Charter Schools

Any group of parents, teachers and community members may develop a charter application. A minimum size is not defined in the charter school law. The school must be nonsectarian and non-home-based. Applications may not be submitted to convert an existing private school or non-public home-based educational program into a charter school.

As directed by district policy, letters of intent to submit an application for a new charter school must be submitted by February 1. 

Following the submission of a letter of intent, applicants may submit a complete application with these requirements:

• Submit by 4:30 p.m. on March 15
  • Approximately 18 months prior to the charter school's anticipated opening
  • If March 15 is on a weekend or non-workday, the application is due the first workday following March 15. 
• Applications not submitted by this deadline will not be considered. 

There are currently no pending applications.

The Colorado Charter School Act stipulates that charter schools operate under a contract agreed to by the authorizer's Board of Education (Jeffco) and each school's individual Board of Directors. The Jeffco Board votes on charter renewal on or before February 1 of the year in which the contract expires.

The district's Charter School Office acts as a liaison between approved charter schools and the school district. It assists charter schools with their interactions with the district, manages the negotiation of contracts and renewals of contracts, the delivery of purchased services to charter schools and the collection of required data and reports from the charter schools. The office also manages the new charter application process and provides the Board of Education with the information needed to make decisions relative to new applications.