Group: Attendance

22-1-114. Statements from private schools


Whenever requested by the board of education of the school district in which a private school is located, if not more often than once per month, the person or corporation in charge and control of any school other than a public school shall certify in writing, and, if so requested, upon forms or blanks furnished by the said school district for that purpose, a statement containing the name, age, place of residence, and number of days of attendance at school during the preceding month or since the preceding report of all children of school age who then are or since the preceding report have been attending any such school.

Ref: C.R.S. 22-1-114

22-33-104. Compulsory school attendance

(1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, every child who has attained the age of six years on or before August 1 of each year and is under the age of seventeen years, except as provided by this section, shall attend public school for at least the following number of hours during each school year:

(I) One thousand fifty-six hours if a secondary school pupil;
(II) Nine hundred sixty-eight hours if an elementary school pupil in a grade other than kindergarten;
(III) Nine hundred hours if a full-day kindergarten pupil; or
(IV) Four hundred fifty hours if a half-day kindergarten pupil.

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(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to a child:

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(b) Who is enrolled for a minimum of one hundred seventy-two days in an independent or parochial school which provides a basic academic education. “Basic academic education” for the purpose of this article means the sequential program of instruction provided by an independent or parochial school. Such program shall include, but not be limited to, communication skills of reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, and science.

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(5) (a) The general assembly hereby declares that two of the most important factors in ensuring a child’s educational development are parental involvement and parental responsibility. The general assembly further declares that it is the obligation of every parent to ensure that every child under such parent’s care and supervision receives adequate education and training. Therefore, every parent of a child who has attained the age of six years on or before August 1 of each year and is under the age of seventeen years shall ensure that such child attends the public school in which such child is enrolled in compliance with this section.

(b) Parents whose children are enrolled in an independent or parochial school or a non-public home-based educational program pursuant to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall be exempt from the requirements of this subsection (5).

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ANNOTATIONS

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Exemption of subsection (2) requires only enrollment, not attendance, at independent or parochial school. Legislative change substituting word “enrolled” for word “attends” was clear evidence of intent not to require physical presence at independent or parochial school. Periodic attendance for testing only by students otherwise tutored at home was therefore adequate satisfaction of compulsory attendance statute. People in Interest of D.B., 767 P.2d 801 (Colo. App. 1988).

Ref: C.R.S. 22-33-104