By Coleman H.B. No. 1416
75R4527 CAS-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the planning and decision making process of school
1-3 districts.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 11.201(d), Education Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 (d) The duties of the superintendent include:
1-8 (1) assuming administrative responsibility and
1-9 leadership for the planning, operation, supervision, and evaluation
1-10 of the education programs, services, and facilities of the district
1-11 and for the annual performance appraisal of the district's staff;
1-12 (2) assuming administrative authority and
1-13 responsibility for the assignment and evaluation of all personnel
1-14 of the district other than the superintendent;
1-15 (3) making recommendations regarding the selection of
1-16 personnel of the district other than the superintendent, as
1-17 provided by Section 11.163;
1-18 (4) initiating the termination or suspension of an
1-19 employee or the nonrenewal of an employee's term contract;
1-20 (5) managing the day-to-day operations of the district
1-21 as its administrative manager;
1-22 (6) preparing and submitting to the board of trustees
1-23 a proposed budget as provided by Section 44.002;
1-24 (7) preparing recommendations for policies to be
2-1 adopted by the board of trustees in accordance with this code,
2-2 including Section 11.251, and overseeing the implementation of
2-3 adopted policies;
2-4 (8) developing or causing to be developed appropriate
2-5 administrative regulations to implement policies established by the
2-6 board of trustees;
2-7 (9) providing leadership for the attainment of student
2-8 performance in the district based on the indicators adopted under
2-9 Section 39.051 and other indicators adopted by the State Board of
2-10 Education or the district's board of trustees;
2-11 (10) organizing the district's central administration;
2-12 and
2-13 (11) performing any other duties assigned by action of
2-14 the board of trustees.
2-15 SECTION 2. Section 11.202(b), Education Code, is amended to
2-16 read as follows:
2-17 (b) Each principal shall:
2-18 (1) except as provided by Subsection (d), approve all
2-19 teacher and staff appointments for that principal's campus from a
2-20 pool of applicants selected by the district or of applicants who
2-21 meet the hiring requirements established by the district, based on
2-22 criteria developed by the principal after informal consultation
2-23 with the faculty;
2-24 (2) set specific education objectives for the
2-25 principal's campus, through the planning process under Section
2-26 11.253;
2-27 (3) develop budgets for the principal's campus in
3-1 accordance with the administrative procedure established under
3-2 Section 11.251(d);
3-3 (4) assume the administrative responsibility and
3-4 instructional leadership, under the supervision of the
3-5 superintendent, for discipline at the campus;
3-6 (5) assign, evaluate, and promote personnel assigned
3-7 to the campus;
3-8 (6) recommend to the superintendent the termination or
3-9 suspension of an employee assigned to the campus or the nonrenewal
3-10 of the term contract of an employee assigned to the campus; and
3-11 (7) perform other duties assigned by the
3-12 superintendent pursuant to the policy of the board of trustees.
3-13 SECTION 3. Sections 11.251(b) and (d), Education Code, are
3-14 amended to read as follows:
3-15 (b) The board shall adopt a policy to establish a district-
3-16 and campus-level planning and decision-making process that will
3-17 involve the professional staff of the district, parents, and
3-18 community members in establishing and reviewing the district's and
3-19 campuses' educational plans, goals, performance objectives, and
3-20 major classroom instructional programs. The board shall establish
3-21 a procedure under which meetings are held regularly by district-
3-22 and campus-level planning and decision-making committees that
3-23 include representative professional staff, parents of students
3-24 enrolled in the district, and community members. The committees
3-25 shall include business representatives, without regard to whether a
3-26 business representative resides in the district or whether the
3-27 business the person represents is located in the district. The
4-1 board, or the board's designee, shall periodically meet with the
4-2 district-level committee to review the district-level committee's
4-3 deliberations. The board shall establish a procedure for district-
4-4 and campus-level committees to formally present recommendations
4-5 directly to the board in response to a board decision that is
4-6 contrary to a committee recommendation.
4-7 (d) The board shall also ensure that an administrative
4-8 procedure is provided to clearly define the respective roles and
4-9 responsibilities of the superintendent, central office staff,
4-10 principals, teachers, district-level committee members, and
4-11 campus-level committee members in the areas of planning, budgeting,
4-12 curriculum, staffing patterns, staff development, and school
4-13 organization. The procedure must include a process by which the
4-14 board and superintendent consider in a timely manner
4-15 recommendations from the district- and campus-level committees
4-16 concerning the proposed budget adopted under Section 44.002. The
4-17 board shall ensure that the district-level planning and
4-18 decision-making committee will be actively involved in establishing
4-19 the administrative procedure that defines the respective roles and
4-20 responsibilities pertaining to planning and decision-making at the
4-21 district and campus levels and that all participants in the
4-22 planning and decision-making process perform their roles and
4-23 responsibilities in accordance with the procedure.
4-24 SECTION 4. Section 44.002(a), Education Code, is amended to
4-25 read as follows:
4-26 (a) On or before a date set by the State Board of Education,
4-27 the superintendent, in accordance with the process prescribed under
5-1 Section 11.251(d), shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a
5-2 proposed budget covering all estimated revenue and proposed
5-3 expenditures of the district for the following fiscal year.
5-4 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
5-5 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
5-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.