to overturn PERA’s recent guidance stating that substitute teachers hired by third-party contractors must be included in the PERA pool. And as the US Supreme Court gears up for a very consequential decision this summer about religious charter schools, the League is joining a number of other charter state associations across the country in filing a bipartisan amicus in that case, defending the long-standing public school nature of charter schools.
RESOURCES FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS
Finally, we hear regularly from our schools that one of your top priorities remains resources and equitable access to them, particularly when it comes to facilities. It’s why we worked so hard last year to help the state secure over $100 million in new federal support for Colorado charters for the next five years. $68 million of that is, of course, tied to the League’s new administration of the CSP grant for new and expanding schools, the first official competition for which we hope to release in April.
But another $36 million is tied to facilities support, which is why we were excited to see CDE announce earlier this month that they’re now accepting Intents to Apply from schools interested in the new Charter School Facility Assistance Program. This program and all the federal matching money tied to it would not have been possible without League efforts from last legislative session to secure over $65M in state support for charter facilities needs. Now the opportunity exists for Colorado charters to access over $11M in federal matching funds for this year alone, the Intent to Apply deadline is next Monday, March 17, and we strongly encourage all eligible schools to get their intents submitted.
These are just some of the more notable ways in which we’ve been working hard to meet your needs and defend your interests in recent months. But as always, if there are other topics or priorities you think we should be focusing on, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know. We’re always just a phone call or email away.
Best,
Dan
