(1) Subject to the supervision of the state board, the commissioner has the following powers:
(a) To perform all duties which may be required by law;
(b) To issue instructions to school district officers and employees concerning the government of the public schools under their control;
(c) To prescribe forms and items to be included in reports submitted by school district officers and employees and other persons;
(d) To construe provisions of the school laws on questions submitted to him in writing by any school district officer or employee or other person. Said construction may be published in either memorandum form or in any periodical devoted to the interest of education with general distribution to the public schools.
(e) To cause to be prepared, printed, and distributed report forms, registers, curriculum and instructional guides, pamphlets, and other materials as may be beneficial to personnel and pupils of the public schools. All publishing costs therefor shall be paid out of the funds appropriated to the department on warrants of the controller covering vouchers approved by the commissioner. A reasonable fee may be charged for any such materials delivered to a person not in the service of a school district or enrolled as a pupil in the public schools thereof. All receipts from such fees shall be deposited to the credit of the general fund.
(f) To recover a penalty fee from current state payments to a school district, a board of cooperative services as defined in section 22-5-103 (2), or a group care facility or home as defined by the department in its regulations when a certification to the department of education by such district, board, facility, or home for the determination of state funding by the department is not supported by generally accepted accounting principles upon audit by the department. The penalty fee shall be determined by the commissioner, but in no event shall such fee be less than fifty dollars nor more than twenty thousand dollars per initial audit.
(g) (I) To recover an interest fee from current state payments to a school district, a board of cooperative services as defined in section 22-5-103 (2), or a group care facility or home as defined by the department in its rules when a certification to the department by such district, board, or facility, for the determination of state funding, results in an overpayment to the district, board, facility, or home by the state. The interest amount shall be computed on the amount of overpayment at a rate that is equal to the earnings on the treasury pooled funds for the previous fiscal year, beginning from the final settlement date of the audit. The interest fee shall be recovered in addition to the recovery of the amount of the overpayment.
(II) (A) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (g), for audits that begin on or after July 1, 2007, if the department determines through an audit of a school district or a group care facility or home that an overpayment of state funding has been made to the district, facility, or home due to an error in information submitted to the department, the commissioner shall not recover an interest fee from the district, facility, or home in addition to the amount of the overpayment if the district, facility, or home repays the overpayment within the period specified in sub-subparagraph (B) of this subparagraph (II).
(B) The period during which the commissioner shall not recover an interest fee pursuant to sub-subparagraph (A) of this subparagraph (II) shall be a period that is equal to the number of years and any fraction of a year between the settlement date of the audit in which the overpayment to the school district or group care facility or home was determined and the settlement date of the immediately preceding audit of the district, facility, or home. The period shall begin on the final settlement date of the audit in which the overpayment to the district, facility, or home was determined.
(C) If a school district or group care facility or home is unable to repay the total amount of the overpayment within the period specified in sub-subparagraph (B) of this subparagraph (II), the district, facility, or home and the department may negotiate an extension of the repayment period for the remaining amount of the overpayment; except that the commissioner shall recover the interest fee described in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (g) on the remaining amount of the overpayment beginning on the day immediately following the expiration of the period specified in sub-subparagraph (B) of this subparagraph (II). The interest fee shall be recovered in addition to the recovery of the remaining amount of the overpayment.
(III) Notwithstanding any provision of subparagraph (I) or (II) of this paragraph (g) to the contrary, for the 2008-09 budget year, the commissioner may accept as repayment from a school district that has received an overpayment items for use by the department, including but not limited to lifetime online curriculum licenses, in the same value as the amount of the overpayment owed by the school district.
(h) To cooperate with local boards of education, pursuant to section 18-18-407 (2)(b), C.R.S., and make recommendations regarding the uniform implementation and furnishing of notice of the provisions of section 18-18-407 (2)(b), C.R.S.;
(i) To issue emergency orders concerning a charter school pursuant to section 22-30.5-703; and
(j) Subject to available appropriations, to expend appropriations to correct an underpayment of state funding to a school district, board of cooperative services, as defined in section 22-5-103, the state charter school institute, or a group care facility or home when a certification to the department by the school district, board, institute, facility, or home, for the determination of state funding by the department, includes an error in the information submitted to the department.
Source: L. 64: R&RE, p. 536, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 123-1-14. L. 87: (1)(f) and (1)(g) added, p. 824, � 1, effective April 22. L. 90: (1)(h) added, p. 990, � 4, effective April 16. L. 92: (1)(h) amended, p. 392, � 23, effective July 1. L. 2007: (1)(g) amended, p. 737, � 9, effective May 9. L. 2009: (1)(g)(III) added, (SB 09-256), ch. 294, p. 1563, � 25, effective May 21. L. 2010: (1)(i) added, (HB 10-1345), ch. 245, p. 1087, � 1, effective May 21. L. 2020: (1)(i) amended and (1)(j) added, (HB 20-1418), ch. 197, p. 957, � 44, effective June 30.
Cross references: (1) For power of commissioner of education to waive reporting requirements, see � 22-2-116.
(2) For the legislative declaration in HB 20-1418, see section 1 of chapter 197, Session Laws of Colorado 2020.
22-2-113.5. Educational programs for pupils in foster homes or placed by child placement agencies - study - repeal. (Repealed)
Source: L. 96: Entire section added, p. 1799, � 22, effective June 4.
Editor's note: Subsection (4) provided for the repeal of this section, effective July 1, 1997. (See L. 96, p. 1799.)
22-2-113.8. Department of education - additional local revenues - distribution to schools - annual report. (1) (a) For the 2014-15 budget year and each budget year thereafter, each school district shall report the total amount of additional local property tax revenues the district is authorized to collect in addition to the district's total program mill levy, but not including amounts authorized pursuant to section 22-40-110, article 42 of this title 22, or article 43 of this title 22, and the amount of the additional local property tax revenues that the school district distributes directly to schools of the school district, stated as a dollar amount.
(b) Beginning in the 2025-26 budget year, and each budget year thereafter, each school district shall report the total amount of additional mill levy revenue, as defined in section 22-32-108.5 (2), the school district is authorized to collect that the school district distributes, stated as a dollar amount, to the institute charter schools within the geographic boundary of the school district.
(2) The department shall annually compile a report of the information received pursuant to subsection (1) of this section concerning the collection of additional local property tax revenues by each school district and the distribution of the revenues to the schools of the school district, including the charter schools. In addition to the compiled information, the report must include a comparison of the amount of additional local property tax revenues received by the school district and the amount distributed to the schools of the district, including the charter schools, at the district level and aggregated statewide.
(3) (a) The department shall allow each school district and each district charter school to review the report before publication. A school district or a charter school may request that the department compile an addendum to the report that is specific to the requesting school district or charter school and that examines the overall level of funding distributed by the school district to the charter schools of the district, including:
(I) Capital construction and facilities funding;
(II) Funding for technology; and
(III) Any other funding that the school district distributes to the charter schools of the district.
(b) The department shall simultaneously publish on the department website the report and any addenda prepared for the report in response to a school district or charter school request.
Source: L. 2014: Entire section added, (HB 14-1292), ch. 243, p. 909, � 13, effective May 21. L. 2025: (1) amended, (SB 25-221), ch. 134, p. 517, � 1, effective April 28.
Cross references: For the short title (Student Success Act) in HB 14-1292, see section 1 of chapter 243, Session Laws of Colorado 2014.