1 Colo. Code Regs. § 301-1-12.0
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 22, November 25, 2024
Section 1 CCR 301-1-12.0 - Data Collection Calculations and End-of-Year Data Collection Process12.01 Student Dropout Rate (1) The annual student dropout rate is the percentage of students in grades 7 through 12 who drop out of school in a given year between July 1 and June 30 and have not returned to an educational environment on or before the end of the school year or June 30. An educational environment is a Public School within a District or the Institute, nonpublic or private school, home-based education program (home school) pursuant to section 22-33-104.5, C.R.S., HSED program, vocational education program, licensed eligible Facility, State-Operated Program, Detention Center, or other education program operated by the Department of Youth Corrections or Department of Corrections. This includes students in grades 7 through 12 who: (A) Were enrolled in school at some time during the current reporting school year; and(B) Were not enrolled at the end of the school year or June 30; and(C) Have not graduated from high school or received a HSED certificate, or completed a district-approved educational program; and(D) Do not meet any of the following exclusionary conditions: temporary absence due to serious illness or injury, suspension or expulsion; death; or transfer to another educational environment.(2) The numerator for the student dropout rate is the number of grade 7-12 students who dropped out and the denominator is the cumulative unduplicated enrollment for grades 7-12.(4) Dropout rate clarifications:(A) Any student whose transfer to another educational environment cannot be verified is a dropout for reporting purposes. Districts and the Institute must apply a default status of dropout to any student who does not have adequate documentation on file, meaning a records request or confirmation of enrollment and attendance at another District or the Institute, by the end of the school year. Please see further clarifications below.(B) Mandatory school age legislation, in section 22-33-104(1) C.R.S., requires that every child who has attained the age of six years and is under the age of seventeen years attend public school. This mandatory school age legislation does not exempt a District or the Institute from reporting a student as a dropout. Students at any stage in court proceedings to compel compliance with the compulsory attendance statute who have not yet returned to school shall be counted as dropouts.(C) Students transferring to another District or the Institute who are identified through the Department's post-collection process as not returning to another District or the Institute by the end of the current school year or June 30 shall be counted as dropouts. The Department shall verify student attendance through the data submitted by other Districts and the Institute through the end-of-year data collection.(D) Various forms of documentation may or may not serve as adequate documentation for an educational transfer based on the following: (I) In-state transfers to a Public School may not be documented through records requests or the Record Integration Tracking System (RITS) because a student may never have attended the school in which the student enrolled. An in-state confirmation of attendance is adequate documentation and may be requested as part of the end-of-year verification processes.(II) In-state transfers to other Colorado entities such as private schools, Detention Centers, licensed eligible Facilities, or State-Operated Programs may be documented through records requests or confirmations of attendance. Adequate documentation of a transfer to home-based education programs (home school) pursuant to section 22-33-104.5, C.R.S., is a parent/guardian signature on a written confirmation of the intent to home school.(III) Out-of-state transfers may be documented through records requests or confirmations of attendance.(IV) Transfers to an out-of-country educational entity can be documented by a records request, a confirmation of attendance, a written confirmation by a school administrator or designee based on a conversation with a parent/guardian, or a parent/guardian signature on a written confirmation of the intent to emigrate to and attend school in another country.(E) Adequate documentation for other student statuses is as follows:(I) Seriously ill students can be documented by a written confirmation by physician or health care provider.(II) Deceased students may be documented by a copy of the obituary, a letter from the parent/guardian or a written confirmation by a school administrator or designee.(F) Determination of whether a student has completed the school year or is considered a dropout is based upon two factors, length of time absent prior to the end of the school year and coursework completion.(G) Students shall be counted as completing the school year if they leave school within three weeks of the last day of school or have completed all coursework early, meaning that they have completed the locally defined requirements for the current grade level and will be promoted into the next higher grade the following school year.(H) Students who leave within three weeks of the last day of school or June 30th, whichever comes first, whether with excused or unexcused absences, are not dropouts, but non-exiting students. However, these early exiting students who are recorded as completing the current school year who are not documented to return to an educational program the following school year must be recorded as summer dropouts in the next reporting period.(I) Students who do not meet the exclusionary conditions listed under section 12.01 of these rules and are absent more than three weeks from the last day of school and have not completed all coursework, whether with excused or unexcused absences, are dropouts. Students shall be considered to have completed all coursework if they have completed the locally defined requirements for the current grade level and will be promoted into the next higher grade the following school year.(J) For students who are withdrawing from a Public School, Districts and the Institute are authorized to request information from the parent or guardian about the specific type of educational environment to which the student will be transferring, in order to monitor compliance with the School Attendance Law, section 22-33-104(1), C.R.S. If a student in seventh through twelfth grade has indicated on a written notification of withdrawal that he or she is transferring to another Colorado School District or the Institute but the Department's post-collection process indicates that the student has not attended class in another Colorado District or the Institute, that student will be classified as a dropout, unless further investigation proves otherwise. Colorado Public Schools and local education agencies are required to send transcripts or to confirm attendance when requested from another Colorado Public School or local education agency within two weeks of receiving the request with the exception of students in out-of-home placements whose records must be transferred within five (5) days pursuant to sections 22-32-138(2)(a)(II) and (3)(a), C.R.S.(K) Students who register for school but never attend are not to be included in reported dropout data. Students who never attend may also include non-attending students who are eligible for special education and related services.12.02 Four-year Graduation Rate: (1) The high school graduation rate is the percentage of students from a beginning of the year ninth grade cohort, adjusted for verified transfers in and out, who leave school as graduates, as defined by the District or the Institute Charter School, in four years or less. Verified transfers refer to transfers for which a records request or confirmation of enrollment and attendance has been provided.(2) The numerator for the four-year graduation rate is the number of cohort members (students) who graduated in year x and the denominator is the number of beginning of the year ninth grade cohort members adjusted for verified transfers in and out.(4) Four-year Graduation Rate Clarifications: (A) Graduation rates for a high school not containing a ninth grade will be adjusted according to the grades contained within the Public School. Notations will be made when the standard four-year graduation rates are not applied.(B) District and Institute graduation rates will be held to a four-year standard regardless of the grade ranges of the Public Schools in the School District or Institute.(C) Expanded graduation rates, when used, should always be clearly labeled with the time span to differentiate from the four-year graduation rate.(D) Students shown as aging out, dropping out, expelled, or transferring to non-district HSED programs are included in graduation calculations.(E) Students are not considered graduates until educational services have ended, unless specified by law or rule. Beginning in 2017-18, ASCENT and PTECH students who have met graduation requirements may be counted as graduates within the four-year graduation rate. However, the high school diploma cannot be dated and conferred until the student has completed or left the program.12.03 Expanded Graduation Rates: 12.04 Completion Rate: (1) The high school completion rate is the percentage of students from a beginning of the year ninth grade cohort adjusted for verified transfers in and out, who leave school as graduates or completers, as defined by the District or Institute Charter School. Students who do not meet specified graduation requirements are not graduates, but completers. Verified transfers refer to transfers for which a records request or confirmation of enrollment and attendance has been provided. Completers include students who: receive a HSED certificate through the completion of a HSED program; receive a certificate of completion; complete a vocational program; or are accepted into an institution of higher education to pursue either a bachelor's or associate's degree.(2) The numerator for the completion rate is the number of cohort members (students) who graduated or completed in year X and the denominator is the number of beginning of the year ninth grade cohort members enrollment adjusted for verified transfers in and out.(4) Completion rate clarifications: (A) For purposes of the completion rates, completers are those students who have received a certificate or other designation of high school completion, such as a HSED. Completers have met the locally defined requirements for high school completion and are not continuing to receive educational services from a local education agency. Students are not considered completers until educational services have ended, unless specified by law or rule.(B) Completion rates for a high school not containing a ninth grade will be adjusted according to the grades contained within the school. Notations will be made when the standard four-year completion rates are not applied.(C) District and Institute completion rates will be held to a four-year standard regardless of the grade ranges of the Public Schools in the District or Institute.(D) Students shown as aging out, dropping out, expelled, or transferring to non-district HSED programs are included in completion calculations.12.05 Expanded Completion Rates: 12.06 Mobility Rates: (1) Mobility rates are indicators of turnover in the student population within a given school year. Any student in grades K-12 who enters or leaves a school between the start of the school year (pupil enrollment count date) and the last day of school is counted in the mobility rate. This includes students who:(A) Transfer into a District or Institute Charter School;(B) Transfer within a District or Institute Charter School;(C) Transfer to another District or Institute Charter School, nonpublic or private school, home-based education program (home school) pursuant to section 22-33-104.5, C.R.S., HSED program, vocational education program, licensed eligible Facility, State-Operated Program, Detention Center, or other educational program operated by the Department of Youth Corrections or Department of Corrections;(E) Have dropped out or exited to an unknown educational setting;(F) Are absent for extended periods; or(G) Are seriously ill or deceased.(2) Mobility Rate Clarifications: (A) Districts and the Institute shall indicate an instance of mobility for a student after ten consecutive days of excused or unexcused absences.(B) Students who register for school but never attend are not to be included in reported mobility data. Students who never attend may also include non-attending students who are eligible for special education and related services.(C) Grade level mobility rates will contain duplications because students may be mobile across different grade levels throughout the school year. If a student changes grades, the student will be included in the numerator and denominator of each grade level of which they were a member.12.07 Student Mobility Rate: (1) The student (unduplicated) mobility rate is the proportion of students having moved during the school year. The student mobility rate measures the number of students who have moved (a count of one regardless of the number of times a student moves). The rate includes an unduplicated count of students who transfer into or out of the Public School, District or Institute Charter School during the regular school year.(2) The numerator for the student mobility rate is the unduplicated count of grade K-12 students who moved into or out of a Public School, District, or Institute Charter School during the school year and the denominator is the cumulative unduplicated student enrollment for kindergarten through twelfth grades.12.08 Occurrence Mobility Rate: (1) The occurrence (duplicated) mobility rate is the frequency with which student moves occur during the school year. The occurrence mobility rate measures the number of moves made by students (a count equal to the number of times a student has moved). The rate includes a duplicated count of students who transfer into, out of, or both into and out of the Public School, District, or Institute Charter School during the regular school year.(2) The numerator for the occurrence mobility rate is the duplicated count of grade K-12 students who moved into, out of, or both into and out of the Public School, District, or Institute Charter School during the school year. The denominator is the cumulative unduplicated student enrollment for kindergarten through twelfth grades.12.09 Truancy Rate: (1) Truancy rates are indicators of unexcused absences from public school within a given school year.(2) Truancy Rate Clarifications: (A) Districts shall address truancy in accordance with the Local Board policies and procedures established pursuant to the compulsory school attendance law, section 22-33-107(3)(b) C.R.S.(B) School Districts and the Institute shall report unexcused absence days. An unexcused absence occurs when a student is absent without a reason or for an unacceptable reason as identified within the attendance rules set by a Local Board's policy adopted pursuant to section 22-33-104(4)(a). If authorized school officials determine that a parent's excuse is not valid or verified, the absence shall be considered unexcused.(C) Students who register for school, but never attend are not to be included in reported truancy data. Students who never attend may also include non-attending students who are eligible for special education and related services.(D) Truancy rates will be reported for alternative education campuses and online Public Schools. These schools must have a method to track the attendance for enrolled students.12.10 Truancy Rate- Unexcused Absence Days:(1) The unexcused absence days truancy rate is the proportion of days in which students were absent without an excuse.(2) The numerator for the unexcused absence days truancy rate is the aggregate number of days of unexcused student absences. The denominator is the aggregate number of student days possible, which is calculated by adding the total student days attended, the total student days of excused absences and the total student days of unexcused absences.12.11 Truancy Rate- Habitually Truant Students:(1) The numerator for the habitually truant students truancy rate is the number of students who are habitually truant, meaning all students who are at least the age of six on or before August 1 of the year in question and under the age of seventeen years and who have four (4) total days of unexcused absences from public school in any one calendar month or ten (10) total days of unexcused absences from public school within a given school year. The denominator is the cumulative unduplicated enrollment for grades K-12.12.12 End-of-Year Collection Process: (1) District and Institute Responsibilities: (A) Districts and the Institute shall ensure that the student data submitted is as clean and accurate as possible.(B) In order to know the whereabouts of 7-12th grade transfer students, Districts and the Institute are encouraged to conduct timely inquiries when students withdraw from school, keep documentation on file regarding each, and follow-up on 7-12th grade students for whom appropriate documentation has not been secured.(C) The reporting period for the end-of-year collection is from July 1st to June 30th, annually. Districts and the Institute shall mark the appropriate information as of the last day of school or June 30th, whichever occurs first.(D) Districts and the Institute may include summer graduates or completers up until August 31st of each year. Districts and the Institute shall include graduates and completers after that date in the next end-of-year reporting period.(E) On or before September 15th of each year, every District and the Institute shall initially approve submitted end-of-year files.(F) Each year, every District and the Institute shall approve submitted end-of-year files on or before the Department's announced interim and final deadlines.(G) If a District provides educational programs to Detention Centers as well as Facilities, they must continue to report accurate and complete data in terms of the 7th through 12th grade students served within the end-of-year reporting period until such time as cross-agency data sharing has eliminated the need to do so.(2) Department Responsibilities: (A) The Department shall ensure that student data is as clean and accurate as possible.(B) The Department shall announce the annual schedule of each collection no later than one month prior to collection opening.(C) The Department shall annually notify Districts and the Institute where lists of Detention Centers and Facilities with educational programs administered by Districts are located on the Department's website.42 CR 17, September 10, 2019, effective 9/30/201943 CR 21, November 10, 2020, effective 11/30/202043 CR 13, July 10, 2020, effective 7/30/202044 CR 07, April 10, 2021, effective 4/30/202144 CR 17, September 10, 2021, effective 9/30/202145 CR 14, July 25, 2022, effective 8/14/2022