Parents and Students - We Need Your Help!

Wednesday, December 3rd, the Online Task Force will be meeting to consider recommendations for the State Board of Education.

“Recently passed legislation, Colorado House Bill 14-1382 (HB 1382), requires the convening of an Online Task Force to review best practices and policies for authorizing and administering multi-district online schools, provide the State Board of Education with recommendations regarding quality standards and practices for authorizers*, and provide recommendations to the State Board of Education and General Assembly regarding the regulatory and statutory changes that are necessary to certify authorizers of multi-district online schools.”
— Colorado Department of Education

What is an Authorizer?
A multi-district online school Authorizer can be a school district, a group of two or more school districts, the state charter school institute (CSI) or BOCES. The authorizer oversees schools, and is ultimately responsible for the compliance and accountability of the schools it authorizes.

The Problem: We are very concerned with the direction of this task force and feel that it may provide recommendations that will harm access and education choice for our families. The task force recommendations may place unfair scrutiny upon online schools and force already approved authorizers into layers of duplication, bureaucracy, and opacity. The result will be widespread uncertainty that schools may be shutdown if an authorizer were to be reexamined as a result of this process. We need your help to protect access and education choice for all Colorado families.

Take Action

  1. Show Up, Speak Out - We need parents and students present at the Online Task Force meeting to speak on behalf of access and education choice. Coalition leaders will be present to help parents and students through this process. You may sign up for public comment here. If you cannot attend in person, you have the option to call in. Please review this document for details and instructions on how to call in for public comment. Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2014. Location: Summit Event Center, 411 Sable Boulevard, Aurora, CO 80011. Time: 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
  2. Write a Personal Email - Send a personal email about the importance of education choice for your family. Request that the recommendations from the task force not harm access and choice with layers of duplication, bureaucracy, and opacity for parents and students to fight through. Request that the recommendations do not limit or box in the ability of a local district or Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) from developing and implementing their mission and purpose for establishing an online school to meet needs they have identified. Finally, request that online schools receive no more or no less scrutiny than any other Colorado school. Be sure to include the following in your email: first and last name; if you are speaking as an individual and/or representing any organization or school; if you are a parent, school employee, etc; your email address. Please send your personal email to martinez_r@cde.state.co.us; andy.kerr.senate@state.co.us; ellen.roberts.senate@state.co.us; james.wilson.house@state.co.us; dave.young.house@state.co.us
  3. Send Form Email - Send the following form email to the following emails: martinez_r@cde.state.co.us; andy.kerr.senate@state.co.us; ellen.roberts.senate@state.co.us; james.wilson.house@state.co.us; dave.young.house@state.co.us.

Thank you for your support!

Questions

If you have any questions, please email us at families@coloradocyberfamilies.org.