The Innovation Schools Act of 2008, § 22-32.5-102, et seq. C.R.S., was designed to provide a pathway for schools and districts to develop and implement innovative practices in a wide variety of areas and contexts to improve student outcomes. The Act provides a formal process that allows schools or groups of schools to make requests to their local school boards for waivers from district-level policies and for school boards to make requests to the Colorado State Board of Education for waivers from state-level laws and regulations. The Act enables schools to better provide educational services tailored to meet the needs of their student populations. Innovation schools are required to articulate a vision around the autonomies they are seeking, as well as to gain support from a variety of stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, and School Accountability Committee members, before receiving the innovation school designation. The innovation application process (see Appendix A) requires schools to think through the common goal and vision that will be made possible by receiving greater autonomy, as well as to identify the policies and documents that will need to change when these innovations are implemented. In compliance with the requirements of § 22-32.5-111, C.R.S., the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has prepared this annual report divided into the following parts: (1) Overview of the Innovation Schools Act; (2) Current Demographics of Innovation Schools; (3) Description of the Innovations Implemented; (4) Summary of the Academic Performance of Innovation Schools; and (5) Recommendations for Legislative Changes. This report builds on the format from previous years, which typically includes a more detailed section regarding the academic performance of innovation schools and innovation school zones. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, state assessments in 2020 were suspended and the corresponding data is not available. For the 2020-21 school year, state assessments were administered to a limited number of grade levels. In the 2021-22 school year, state assessments were administered, and the corresponding data is included in this report. Similar to overall statewide trends, rates of participation in state assessments in 21-22 were still lower than in 2019 and should be considered when reviewing summary statistics.