The Colorado Charter School Institute is an independent agency of the Colorado Department of Education and is the only independent, statewide charter school authorizer in the U.S. state of Colorado. The Colorado Charter School Institute authorizes 34 Colorado charter schools.
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History
The Charter Schools Act was adopted in Colorado in 1993. In 2004, the General Assembly adopted the Charter School Institute (CSI) Act, creating CSI as an independent agency within the Department of Education. CSI started its authorization work in 2005 by authorizing two charter schools. Since then, CSI has grown to authorize over 30 Colorado charter schools. The institute is governed by a nine-member board of directors: seven board members are appointed by the Governor of Colorado and two by the Colorado Commissioner of Education.
Role
CSI has the authority to approve or deny charter school applications, monitor Institute charter school operations, and assist in the conversion of a district charter school to an Institute charter school. CSI is authorized to accept applications for schools (1) in districts without exclusive chartering authority (ECA) and (2) in districts which have retained ECA, with permission to the applicant from the district's board of education. CSI accepts applications from those interested in starting a new charter school as well as those interested in expanding or replicating an existing charter school or transferring from another district. Over 2/3 of charter schools authorized by CSI are located in districts that have retained exclusive chartering authority.