The Poudre School District R-1 Board of Education reviewed a first reading Jan. 14 of proposed revisions to Policy LBD (charter schools) to align district rules with state law changes enacted by House Bill 23-1025.

General Counsel Autumn Aspen told the board the key statutory change extends the timeline for prospective charter-school applicants to submit an application from 12 months before opening to 18 months. The draft policy moves the district deadline from the prior requirement (file on or before Aug. 15 of the year preceding opening) to a new window between Feb. 1 and April 1 of the year preceding the intended opening, and it also adds language establishing a July 1–June 30 planning year for an approved applicant before the school opens.

“As the law changed, it extends the timeline from 12 months to 18 months before a charter school is set to open for prospective charter school applicant to submit to the local board of education an application,” Aspen said, describing the statutory change and the district policy adjustments.

Aspen said the bill became effective in 2023 but the law’s operative provisions take effect in 2025, which is why the district is bringing the policy change now. She told the board the packet includes the redlined policy language for public review and that the item will return for a second reading and a board vote at a subsequent meeting.

No substantive amendments were proposed during the first-reading discussion; board members acknowledged the change implements state law rather than a discretionary district change.