When is it Right for an Authorizer to Take Over a Charter School?

There's a precedent-setting situation brewing in the Brighton 27J School District that should have the attention of all charter school leaders in the state. A few years ago, the Brighton Collegiate HS had a couple of situations where teachers had inappropriate behavior with students. Part of the outcome was that the charter school was placed on probation and given a rigorous action plan to implement in order to rectify the environment that allowed these inappropriate situations to occur. One of the steps taken was the charter school implemented a policy that included a "no tolerance" for inappropriate contact with a student.

Last month another incident happened at Brighton Collegiate and the school district board voted to take over the charter school's operations. The charter school then went to court asking for the right to continue operating the school. The judge said that the case is best presented to the State Board of Education and out of the purview of the court.

An authorizer has never taken over a charter school in Colorado, so this case is precedent-setting. The school's charter contract didn't contain a provision explicitly allowing the authorizer to take over the school; however, the district cited concerns over the health and safety of the students in the charter school.

While this is all being sorted out, it's unclear what criteria will be evaluated to determine when, or if, the charter school resumes school operations. Further, it's not clear what course of action the charter school board will have when/if they resume operating the school.