As used in this part 1, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) Colorado universal preschool program or state preschool program means the Colorado universal preschool program created in part 2 of article 4 of this title 26.5.
(2) Coordinator agreement means the agreement that the department enters into with a local coordinating organization as described in section 26.5-2-105.
(3) Head start agency means the local public or private nonprofit agency designated by the federal department of health and human services to operate a head start program under the provisions of Title V of the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, as amended.
(4) Local and tribal agencies means county departments of human or social services and agencies of an Indian tribe that have responsibility for funding for early childhood and family support programs and services, school districts, charter schools that participate in the state preschool program, and head start agencies.
(5) Local coordinating organization means an entity selected by the department pursuant to section 26.5-2-103 to support access to and equitable delivery of early childhood and family support programs and services in specified communities throughout the state.
(6) Mixed delivery system has the same meaning as provided in section 26.5-4-203.
(7) Preschool provider has the same meaning as provided in section 26.5-4-203.
(8) Preschool services means preschool services provided through the state preschool program in the school year preceding kindergarten eligibility to children who are four or five years of age and preschool services provided through the state preschool program to a limited number of children who are three years of age or younger.
Source: L. 2022: Entire article added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 583, � 3, effective April 25.
26.5-2-103. Local coordinating organization - applications - selection - rules. (1) The department shall solicit applications from local public entities and Colorado-based nonprofit organizations to serve as local coordinating organizations in communities throughout the state. Entities that may submit applications include, but are not limited to, county or municipal government agencies, school districts, boards of cooperative services, early childhood councils, family resource centers, special taxing districts, head start grantees, local nonprofit organizations, charter school networks and collaboratives, and other public institutions. Entities may apply singly or in partnership with other entities within the community. The solicitation and selection of entities to serve as local coordinating organizations are not subject to the requirements of the Procurement Code, articles 101 to 112 of title 24.
(2) An entity that seeks to serve as a local coordinating organization must apply to the department in accordance with department rules, if any, procedures, and timelines. At a minimum, the application must include:
(a) The proposed boundaries of the community within which the applicant would serve as the local coordinating organization for early childhood and family support programs and services provided to children and families within the community. The department may require, and shall work with the applicant to ensure, that the applicant's proposed boundaries align with one or more areas that the department identifies as a community. In identifying communities and establishing community boundaries throughout the state, the department shall ensure that a school district is not included in more than one community without the prior approval of the school district board of education expressed in an approved board resolution.
(b) Evidence that the applicant has the support of the local early childhood community in applying to serve as the local coordinating organization, which must include the support of families, providers, early childhood councils, local and tribal agencies, school districts, charter schools, and local governments within the community;
(c) The applicant's plan to coordinate with, at a minimum, the following entities within the proposed community:
(I) Administrative units, as defined in section 22-20-103, which remain responsible for overseeing implementation of the part B component of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400 et seq., as amended;
(II) Early childhood councils;
(III) Head start agencies;
(IV) Family resource centers, as defined in section 26.5-3-102; and
(V) County departments of human or social services in providing child care services through the Colorado child care assistance program established in part 1 of article 4 of this title 26.5 and other family support programs and services;
(d) The applicant's proposed operating model for meeting the duties and responsibilities of a local coordinating organization, including, at a minimum, the applicant's personnel capacity and a proposed budget that reflects the anticipated operating and overhead costs and sources of funding; and
(e) If the applicant is a preschool provider, the applicant's plan for ensuring that serving as the local coordinating organization does not result in an unfair advantage to the applicant with regard to allocations of preschool funding generally or in coordinating with the other preschool providers in the community to ensure the availability of a mixed delivery system and the allocation of funding among preschool providers based on parent choice.
(3) An applicant may include in the application a proposal for shared responsibility with the department for distributing and administering public funding within the community, in which case the applicant must include in the application the applicant's history of and experience with distributing and administering public funding.
(4) The department, in accordance with department rules, if any, and procedures, shall review each application received pursuant to this section and select local coordinating organizations for communities throughout the state, ensuring that, to the extent possible, every family in the state resides within a community for which a local coordinating organization is selected. In selecting local coordinating organizations from among the applications received, the department shall, at a minimum, evaluate:
(a) The applicant's capacity to support families in applying for applicable early childhood and family support programs and services;
(b) The applicant's capacity to equitably recruit preschool providers to participate in the Colorado universal preschool program and provide preschool services through a mixed delivery system that, to the fullest extent practicable, accommodates parent choice;
(c) The demonstrated level of support for the applicant within the local early childhood community, the feasibility and quality of the applicant's plan to coordinate with other entities within the proposed community, and the applicant's history, if any, of coordinating with those entities; and
(d) The quality and efficiency of the applicant's proposed operating model and the likelihood that the applicant will have the capacity, experience, and support to successfully fulfill the responsibilities and duties of a local coordinating organization.
(5) The executive director may promulgate rules and the department shall adopt procedures and timelines as necessary to implement this part 1, including adopting a process for receiving and reviewing applications that results in the initial selection of local coordinating organizations as soon as practicable after April 25, 2022. The department shall enter into a coordinator agreement with each local coordinating organization in accordance with section 26.5-2-105. Before the termination or conclusion of a coordinator agreement, the department shall solicit applications for a local coordinating organization for the affected community pursuant to this section and may re-select the same entity to serve as a local coordinating organization.
Source: L. 2022: Entire article added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 584, � 3, effective April 25. L. 2024: (2)(c)(V) amended, (HB 24-1222), ch. 155, p. 692, � 19, effective August 7.