COLORADO STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

Department of Education

1 COLORADO CODE OF REGULATION 301-74 RULES FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF
THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR CORPS GRANT PROGRAM

Authority:  Article IX, Section 1, Colorado Constitution. 22-2-106(1)(a) and (c); 22-2- 107(1)(c); 22-7-409(1.5); 22-91-101 et seq. of the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.).

1.00	Statement of Basis and Purpose.

The statutory basis for these rules is found in 22-2-106(1)(a) and (c), State Board Duties; 22-2-107(1)(c), State Board Powers; and sections 22-91-101 through 22- 91-105, the School Counselor Corps Grant Program, C.R.S.

The School Counselor Corps Grant Program, sections 22-91-101 through 22-91- 105, C.R.S., requires the State Board of Education to promulgate rules which include, but are not limited to:  the timeline for submitting applications to the Department; the form of the grant application and any information in addition to that specified in section 22-91-104 (2), C.R.S. to be included in the application; any criteria for awarding grants in addition to those specified in section 22-91-104 (3), C.R.S.; and any information to be included in the Department’s Program report in addition to that required in section 22-91-105, C.R.S.

These rules were updated in June 2014 to reflect changes to the program from the passage of SB14-150.

2.00	Definitions.

2.00   (1)	Advisory Board: The Colorado School Counselor Corps Advisory Board provides recommendation to the Department ~~and State Board~~ for the Colorado Counselor Corps Grant Program.

2.00	(2~~1~~)	Department:  The Department of Education created pursuant to section 24-1-115, C.R.S.

2.00	(3~~2~~)	Education Provider: A school district, a board of cooperative services, a charter school authorized by a school district pursuant to Part 1 of Article
30.5 of Title 22 C.R.S., or a charter school authorized by the State Charter School Institute pursuant to Part 5 of Article 30.5 of Title 22, C.R.S.

2.00	(4~~3~~)	Postsecondary Service Provider:  An independent agency whose primary purpose is to provide career and college preparatory services to students.

2.00	(5~~4~~)	Program: The School Counselor Corps Grant Program created in section 22-91-103, C.R.S.

2.00	(6~~5~~)	Recipient Secondary School: A secondary school at which an Education Provider will use moneys received from the Program to either increase the number of School Counselors or otherwise raise the level of school counseling provided.

2.00	(7~~6~~)	Professional School Counselor: A person who holds a special services provider license with a School Counselor endorsement issue pursuant to Article 60.5 of Title 22 or who is otherwise endorsed or accredited by a national association to provide school counseling services.

2.00	(8~~7~~)	Secondary School:  A public school that is considered a middle, junior, or high school~~includes any of grades seven through twelve~~.

2.00	(9~~8~~)	State Board: The State Board of Education created pursuant to Section 1, Article IX of the State Constitution.

2.01	Implementation Procedures.

2.01	(1)	Application Timeline.  ~~During the 2008-09 school year, t~~The Department will determine on an annual basis if resources may be available to fund a new cohort ~~conduct two initial grant funding competitions~~ for the School Counselor Corps Grant Program and hold a grant funding competition accordingly.  ~~The first round of applications will be due to the Department~~ ~~on or before July 1, 2008~~Applications will be due to the Department on behalf of the Colorado School Counselor Corps Advisory Board as determined by the funding cycle. The Department will notify grant recipients of funding no later than July 1, 2014 and every year thereafter,

subject to available appropriations.

~~The second round applications will be~~

~~due to the Department on or before October 1, 2008. Beginning on~~ ~~January 31, 2009, and January 31 of each year thereafter, subject to~~ ~~available appropriations, School Counselor Corps grant applications will~~ ~~be due for funding available July 1 of the subsequent fiscal year.~~

2.01	(2)	Application Procedures.  The Department will be the responsible agency for implementing the School Counselor Corps Grant Program. The Department will develop a Request for Proposal (RFP), pursuant to the Department’s RFP process and pursuant to the requirements and timelines found in sections 22-91-104, C.R.S. Each grant application, at a minimum, must specify:

2.01	(2)	(a)	How receipt of the grant will affect the culture of  postsecondary planning at the applicant school, district or BOCES, and a vision for how the grant will transform the postsecondary expectations and options of students served;

2.01	(2)	(b)	The intended recipient Secondary Schools, the number of secondary School Counselors employed by the Education Provider prior to receipt of a grant, and the ratio of students to School Counselors in the Secondary Schools operated by or receiving services from the Education Provider;

2.01	(2)	(c)	Whether the Education Provider ~~has adopted~~has agreed to use state guidelines and standards to implement a comprehensive counseling model for School Counselor responsibilities ~~that meet or~~ ~~exceed those recommended by the American School Counselor~~ ~~Association~~as specified by the Department to include a time and effort assessment, postsecondary workforce ready programming, social emotional counseling and career and academic planning.  Career, Academic and Personal/social components including but not limited to: postsecondary workforce ready programming, social & emotional preventative counseling, meaningful career & academic planning and management.

2.01   (2)	(d)	Utilization  of state models for accountability;

2.01 | (2) | (e~~d~~) | The extent to which the Education Provider has developed and/or plans to develop partnerships, which may include but need not be limited to institutions of higher education or Postsecondary Service Providers, to support and increase the capacity and effectiveness of the school counseling and postsecondary workforce preparation services provided to secondary school students enrolled in or receiving educational services from the Education Provider;
2.01 | (2) | (f~~e~~) | The Education Provider’s plan for use of the grant moneys, including the extent to which the grant moneys will be used to increase the number of School Counselors at recipient Secondary Schools and to provide professional development for a team of School Counselors and professional development to enable other faculty members and administrators to provide school counseling and postsecondary workforce preparation services at recipient Secondary Schools;
2.01	(2)	(gf)	The Education Provider’s plan for involving educational leaders at the recipient Secondary Schools and in the surrounding community and the faculty at recipient Secondary Schools in increasing the capacity and effectiveness of the school counseling and postsecondary workforce preparation services provided to secondary school students enrolled in or receiving educational services from the Education Provider;

2.01	(2)	(h~~g~~)	The extent to which the Education Provider has developed or plans to develop partnerships, whether within the school district, with external education agencies and/or community and/or business/workforce partners, to serve the postsecondary workforce needs for each secondary student enrolled in or receiving educational services from the Education Provider;

2.01	(2)	(i~~h~~)	The extent to which the Education Provider has implemented or plans to meaningfully implement an Individual Career and Academic Plan process for each student (grades 6-12);

2.01	(2)	(ji)	The Education Provider’s use of district-level, or school-level if the Education Provider is a charter school, needs assessments that use data to (1) identify challenging issues in the district or school in terms of student learning and success and barriers to learning and
(2) identify programs, strategies, or services delivered by the Education Provider to secondary students that have helped to increase graduation rates and the level of postsecondary success among graduates and (3) Identify the strategies that will be used by the Education Provider to address the challenges identified in this self- assessment and strengthen, expand or improve existing programs to improve graduation rates, post-secondary enrollment, worforce readiness and placement success rates;

2.01	(2)	(kj)	The attendance, grade-retention and promotion, and grading policies implemented by the Education Provider, including an analysis of how the schools’ and districts’ current policies and practices in these areas contribute to success or act as obstacles to students graduating from high school, as well as a description of a plan for how these policies and practices will be improved or modified to increase the graduation rate, as well aspostsecondary workforce readiness and postsecondary workforce-going cultures of the institution resulting in success for student;

2.01	(2)	(l~~k~~)	Whether the Education Provider intends to provide matching funds to augment any grant moneys received from the Program, act on a sustainability plan for the program and include the anticipated amount and source of any matching funds;

2.01	(2)	(ml)	The Education Provider’s plan for continuing to fund the increases in school counseling services following expiration of the grant; and
2.01	(2)	(n~~m~~)	The Education Provider’s plan for using data over time to: (1) demonstrate outcomes and (2) revise and improve programs, policies, and practices to improve outcomes.

2.01 | (3) | Application Review Criteria.  In reviewing applications and making
| recommendations, the Advisory Board will make recommendations to the
| Department as to whether or not a grant shall be awarded to the education
| provider and the recommended amount of the grant, and shall consider
| the following criteria:

2.01	(3)	(a)	The dropout rate at the intended Recipient Secondary School or schools and, if the Education Provider is a school district, at all of the Secondary Schools within the school district.  Priority will be given to Education Providers that intend to use the grant moneys to assist Secondary Schools at which the dropout rate exceeds the statewide average;

2.01   (3)	(b)	The remediation rate at the intended recipient secondary school(s), at which remediation rates exceed the statewide average.

2.01 | (3) | (c~~b~~) | The percentage of students enrolled in the intended Recipient Secondary School or schools who are eligible for free or reduced- cost lunch or considered at-risk students. Priority will be given to Education Providers that ~~indentify~~identify intended Recipient Secondary Schools with a high percentage of said students; or to schools that have not had a Professional School Counselors on staff historically.
2.01 | (3) | (d~~c~~) | The percentage of students enrolled in the intended Recipient Secondary School or schools, and if the Education Provider is a school district, in the school district, who graduate and enroll in postsecondary education within two years after graduating from high school; or are placed in the workforce and stay employed within the two years after graduating.

2.01   (3)	(e)	The number of students enrolled in the secondary school, and if the Education Provider is a school district, in the school district, who  are considered first-generation college students, whose biological parents do not hold a four-year postsecondary credential or greater;

2.01 | (3) | (f~~d~~) | Whether the Education Provider has adopted, or has demonstrated a commitment to adopting, state guidelines and standards for School Counselor responsibilities that meet or exceed those recommended by the ~~American School Counselor~~ ~~Association~~Department;
2.01 | (3) | (g~~e~~) | Assurance that the Education Provider shall use the grant funding to increase the level of funding the Education Provider allocated to school-based counseling prior to receiving the grant and not to replace other funding sources allocated to school-based counseling;
2.01   (3)	(h)	The student-to-counselor ratios at recipient schools;

2.01	(3)	(if)	The overall quality of the plan, including but not limited to the quality of professional development, the quality of partnerships, how the ratio of students to counselors will be impacted, school- wide involvement in postsecondary and workforce readiness preparation, and the quality of the role of the School Counselor; and

2.01   (3)	(j)	Consideration of the geographic location of the Education Provider in providing preference to underserved areas of the state;

2.01	(3)	(k~~g~~)	The likelihood that the Education Provider will continue to fund the increases in the level of school counseling services following expiration of the grant.

2.01   (4)	Professional Development. The Department shall provide support to the secondary schools to train principals on the most effective use of the program.

2.01	(5)	~~Additional Review Criteria~~Creation of Advisory Board.  The Advisory Board will be created within the Department. The Department and the State Board shall consult with experts in the area of school counseling, including but not limited to School Counselors, persons who provide education and professional development in the areas of professional school counseling, career, academic, and social/emotional  counseling, Postsecondary Service Providers and higher education admissions officers, in establishing any additional criteria for awarding grants and in reviewing applications and selecting grant recipients.

2.01   (5)	(a)	The Department will establish guidelines for the School Counselor Corps Advisory Board to include the duties, membership, and responsibilities of the Advisory Board;

2.01   (5)	(b)	The Advisory Board may include members who represent the Department, Higher Education, Labor and Employment, Community Colleges, school districts, or individuals with expertise in elementary, middle, and high school counseling; student retention; counselor education; career and technical education; student support services; career planning, pre-collegiate services; college admissions, or mental health and suicide prevention.

2.01	(6)	Duration and Amount of Grant Awards.  Subject to available appropriations, the State Board shall award grants to applying Education Providers pursuant to section 22-91-104, C.R.S. The State Board shall base the grant awards on the Department’s recommendations. Each

| grant shall have a term of four~~three~~ years beginning in the 2014~~08~~-15~~09~~ budget year. In making the award, the State Board shall specify the amount of each grant.
2.01 | (6) | Reporting.  Each Education Provider that receives a grant through the Program shall report the following information to the Department each year during the term of the grant:
2.01 | (6) | (a)	The number of School Counselors hired using grant moneys;
2.01 | (6) | (b)	Any professional development programs provided using grant moneys;
2.01 | (6) | (c)	Any other services provided using grant moneys;

2.01   (6)	(d)	The impact of school counseling on student achievement, attendance rates, and student behavior;

2.01	(6)	(d)	A comparison of the dropout rates, postsecondary and workforce readiness rates, concurrent enrollment. Career & Technical Education Program enrollment and the college matriculation and remediation rates, if applicable, at the Recipient Secondary Schools for the years prior to the receipt of the grant and the years for which the Education Provider receives the grant; and

2.01	(6)	(e)	Information indicating an increase in the level of postsecondary preparation services provided to secondary students at Recipient Secondary Schools, such as the use of individual career and academic plans or enrollment in pre-collegiate preparation programs or postsecondary or career & technical education programs and, if applicable, employment.

2.01 | (7) | Evaluation of Program.  On or before May~~April~~ 15, 2011~~09~~, and on or
| before May~~April~~ 15 each year thereafter, the Department shall submit to
| the State Board of Education and to the education committees of the
| Senate and the House of Representatives, or any successor committees,
| a report that, at a minimum, summarizes the information received by the
| Department pursuant to subsection (1) of 22-91-105, C.R.S. The
| Department shall also post the report to its website.

2.01  (7)	(a)	The Department shall work with the Department of Higher Education to obtain information necessary for the report submitted by the Department pursuant to subsection (2) of 22-91-105, C.R.S.