CDE Update

The 1241: Accountability, Accreditation, Student Performance, and Resource Inequity Task Force is inviting feedback from the public. The 1241 Task Force survey is an opportunity for the community to share their experiences with the state’s accountability system and provide ideas on accountability system improvements that can help to improve both academic opportunities and inequities for Colorado’s students. The survey is open through Sunday, April 28. 

• Task Force members will consider all responses. For more information on the task force and upcoming meeting dates visit the task force website and subscribe to the task force’s email contact list.

The UIP template will rollover from 2023-24 to 2024-25 on April 15. After the rollover, school-level users will no longer have editing access to their 2023-24 UIPs; district-level users will still have access to past plans. Users will still be able to access feedback for school or district UIPs reviewed in the 2023-24 school.
 

Open-licensed educational resources can save schools money and allow teachers to adapt free resources for their classrooms. To learn about these resources, register for the OERColorado webinar series taking place on Tuesday, May 7 at 9am and on Tuesday, May 14 at 9am. Webinar recordings and materials will be available on the OERColorado website. 

Spring 2024 Colorado state assessment windows are open! 

• CMAS/CoAlt: ELA/CSLA/Math/Science assessments should be taken between Monday, April 8 and Friday, April 26. 

• CO PSAT/SAT tests should be taken between Monday, April 15 and Friday, April 26.

We have created a toolkit to help with communication to families about state assessments with materials in English and Spanish. The toolkit includes drop-in letters, fact sheets for parents and students, and links to help answer frequently asked questions.

On Thursday, March 14, the State Board of Education voted 6-3 to approve changes to the school finance rules to provide flexibility for alternative teacher-pupil instruction for secondary school students. For more information, including a webinar presentation highlighting the major changes, visit the Update to the Rules for the Administration of the Public School Finance Act webpage.

• The amendments allow traditional brick-and-mortar schools to apply seat time equivalency to a broad range of off-site learning experiences for students in grades 6-12.

We are hosting a virtual Consolidated Application training for anyone who manages federal funds on Tuesday, April 9 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. This training will focus on the updated narrative questions in the 2024-25 Consolidated Application for ESEA funds and will be recorded for future reference. We will also be holding regional in-person work sessions.
 

Want to learn more about GAINS? We are holding a virtual training on the new GAINS grants management system on Thursday, April 25 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sign up on the RNM webpage. 

The Vaping Prevention Education Grant is funded by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office as a result of a nationwide settlement from JUUL Labs, Inc. to address the youth vaping crisis. The grant program provides funding to K-12 educators to address the immediate and long-lasting health implications of vaping and the use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems by youth. Grant proposals are due Wednesday, April 24.

Per House Bill 23-1009, the Secondary School Student Substance Use Committee developed a report with practices that secondary schools may implement to identify students who need substance use treatment, as well as interventions, resources, and referrals.

The Teacher Recruitment Education & Preparation Intent to Participate for 2024-25 for Year 5 and Year 6 students will close on May 1. You can find a webinar about the application process on the TREP website.

The Career Development Incentive Program Pipeline Collection opens Monday, April 15 and closes on Sunday, June 30.