By:  Bivins, Nelson                                    S.B. No. 519

              West, Luna

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the number of charters for an open-enrollment charter

 1-2     school that the State Board of Education may grant.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Effective September 1, 1997, Subsection (b),

 1-5     Section 12.101, Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

 1-6           (b)  The State Board of Education may not grant a total of

 1-7     more than 50 [20] charters for an open-enrollment charter school.

 1-8           SECTION 2.  Effective September 1, 1998, Subsection (b),

 1-9     Section 12.101, Education Code, as amended by Section 1 of this

1-10     Act, is amended to read as follows:

1-11           (b)  The State Board of Education may not grant a total of

1-12     more than 80 [50] charters for an open-enrollment charter school.

1-13           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-14     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-15     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-16     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-17     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.