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April 3, 2024 HB 24-1363
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 24-0512
Rep. Garcia; Story
Sen. Cutter
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
April 3, 2024
House Education
Josh Abram | 303-866-3561
josh.abram@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: CHARTER SCHOOLS ACCOUNTABILITY
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☐ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☐ Local Government
☒ School Districts
The bill makes multiple changes to laws impacting charter schools. The bill increases
state expenditures beginning in FY 2024-25.
Appropriation
Summary:
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires an appropriation of $9,378 to the Colorado
Department of Education.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Table 1
State Fiscal Impacts Under HB 24-1363
Budget Year
FY 2024-25
Out Year
FY 2025-26
Revenue - -
Expenditures General Fund $9,378 $9,378
Centrally Appropriated Costs $1,971 $1,971
Total Expenditures $11,349 $11,349
Total FTE 0.1 FTE 0.1 FTE
Transfers - -
Other Budget Impacts General Fund Reserve $1,407 $1,407
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April 3, 2024 HB 24-1363
Summary of Legislation
This bill makes various changes to the Colorado Charter Schools Act, which governs the
authorization and operation of public charter schools in the state. Notable among many
changes, this bill:
eliminates automatic waivers of certain state education laws for schools authorized or
renewed after June 30, 2024, and requires that school districts post information about laws
and policies waived by a charter school on the district’s and the school’s web page;
requires that schools specify any laws or policy to be waived in the charter agreement, which
waivers must be approved by the State Board of Education (SBE);
clarifies that schools chartered after July 1, 2024, must participate in the state educator
performance evaluation system;
requires that the appointing authority for a charter school board of directors make
reasonable efforts to appoint at least one-third of the board’s membership from parents or
guardians of students enrolled at the charter school;
removes the requirement that school districts make unused and underused buildings
available at no charge to charter schools;
limits the ability of a charter applicant to appeal a local school district’s decision concerning
denied charter applications to the SBE;
allows the SBE to review and determine if a local board’s approval of a charter was arbitrary
and capricious, or if the approved charter violates federal or state laws, or court orders;
allows a school district to impose moratoria on charter application approvals if the school
district’s pupil enrollment is less than it was in the preceding year, and the district’s
enrollment is projected to decline over the following three budget years;
expands a school district’s authority to revoke or not renew a school’s charter if the school
failed to post a list of all waived policies and laws, failed to satisfy minimum enrollment
requirements, or failed to comply with a civil judgement or court order;
allows a school district to retain the actual amount of the cost to provide various
administrative services, including costs for special education services, and repeals the
existing 5 percent cap on these expenses;
prohibits a charter school leader or board member from having any financial conflict of
interest with the school’s financial interest;
expands the educator evaluation provisions to include all personnel, including at institute
charter schools, regardless of whether the person is licensed; and
adds data to be included in year-end reports prepared by the Colorado Department of
Education (CDE). Page 3
April 3, 2024 HB 24-1363
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures in the CDE by $9,378 in both FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26.
The Schools of Choice Unit will have an increase in workload to collect additional data for
year-end reports, update internal administrative guidance and resources for school districts
considering new or renewed charter applications, and to work with the SBE to develop rules for
charter approval appeals. Additional work is also required to update all automatic waiver policies
and communicate changes to school district administrators and charter school applicants. The
workload increase is estimated at 0.1 FTE, as shown in Table 2 below.
The bill may also minimally increase workload for the SBE to consider new appeals if a challenge
is raised over a school district authorization of a new or renewed charter.
Table 2
Expenditures Under HB 24-1363
FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26
Department of Education
Personal Services $9,378 $9,378
Centrally Appropriated Costs
1
$1,971 $1,971
Total Cost $11,348 $11,348
Total FTE 0.1 FTE 0.1FTE
1
Centrally appropriated costs are not included in the bill's appropriation.
Centrally appropriated costs. Pursuant to a Joint Budget Committee policy, certain costs
associated with this bill are addressed through the annual budget process and centrally
appropriated in the Long Bill or supplemental appropriations bills, rather than in this bill. These
costs, which include employee insurance and supplemental employee retirement payments, are
shown in Table 2.
Other Budget Impacts
General Fund reserve. Under current law, an amount equal to 15 percent of General Fund
appropriations must be set aside in the General Fund statutory reserve. Based on this fiscal note,
the bill is expected to increase the amount of General Fund held in reserve by the amounts
shown in Table 1, decreasing the amount of General Fund available for other purposes.
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April 3, 2024 HB 24-1363
School District
The bill makes multiple changes to the process to approve or renew a charter application; the
contents of the charter; the use of automatic waivers; and the process for appeal to the SBE.
These changes will impact workload in school districts that are active authorizers of charter
schools and who have multiple applications for new or renewed charter schools under
consideration.
Additionally, by removing the current law cap on the amount of per pupil revenue a school
district may retain for administrative services, the bill may increase the amount of funding
retained by a school district, as negotiated directly with the applicant as part of the school’s new
or renewed charter.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his
signature.
State Appropriations
For FY 2024-25, the bill requires a General Fund appropriation of $9,378 to the Colorado
Department of Education, and 0.1 FTE.
State and Local Government Contacts
Education
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit the General Assembly website.