75R11027 ESH-D
By Bivins, et al. S.B. No. 519
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 519:
By Williamson C.S.S.B. No. 519
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the issuance of charters for open-enrollment charter
1-3 schools by the State Board of Education.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 12.101, Education Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 12.101. AUTHORIZATION. (a) In accordance with this
1-8 subchapter, the State Board of Education may grant a charter on the
1-9 application of an eligible entity for an open-enrollment charter
1-10 school to operate in a facility of a commercial or nonprofit entity
1-11 or a school district, including a home-rule school district. In
1-12 this section [subsection], "eligible entity" means:
1-13 (1) an institution of higher education as defined
1-14 under Section 61.003;
1-15 (2) a private or independent institution of higher
1-16 education as defined under Section 61.003;
1-17 (3) an organization that is exempt from taxation under
1-18 Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section
1-19 501(c)(3)); or
1-20 (4) a governmental entity.
1-21 (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the [The] State
1-22 Board of Education may not grant a total of more than 70 [20]
1-23 charters for an open-enrollment charter school.
1-24 (c) In addition to charters authorized under Subsection (b),
2-1 the State Board of Education may grant charters for open-enrollment
2-2 charter schools to eligible entities that establish that at least
2-3 75 percent of the prospective student population, as specified in
2-4 the proposed charter, will be students who:
2-5 (1) have dropped out of public school;
2-6 (2) have engaged in conduct in the preceding year that
2-7 resulted in disciplinary actions authorized or required by Section
2-8 37.006 or 37.007;
2-9 (3) have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct
2-10 indicating a need for supervision and have received deferred
2-11 prosecution or are on probation or other conditional release for
2-12 that conduct;
2-13 (4) have been convicted of criminal offenses and have
2-14 received deferred adjudication or are on probation or other
2-15 conditional release for the offenses;
2-16 (5) have failed to perform satisfactorily on any
2-17 portion of an assessment instrument administered under Section
2-18 39.023(a) or (b) in the two most recent years for which assessment
2-19 scores are available;
2-20 (6) have not advanced from one grade level to the next
2-21 for two or more school years;
2-22 (7) have mathematics or reading skills that are two or
2-23 more years below grade level;
2-24 (8) are pregnant or are parents;
2-25 (9) are students of limited English proficiency, as
2-26 defined by Section 29.052; or
2-27 (10) are sexually, physically, or psychologically
3-1 abused.
3-2 (d) For purposes of Subsection (c), an eligible entity may
3-3 establish that at least 75 percent of the student population will
3-4 meet one of the criteria listed in that subsection by submitting to
3-5 the board written notices of intent from parents or guardians of
3-6 students who meet the criteria and who intend to enroll their
3-7 children in the open-enrollment charter school. A person granted a
3-8 charter under Subsection (c) must maintain a student population at
3-9 least 75 percent of which meets the criteria specified by that
3-10 subsection, and each submission of data under the Public Education
3-11 Information Management System (PEIMS) must indicate that the
3-12 student population requirement of that subsection is met.
3-13 (e) In determining whether to grant an open-enrollment
3-14 charter, the State Board of Education shall consider whether:
3-15 (1) the applicant has demonstrated an ability to
3-16 compile baseline performance data for students to be served by the
3-17 proposed open-enrollment charter school;
3-18 (2) the applicant has established performance
3-19 standards for each appropriate academic excellence indicator under
3-20 Section 39.051 that meet or exceed the state standards established
3-21 under that section;
3-22 (3) the applicant proposes to provide an educational
3-23 program that is innovative and that includes sufficient
3-24 high-quality features to indicate that student performance
3-25 objectives will be achieved, including a qualified staff,
3-26 appropriate facilities, student attendance requirements, and an
3-27 instructional program designed to address the required curriculum
4-1 under Section 28.002; and
4-2 (4) granting the charter will ensure, to the extent
4-3 possible, that open-enrollment charter schools represent:
4-4 (A) urban, suburban, and rural communities;
4-5 (B) various instructional settings;
4-6 (C) various eligible entities;
4-7 (D) multiple types of innovative programs;
4-8 (E) diverse student populations and programs;
4-9 and
4-10 (F) diverse geographic regions of the state.
4-11 (f) If the facility to be used for an open-enrollment
4-12 charter school is a school district facility, the school must be
4-13 operated in the facility in accordance with the terms established
4-14 by the board of trustees or other governing body of the district in
4-15 an agreement governing the relationship between the school and the
4-16 district.
4-17 (g) [(d)] An educator employed by a school district before
4-18 the effective date of a charter for an open-enrollment charter
4-19 school operated at a school district facility may not be
4-20 transferred to or employed by the open-enrollment charter school
4-21 over the educator's objection.
4-22 SECTION 2. Section 12.115(a), Education Code, is amended to
4-23 read as follows:
4-24 (a) The State Board of Education may modify, place on
4-25 probation, revoke, or deny renewal of the charter of an
4-26 open-enrollment charter school if the board determines that the
4-27 person operating the school:
5-1 (1) committed a material violation of the charter,
5-2 including failure to satisfy accountability provisions prescribed
5-3 by the charter;
5-4 (2) failed to satisfy generally accepted accounting
5-5 standards of fiscal management; [or]
5-6 (3) failed to maintain the student population
5-7 requirement of Section 12.101(c), if the charter was granted under
5-8 that subsection; or
5-9 (4) failed to comply with this subchapter or another
5-10 applicable law or rule.
5-11 SECTION 3. Effective January 1, 1998, Section 12.101(b),
5-12 Education Code, is amended to read as follows:
5-13 (b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the [The] State
5-14 Board of Education may not grant a total of more than 120 [20]
5-15 charters for an open-enrollment charter school.
5-16 SECTION 4. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
5-17 Act takes effect immediately.
5-18 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-23 and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its
5-24 terms, and it is so enacted.