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Committee declines to extend three State Board of Education rules tied to pupil-count method
Summary
After staff advised that State Board of Education rule 3.04 (11‑day count period), and Board rules 5.04 and 5.12(6) rely on the 11‑day period and conflict with statute, the Committee on Legal Services voted unanimously not to extend the three rules.
The Committee on Legal Services voted on Jan. 22 not to extend three State Board of Education rules related to student enrollment count methods after Office of Legislative Legal Services staff concluded the rules conflict with statute and, in one instance, are internally inconsistent.
Jake Baus (LLS) explained that statute defines pupil enrollment by reference to a specific pupil enrollment count day (traditionally Oct. 1) and authorizes the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to adopt alternative count days only within a statutory limit (no more than 45 days after the first school day). Baus said State Board Rule 3.04 creates an 11‑day count period (five days before the applicable count day, the applicable count day, and five days after) and thus counts pupils on days other than the statutory count day. Because the board’s rule did not treat the 11‑day window as an alternative count day subject to the statutory 45‑day limitation, Baus concluded Rule 3.04 conflicts with statute and should not be extended.
Baus also said Rule 5.04 applies the 11‑day count period when students first attend after the count date, and Rule 5.12(6) applies the 11‑day period in interdistrict funding situations but is internally inconsistent: the rule’s introductory text contemplates a pupil meeting funding criteria at multiple districts while subsection 6 conditions funding on the pupil not meeting funding criteria at the sending district. For those reasons, Baus recommended the committee not extend Rules 5.04 and 5.12(6).
Vice Chair Soper moved that the committee not extend State Board of Education rules 3.04, 5.04 and 5.12(6). The committee took a roll‑call vote; each member recorded “No” in response to the motion (the committee’s practice was to phrase the motion so a “No” vote carried the non‑extension). The clerk’s roll call in the transcript recorded the following vote responses: Representative Camacho (No), Senator Carson (No), Senator Frizzell (No), Senator Gonzales (No), Representative Joseph (No), Representative Luck (No), Representative Mabry (No), Senator Roberts (No), Representative Soper (No) and Senator Wiseman (No). The chair announced the rules are not extended.
