Exemption From the State Classified System

Statute Text

  • Administrators employed in educational institutions and departments not charitable or reformatory in character shall be exempt from the state personnel system. For purposes of this section, “administrators employed in educational institutions and departments” means: 
  • Officers of an educational institution and their executive assistants; employees in professional positions, including the professional employees of a governing board; and any other employees involved in the direct delivery of academic curriculum; 
  • Professional officers and professional staff of the department of higher education; and 
  • Employees in positions funded by grants, gifts, or revenues generated through auxiliary activities. For purposes of this paragraph (h), “auxiliary activities” means institutional activities managed and accounted for as self-supporting activities. 
  • The president of each educational institution or a person designated by the president shall determine which administrative positions in that institution are exempt from the state personnel system under subsection (1) of this section, subject to an appeal to the board; except that a position shall not be determined to be exempt while it is held by an existing employee in the state personnel system. The president of an educational institution may decide not to exempt a position funded through auxiliary activities if the president determines that exempting the position is not in the best interests of the institution. 
  • The executive director of the Colorado commission on higher education shall determine which administrative positions in the department of higher education other than administrative positions in educational institutions are exempt from the state personnel system under subsection (1) of this section, subject to an appeal to the board.  No later than December 31 of each year, the executive director of the Colorado commission on higher education shall submit a report to the state personnel director, in the form prescribed by the director, listing all positions in the department of higher education, other than positions at educational institutions, that are exempt from the state personnel system in accordance with this section.
  • For purposes of this section, a person is in a professional position or is a professional employee or professional staff if the person is in a position that involves the exercise of discretion, analytical skill, judgment, personal accountability, and responsibility for creating, developing, integrating, applying, or sharing an organized body of knowledge that characteristically is: 
    • Acquired through education or training that meets the requirements for a bachelor’s or graduate degree or equivalent specialized experience; and
    • Continuously studied to explore, extend, and use additional discoveries, interpretations, and applications and to improve data, materials, equipment, applications, and methods. 
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