The Office of Standards and Instructional Support invites all Colorado educators to participate in a voluntary survey so that the department better understands the needs of the educators currently in the field. Please share this with others who can contribute. The Professional Development Needs Survey will be open through the end of June.

This summer, teachers and leaders are invited to attend Teaching and Learning CoLabs, a new kind of no-cost event that brings together stakeholders from districts, higher education, professional teaching and other organizations and CDE. The dates and host sites for this summer's CoLabs are:

• Thursday, June 2, hosted by Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction
• Wednesday, June 8, hosted by the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley
• Tuesday, June 21, hosted by CSU-Pueblo in Pueblo

Schools are encouraged to attend a CoLab in teams, with teachers representing multiple grades and/or content areas. Focus content areas for 2022 include English language arts, health and physical education, mathematics, science and computer science. Leadership-focused sessions will be provided for principals and other school leaders.

For more information and to register, see the Teaching and Learning CoLabs website.

CDE recently released the ESSER Transportation Assistance Grant Program that will provide funding to help students attending low-performing schools in chronically low-performing districts access high-quality learning at a higher-performing school in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

Colorado school districts, BOCES, charter schools and nonprofit organizations are invited to apply for this two-year program. Potential forms of transportation assistance could include, but are not limited to:

• Direct transportation;
• Coordination of transportation services; and
• Reimbursements for actual transportation costs incurred by families through reimbursement or gas cards.

The Intent to Apply is due Tuesday, May 31. An applicant webinar will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31. The Intent to Apply is encouraged, but not required to apply.

Applications are being accepted through Tuesday, June 21. All applicants will be notified of their award status by Friday, July 1, in order to implement the program for the 2022-23 school year.

View the ETAG Program webpage for additional information on the program, including eligible applicants and the online application form.

On May 5, the Food and Nutrition Services’ Civil Rights Division issued a memorandum on Bostock v. Clayton County and its application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's FNS Programs. The memorandum informed FNS program recipients that the prohibition of discrimination based on sex in Title IX and the Food and Nutrition Act includes gender identity and sexual orientation. The changes impact the USDA Nondiscrimination Statement and the And Justice for All posters.

All documents, pamphlets, websites, etc. must be updated as follows:

• Websites must be updated by Wednesday, Aug. 3.
• Documents, pamphlets, brochures, etc., using 2015 NDS language must be updated when current supply on hand is exhausted or by Sept. 30, 2023.

Additional information on the updated And Justice for All posters is forthcoming. The updated statement and memos can be found on the USDA website.

CDE seeks peer reviewers for the endorsement standards content of educator preparation programs.

Reviewers should have knowledge in one or more of the following content areas: principal, administration, CLD, CLD bilingual, early childhood, early childhood special education, elementary, English/Language Arts, science, social studies, instructional technology specialist, middle school math, reading teacher, reading specialist, school counselor, special education, school audiology, school social worker, school occupational therapist or world language.

Peer reviews will be conducted virtually during the week of July 11. Reviewers will have access to a training video and the review itself can take between 2 to 5 hours. Educators from school districts throughout the P-20 educational system, internal CDE content experts as well as higher education faculty are invited to register for the reviews by completing this form no later than Tuesday, May 31.

Colorado’s educators who teach literacy to K-3 students must submit proof that they completed their evidence-based training in teaching reading by Monday, Aug. 15.

Teachers must complete the training by Monday, Aug. 1.

Teachers may submit evidence of successfully completing an undergraduate or graduate course in teaching reading for CDE to review to determine whether it meets the statutory requirements. This application closes on Wednesday, June 1.

Please note that the READ Act training requirement is not mandatory to maintain a teacher’s license status in any way. The benefit of adding the READ Act training designation to an educator’s license is that the proof of completion will stay on the educator’s Colorado credentials for future years as they may change grade levels, schools or districts.

View the K-3 Teacher Evidence-based reading training requirements webpage for additional information.

New on-demand training videos are available on the Unified Improvement Planning and Accountability training webpage:

• “Early Literacy UIP Requirements”: an overview of UIP requirements related to the READ Act, including requirements related to data analysis and action planning to support struggling readers.
• “How to Use Strategy Guides in the Improvement Planning Process”: a brief introduction to CDE's Strategy Guides.
• “Implementing an Early Learning Needs Assessment”: a summary of what an Early Learning Needs Assessment (ELNA) is and how to incorporate it into the UIP.
• “Small N Analysis & Data Analysis for Disaggregated Groups”: guidance for schools and districts on how to conduct analysis for public reporting on small student populations.