By Johnson                                            H.B. No. 1143
       74R5367 KKA-F
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to district and site-based decision making by school
    1-3  districts.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Section 21.931, Education Code, is amended to
    1-6  read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 21.931.  DISTRICT AND SITE-BASED DECISION MAKING.
    1-8  (a)  Each school district shall develop and implement a plan for
    1-9  district and site-based decision making <not later than September
   1-10  1, 1992>.  Each district shall submit its plan or any proposed
   1-11  amendments to the plan to the commissioner of education for
   1-12  approval.
   1-13        (b)  Each district's plan:
   1-14              (1)  must establish a district committee and a campus
   1-15  committee for each campus in the district in accordance with
   1-16  Subsection (c);
   1-17              (2)  must outline the roles of the district committee
   1-18  and campus committees established under this section;
   1-19              (3)  must outline the procedures through which a campus
   1-20  committee may make recommendations to the campus principal and
   1-21  district committee in the following areas:
   1-22                    (A)  district and campus planning, as provided by
   1-23  Section 21.938, as added by Chapter 347, Acts of the 73rd
   1-24  Legislature, 1993;
    2-1                    (B)  goal setting;
    2-2                    (C)  academic and other performance objectives
    2-3  for the district and each campus for each academic excellence
    2-4  indicator adopted under Section 35.041;
    2-5                    (D)  curriculum and instructional programs;
    2-6                    (E)  staff development, as provided by Section
    2-7  16.052;
    2-8                    (F)  budgeting;
    2-9                    (G)  staffing patterns;
   2-10                    (H)  school and district organization;
   2-11                    (I)  waivers and exemptions, as provided by
   2-12  Section 11.273;
   2-13                    (J)  local teacher appraisal plans, as provided
   2-14  by Section 13.303; and
   2-15                    (K)  the use of awards, as provided by Section
   2-16  35.084;
   2-17              (4)  must outline the procedures through which the
   2-18  district committee, at useful times correlated to the district's
   2-19  budgeting and planning activities, may make recommendations to the
   2-20  board of trustees or the board's designee in the areas listed in
   2-21  Subdivision (3);
   2-22              (5)  must require that the district committee and each
   2-23  campus committee hold regular meetings and maintain an active
   2-24  agenda of pending business items;
   2-25              (6)  must provide for procedures through which the
   2-26  district committee and each campus committee may receive comments
   2-27  or suggestions from persons specified in Subsection (c);
    3-1              (7)  must provide regular opportunities for the
    3-2  district committee to meet with the board of trustees or the
    3-3  board's designee and for each campus committee to meet with the
    3-4  campus principal;
    3-5              (8)  must provide for periodic opportunities for each
    3-6  campus committee to submit recommendations to the board of trustees
    3-7  to alter the committee's role regarding the areas listed in
    3-8  Subdivision (3) and for approval or rejection of those
    3-9  recommendations by the board after considering the advice of the
   3-10  campus principal and any legal factors relating to the
   3-11  recommendations; and
   3-12              (9)  may expand on the process established by the
   3-13  district in its site-based decision making plan that was required
   3-14  to be submitted to the commissioner of education not later than
   3-15  September 1, 1992.
   3-16        (c)  In accordance with written procedures adopted by the
   3-17  district, the district committee and each campus committee
   3-18  established under Subsection (b)(1):
   3-19              (1)  must include professional staff, two-thirds of
   3-20  whom must be classroom teachers, nominated and elected by the
   3-21  professional staff of the district or campus, as applicable, in a
   3-22  manner consistent with Section 21.904(a);
   3-23              (2)  must include a reasonable number of other staff,
   3-24  parents of students enrolled in the district or attending the
   3-25  campus, as applicable, and community and business representatives;
   3-26  and
   3-27              (3)  may include student representatives of the
    4-1  district or campus, except that persons described by Subdivision
    4-2  (2) or this subdivision may not constitute a majority of a district
    4-3  or campus committee.
    4-4        (d)  Each school district shall submit a report, approved by
    4-5  the board of trustees, concerning the status of its district and
    4-6  site-based decision making plan to the commissioner of education
    4-7  not later than  October 1 of each even-numbered year.  The
    4-8  commissioner shall establish criteria governing the contents of a
    4-9  status report under this section.
   4-10        (e)  The Central Education Agency may use a school district's
   4-11  current status report in reviewing the district's accreditation
   4-12  status.
   4-13        (f)  The board of trustees shall ensure that the
   4-14  superintendent of the district and the principal of each school
   4-15  campus implement district and site-based decision making as
   4-16  required by this section.  <shall establish school committees;>
   4-17              <(2)  may expand on the process established by the
   4-18  district under Section 21.7532 of this code for the establishment
   4-19  of campus performance objectives; and>
   4-20              <(3)  shall outline the role of the school committees
   4-21  regarding decision making related to goal setting, curriculum,
   4-22  budgeting, staffing patterns, and school organization.>
   4-23        <(c)  A school committee established under this section shall
   4-24  include community representatives.  The community representatives
   4-25  may include business representatives.>
   4-26        (g) <(d)>  The commissioner may not approve a plan that the
   4-27  commissioner determines contains one or more provisions that may be
    5-1  construed as limiting or affecting the power of the board of
    5-2  trustees of the school district to govern and manage the district
    5-3  or as limiting the responsibilities of the trustees.
    5-4        (h) <(e)>  The commissioner shall identify or make available
    5-5  to school districts various models for implementing district and
    5-6  site-based decision making under this section <not later than
    5-7  January 1, 1992>. The commissioner shall arrange for training in
    5-8  district and site-based decision making through one or more sources
    5-9  for school board trustees, superintendents, principals, teachers,
   5-10  parents, and other members of district and campus <school>
   5-11  committees.  The training must include opportunities for
   5-12  representatives of campus committees from different school
   5-13  districts to report effective decision making practices.
   5-14        (i) <(f)>  Nothing in this section may be construed as
   5-15  creating a new cause of action or as requiring collective
   5-16  bargaining.
   5-17        (j)  The district committee and each campus <(g)  Each
   5-18  school> committee shall hold at least one public meeting per year.
   5-19  The required meeting shall be held after receipt of the annual
   5-20  district performance report and campus ratings <rating> from the
   5-21  Central Education Agency for the purpose of discussing the
   5-22  performance of the district and each campus as shown by the report
   5-23  and ratings <and the campus performance objectives>.
   5-24        (k)  This section does not prohibit the board of trustees
   5-25  from conducting meetings with teachers or groups of teachers other
   5-26  than the meetings described by this section.
   5-27        SECTION 2.  Section 13.303(a), Education Code, is amended to
    6-1  read as follows:
    6-2        (a)  In appraising teachers, each school district shall use:
    6-3              (1)  the appraisal process and performance criteria
    6-4  developed by the board; or
    6-5              (2)  an appraisal process and performance criteria
    6-6  developed by the school district utilizing the procedures
    6-7  established in Section <Sections 21.930 and> 21.931 and approved by
    6-8  the commissioner of education.
    6-9        SECTION 3.  Section 13.353(e), Education Code, is amended to
   6-10  read as follows:
   6-11        (e)  From funds appropriated for that purpose, the Central
   6-12  Education Agency may allocate an amount each year for the
   6-13  identification, adaptation, development, and evaluation of
   6-14  professional development programs and materials; training of
   6-15  trainers; and technical assistance in the development of general
   6-16  management and leadership development skills, including skills
   6-17  necessary to implement Section <Sections 21.7532, 21.930, and>
   6-18  21.931 of this code.  The State Board of Education may designate
   6-19  special projects and development activities to be carried out with
   6-20  such funds.
   6-21        SECTION 4.  Section 13.354(e), Education Code, is amended to
   6-22  read as follows:
   6-23        (e)  The appraisal of a principal shall include the
   6-24  performance of the principal's campus on the indicators established
   6-25  in Section 35.041 <21.7531> of this code and the campus's
   6-26  objectives set under Section 21.931 <21.7532> of this code,
   6-27  including performance gains of the campus and the maintenance of
    7-1  those gains.
    7-2        SECTION 5.  Section 16.052(e), Education Code, is amended to
    7-3  read as follows:
    7-4        (e)  The staff development required by this section must be
    7-5  predominantly campus-based, for the purpose of improving student
    7-6  achievement, and planned with the involvement of the campus
    7-7  <school> committee established under Section 21.931 of this code.
    7-8  Campus staff development shall <may> include activities that enable
    7-9  the campus staff to plan together, to enhance existing skills, to
   7-10  share effective strategies, to reflect on curricular and
   7-11  instructional issues, to analyze student achievement results, to
   7-12  reflect on means of increasing student achievement, to study
   7-13  research, to practice new methods, to identify students' strengths
   7-14  and needs, to develop meaningful programs for students, to
   7-15  appropriately implement site-based decision making, and to conduct
   7-16  action research.  Staff development activities may include study
   7-17  teams, individual research, peer coaching, workshops, seminars,
   7-18  conferences, and other reasonable activities that have the
   7-19  potential to improve student achievement.
   7-20        SECTION 6.  Section 21.1011(c), Education Code, is amended to
   7-21  read as follows:
   7-22        (c)  The plan required by this section shall be implemented
   7-23  <through the district-level decision process established under
   7-24  Section 21.930 of this code> at each campus in the district as
   7-25  determined through the district and site-based decision-making
   7-26  process established under Section 21.931 of this code.
   7-27        SECTION 7.  Sections 21.938(a) and (b), Education Code, as
    8-1  added by Chapter 347, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, 1993, are
    8-2  amended to read as follows:
    8-3        (a)  The board of trustees of each school district shall
    8-4  develop a district and campus planning process, utilizing the
    8-5  procedures established in Sections 35.041<, 21.930,> and 21.931,
    8-6  under which the board shall adopt a report detailing a plan for the
    8-7  district and plans for each campus.
    8-8        (b)  Each district's report shall include a current analysis
    8-9  of student performance based on the academic excellence indicators
   8-10  adopted under Section 35.041, campus performance objectives
   8-11  established under Section 21.931 <21.7532>, and other measures of
   8-12  student performance the board determines and shall include
   8-13  provisions for:
   8-14              (1)  addressing the needs of district students for
   8-15  special programs, such as suicide prevention or dyslexia treatment
   8-16  programs;
   8-17              (2)  requiring the principal of each campus, with the
   8-18  assistance of parents and guardians of the school's students, other
   8-19  adults in the attendance area, and the professional staff of the
   8-20  school,  to establish a campus plan consistent with Section
   8-21  <Sections 21.7532 and> 21.931;
   8-22              (3)  dropout reduction;
   8-23              (4)  integration of technology in instructional and
   8-24  administrative programs;
   8-25              (5)  discipline management;
   8-26              (6)  staff development for professional staff of the
   8-27  district;
    9-1              (7)  career education to assist students in developing
    9-2  the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for a broad range
    9-3  of career opportunities;
    9-4              (8)  compensatory and remedial education as required by
    9-5  Section 21.557; and
    9-6              (9)  other information the board considers useful.
    9-7        SECTION 8.  Section 35.042(a), Education Code, is amended to
    9-8  read as follows:
    9-9        (a)  Each board of trustees shall publish an annual report
   9-10  describing the educational performance of the district and of each
   9-11  campus in the district that includes uniform student performance
   9-12  and descriptive information as determined under rules adopted by
   9-13  the commissioner of education.  The annual report must also include
   9-14  campus performance objectives established under Section 21.931
   9-15  <21.7532> and the progress of each campus toward those objectives,
   9-16  which shall be available to the public.  The annual report must
   9-17  also include the performance rating  for the district as provided
   9-18  under Section 35.062(a) and the performance rating of each campus
   9-19  in the district as provided under Section 35.062(c).  Supplemental
   9-20  information to be included in the reports shall be determined by
   9-21  the local board of trustees.  Performance information in the annual
   9-22  reports on the indicators established under Section 35.041 and
   9-23  descriptive information required by this section  shall be provided
   9-24  by the Central Education Agency.
   9-25        SECTION 9.  Section 35.044, Education Code, is amended to
   9-26  read as follows:
   9-27        Sec. 35.044.  USES OF PERFORMANCE REPORT.  The information
   10-1  required to be reported under Section 35.042 shall be:
   10-2              (1)  the subject of public hearings or meetings
   10-3  required under Sections <21.930,> 21.931<,> and 35.042;
   10-4              (2)  a primary consideration in district and campus
   10-5  planning; and
   10-6              (3)  a primary consideration of:
   10-7                    (A)  the State Board of Education in the
   10-8  evaluation of the performance of the commissioner of education;
   10-9                    (B)  the commissioner of education in the
  10-10  evaluation of the performance of the directors of the regional
  10-11  education service centers;
  10-12                    (C)  the board of trustees of a school district
  10-13  in the evaluation of the performance of the superintendent of the
  10-14  district; and
  10-15                    (D)  the superintendent in the evaluation of the
  10-16  performance of the district's campus principals.
  10-17        SECTION 10.  Section 35.062(b), Education Code, is amended to
  10-18  read as follows:
  10-19        (b)  The academic excellence indicators adopted under
  10-20  Sections 35.041(b)(1) through (6) shall be the main consideration
  10-21  of the Central Education Agency in the rating of the district under
  10-22  this section.  Additional criteria in the accreditation rules may
  10-23  include consideration of:
  10-24              (1)  goals and objectives of the district;
  10-25              (2)  compliance with statutory requirements and
  10-26  requirements imposed by rule of the State Board of Education under
  10-27  statutory authority;
   11-1              (3)  the relation between the academic excellence
   11-2  indicators adopted by the State Board of Education under Section
   11-3  35.041 and the campus performance objectives established under
   11-4  Section 21.931 <21.7532>, including the manner in which the campus
   11-5  performance objectives were established and the progress of the
   11-6  campus in meeting the objectives;
   11-7              (4)  the quality of learning on each of the district's
   11-8  campuses based on indicators including scores on achievement tests;
   11-9              (5)  the quality of the district's appraisal of teacher
  11-10  performance and of administrator performance;
  11-11              (6)  the effectiveness of the district's principals as
  11-12  instructional leaders;
  11-13              (7)  the effectiveness of the district's campuses on
  11-14  the basis of the most current criteria identified by research on
  11-15  effective schools;
  11-16              (8)  the fulfillment of curriculum requirements;
  11-17              (9)  the effectiveness of the district's programs in
  11-18  special education based on the Central Education Agency's most
  11-19  recent compliance review of the district and programs for special
  11-20  populations;
  11-21              (10)  the effectiveness of district and campus staff
  11-22  development programs;
  11-23              (11)  the effective use of technology to enhance
  11-24  student achievement;
  11-25              (12)  the effectiveness of the district's remedial and
  11-26  support programs under Section 21.557 for students at risk of
  11-27  dropping out of school;
   12-1              (13)  the effectiveness of the district's dropout
   12-2  prevention and recovery programs;
   12-3              (14)  efficient allocation of available resources;
   12-4              (15)  the presence and quality of comprehensive and
   12-5  developmental guidance and counseling programs on campuses;
   12-6              (16)  the quality and effectiveness of the district's
   12-7  vocational education program; and
   12-8              (17)  the effectiveness of the board of trustees in
   12-9  governing the district.
  12-10        SECTION 11.  Section 35.084(b), Education Code, is amended to
  12-11  read as follows:
  12-12        (b)  The campus <school> committee established under Section
  12-13  21.931 shall determine the use of the funds awarded to a school
  12-14  under this subchapter.  The professional staff of the school
  12-15  district<, as that term is used in Section 21.930,> shall determine
  12-16  the use of the funds awarded to a <the> school district under this
  12-17  subchapter.
  12-18        SECTION 12.  The following provisions of the Education Code
  12-19  are repealed:
  12-20              (1)  Subchapter T, Chapter 21; and
  12-21              (2)  Section 21.930.
  12-22        SECTION 13.  A school district shall submit a plan for
  12-23  district and site-based decision making that complies with Section
  12-24  21.931, Education Code, as amended by this Act, to the commissioner
  12-25  of education not later than January 1, 1996.
  12-26        SECTION 14.  This Act applies beginning with the 1995-1996
  12-27  school year.
   13-1        SECTION 15.  The importance of this legislation and the
   13-2  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   13-3  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   13-4  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   13-5  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   13-6  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   13-7  passage, and it is so enacted.