By: Nelson S.B. No. 1653
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to campus or campus program charters.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
1-4 amended by adding a new Section 12.058 and renumbering existing
1-5 Sections 12.058 through 12.064 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 12.058. CHARTER POLICY. (a) Each school district
1-7 shall adopt a campus charter and campus program charter policy.
1-8 The policy must specify:
1-9 (1) the process to be followed for approval of a
1-10 campus charter or campus program charter;
1-11 (2) the statutory requirements with which a campus
1-12 charter or campus program charter must comply; and
1-13 (3) the items that must be included in a charter
1-14 application.
1-15 (b) Each school district shall adopt a campus charter and
1-16 campus program charter policy as required by this section not later
1-17 than January 1, 1998.
1-18 Sec. 12.059. CONTENT. Each charter granted under this
1-19 subchapter must:
1-20 (1) describe the educational program to be offered,
1-21 which may be a general or specialized program;
1-22 (2) provide that continuation of the charter is
1-23 contingent on satisfactory student performance under Subchapter B,
2-1 Chapter 39, and on compliance with other applicable accountability
2-2 provisions under Chapter 39;
2-3 (3) specify any basis, in addition to a basis
2-4 specified by this subchapter, on which the charter may be placed on
2-5 probation or revoked;
2-6 (4) prohibit discrimination in admission on the basis
2-7 of national origin, ethnicity, race, religion, or disability;
2-8 (5) describe the governing structure of the campus or
2-9 program;
2-10 (6) specify any procedure or requirement, in addition
2-11 to those under Chapter 38, that the campus or program will follow
2-12 to ensure the health and safety of students and employees; and
2-13 (7) describe the manner in which an annual audit of
2-14 financial and programmatic operations of the campus or program is
2-15 to be conducted, including the manner in which the campus or
2-16 program will provide information necessary for the school district
2-17 in which it is located to participate, as required by this code or
2-18 by State Board of Education rule, in the Public Education
2-19 Information Management System (PEIMS).
2-20 Sec. 12.060 [12.059]. FORM. A charter shall be in the form
2-21 and substance of a written contract signed by the president of the
2-22 board of trustees granting the charter and the chief operating
2-23 officer of the campus or program for which the charter is granted.
2-24 Sec. 12.061 [12.060]. CHARTER GRANTED. Each charter a board
2-25 of trustees grants under this subchapter must:
3-1 (1) satisfy this subchapter; and
3-2 (2) include the information that is required under
3-3 Section 12.059 [12.058] consistent with the information provided in
3-4 the application and any modification the board requires.
3-5 Sec. 12.062 [12.061]. REVISION. A charter granted under
3-6 this subchapter may be revised:
3-7 (1) with the approval of the board of trustees that
3-8 granted the charter; and
3-9 (2) on a petition signed by a majority of the parents
3-10 and a majority of the classroom teachers at the campus or in the
3-11 program, as applicable.
3-12 Sec. 12.063 [12.062]. BASIS FOR PLACEMENT ON PROBATION OR
3-13 REVOCATION. (a) A board of trustees may place on probation or
3-14 revoke a charter it grants if the board determines that the campus
3-15 or program:
3-16 (1) committed a material violation of the charter;
3-17 (2) failed to satisfy generally accepted accounting
3-18 standards of fiscal management; or
3-19 (3) failed to comply with this subchapter, another
3-20 law, or a state agency rule.
3-21 (b) The action the board takes under Subsection (a) shall be
3-22 based on the best interest of campus or program students, the
3-23 severity of the violation, and any previous violation the campus or
3-24 program has committed.
3-25 Sec. 12.064 [12.063]. PROCEDURE FOR PLACEMENT ON PROBATION
4-1 OR REVOCATION. (a) Each board of trustees that grants a charter
4-2 under this subchapter shall adopt a procedure to be used for
4-3 placing on probation or revoking a charter it grants.
4-4 (b) The procedure adopted under Subsection (a) must provide
4-5 an opportunity for a hearing to the campus or program for which a
4-6 charter is granted under this subchapter and to parents and
4-7 guardians of students at the campus or in the program. A hearing
4-8 under this subsection must be held on the campus or on one of the
4-9 campuses in the case of a cooperative charter program.
4-10 Sec. 12.065 [12.064]. ADMISSION. (a) Eligibility criteria
4-11 for admission of students to the campus or program for which a
4-12 charter is granted under this subchapter must give priority on the
4-13 basis of geographic and residency considerations. After priority
4-14 is given on those bases, secondary consideration may be given to a
4-15 student's age, grade level, or academic credentials in general or
4-16 in a specific area, as necessary for the type of program offered.
4-17 (b) The campus or program may require an applicant to submit
4-18 an application not later than a reasonable deadline the campus or
4-19 program establishes.
4-20 SECTION 2. Section 12.054, Education Code, is amended to
4-21 read as follows:
4-22 Sec. 12.054. AUTHORITY UNDER CHARTER. A campus or program
4-23 for which a charter is granted under this subchapter:
4-24 (1) is exempt from the instructional and academic
4-25 rules and policies of the board of trustees from which the campus
5-1 or program is specifically exempted in the charter; and
5-2 (2) retains authority to operate under the charter
5-3 only if students at the campus or in the program perform
5-4 satisfactorily as provided by the charter in accordance with
5-5 Section 12.059 [12.058].
5-6 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
5-7 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.