Colorado State Board of Education v. Brannberg.

2023 CO 11. No. 21SC885. Statutory Interpretation—Judicial Review—Education Law.

March 6, 2023

In this case, the Supreme Court considered whether the last sentence of CRS § 22-30.5-108(3)(d), which provides that “[t]he decision of the state board [of education] shall be final and not subject to appeal,” applies to all decisions of the Colorado State Board of Education (State Board) under section 22-30.5-108(3), thereby precluding judicial review of all such decisions.

The Court concluded that, based on its plain language and the statutory scheme as a whole, section 22-30.5-108(3)(d)’s appeal-preclusion language applies to all final decisions of the State Board rendered under section 22-30.5-108, including when, as here, the State Board affirms the local board’s denial of a charter school application during an initial appeal, thereby ending the matter and rendering a second appeal unnecessary.

Accordingly, the Court reversed the judgment of the division below.