By: Nelson S.B. No. 1653
97S0825/1
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. Section 12.054, Education Code, is amended to
1-4 read as follows:
1-5 Sec. 12.054. AUTHORITY UNDER CHARTER. A campus or program
1-6 for which a charter is granted under this subchapter:
1-7 (1) is delegated powers and duties including:
1-8 (A) substantial control over spending within the
1-9 campus or program;
1-10 (B) power to hire, organize, train, and release
1-11 staff;
1-12 (C) control over instructional strategies and
1-13 methodologies used by the campus or program;
1-14 (D) freedom to organize the campus or program
1-15 schedule and teacher and student assignments;
1-16 (E) freedom to extend performance standards
1-17 beyond those required by the local school board or state; and
1-18 (F) freedom to devise the specific means to
1-19 demonstrate their accountability to their community beyond those
1-20 means required by the state or local school district;
1-21 (2) is exempt from the instructional and academic
1-22 rules and policies of the board of trustees from which the campus
1-23 or program is specifically exempted in the charter; and
2-1 (3) [(2)] retains authority to operate under the
2-2 charter only if students at the campus or in the program perform
2-3 satisfactorily as provided by the charter in accordance with
2-4 Section 12.059 [12.058].
2-5 SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
2-6 amended by adding a new Section 12.058 and renumbering existing
2-7 Sections 12.058 through 12.064 to read as follows:
2-8 Sec. 12.058. APPLICATION. (a) The local school board shall
2-9 approve or deny an application to establish a charter campus or
2-10 program on campus not later than the 60th day after the date of the
2-11 filing of the application.
2-12 (b) If the charter is not approved, the applicant may either
2-13 amend the proposal to address the board's objections and resubmit
2-14 the proposal to the board or may appeal the decision of the board
2-15 to the commissioner. The local school board shall approve or deny
2-16 an amended proposal not later than the 30th day after the date of
2-17 the filing of an amended charter application. If the local school
2-18 board denies an amended application within the time required, an
2-19 applicant may appeal the decision of the board to the commissioner.
2-20 If the board fails to act on an application or an amended
2-21 application within the time required, an applicant may submit the
2-22 applicant's charter proposal directly to the commissioner.
2-23 (c) If an application is submitted to the commissioner in
2-24 accordance with this subchapter, the commissioner shall approve or
2-25 deny the charter application not later than the 45th day after the
3-1 date of the receipt of the charter application. If the
3-2 commissioner approves the charter application, the commissioner
3-3 shall notify the governor of the decision, and the approval shall
3-4 be effective unless the governor overrules the commissioner's
3-5 decision not later than the 45th day after the date of the receipt
3-6 by the governor of the notice from the commissioner. If a charter
3-7 is approved by the commissioner and the commissioner's approval is
3-8 not overruled by the governor, the local school board must grant
3-9 the charter.
3-10 (d) The board of trustees of a charter campus or program on
3-11 campus, on receiving a charter from the local school board or the
3-12 commissioner, shall be deemed to be public agents authorized by the
3-13 State of Texas to supervise and control the charter campus or
3-14 program on campus, subject to terms of the charter.
3-15 Sec. 12.059. CONTENT. Each charter granted under this
3-16 subchapter must:
3-17 (1) describe the educational program to be offered,
3-18 which may be a general or specialized program;
3-19 (2) provide that continuation of the charter is
3-20 contingent on satisfactory student performance under Subchapter B,
3-21 Chapter 39, and on compliance with other applicable accountability
3-22 provisions under Chapter 39;
3-23 (3) specify any basis, in addition to a basis
3-24 specified by this subchapter, on which the charter may be placed on
3-25 probation or revoked;
4-1 (4) prohibit discrimination in admission on the basis
4-2 of national origin, ethnicity, race, religion, or disability;
4-3 (5) describe the governing structure of the campus or
4-4 program;
4-5 (6) specify any procedure or requirement, in addition
4-6 to those under Chapter 38, that the campus or program will follow
4-7 to ensure the health and safety of students and employees; and
4-8 (7) describe the manner in which an annual audit of
4-9 financial and programmatic operations of the campus or program is
4-10 to be conducted, including the manner in which the campus or
4-11 program will provide information necessary for the school district
4-12 in which it is located to participate, as required by this code or
4-13 by State Board of Education rule, in the Public Education
4-14 Information Management System (PEIMS).
4-15 Sec. 12.060 [12.059]. FORM. A charter shall be in the form
4-16 and substance of a written contract signed by the president of the
4-17 board of trustees granting the charter and the chief operating
4-18 officer of the campus or program for which the charter is granted.
4-19 Sec. 12.061 [12.060]. CHARTER GRANTED. Each charter a board
4-20 of trustees grants under this subchapter must:
4-21 (1) satisfy this subchapter; and
4-22 (2) include the information that is required under
4-23 Section 12.058 consistent with the information provided in the
4-24 application and any modification the board requires.
4-25 Sec. 12.062 [12.061]. REVISION. A charter granted under
5-1 this subchapter may be revised:
5-2 (1) with the approval of the board of trustees that
5-3 granted the charter; and
5-4 (2) on a petition signed by a majority of the parents
5-5 and a majority of the classroom teachers at the campus or in the
5-6 program, as applicable.
5-7 Sec. 12.063 [12.062]. BASIS FOR PLACEMENT ON PROBATION OR
5-8 REVOCATION. (a) A board of trustees may place on probation or
5-9 revoke a charter it grants if the board determines that the campus
5-10 or program:
5-11 (1) committed a material violation of the charter;
5-12 (2) failed to satisfy generally accepted accounting
5-13 standards of fiscal management; or
5-14 (3) failed to comply with this subchapter, another
5-15 law, or a state agency rule.
5-16 (b) The action the board takes under Subsection (a) shall be
5-17 based on the best interest of campus or program students, the
5-18 severity of the violation, and any previous violation the campus or
5-19 program has committed.
5-20 Sec. 12.064 [12.063]. PROCEDURE FOR PLACEMENT ON PROBATION
5-21 OR REVOCATION. (a) Each board of trustees that grants a charter
5-22 under this subchapter shall adopt a procedure to be used for
5-23 placing on probation or revoking a charter it grants.
5-24 (b) The procedure adopted under Subsection (a) must provide
5-25 an opportunity for a hearing to the campus or program for which a
6-1 charter is granted under this subchapter and to parents and
6-2 guardians of students at the campus or in the program. A hearing
6-3 under this subsection must be held on the campus or on one of the
6-4 campuses in the case of a cooperative charter program.
6-5 Sec. 12.065 [12.064]. ADMISSION. (a) Eligibility criteria
6-6 for admission of students to the campus or program for which a
6-7 charter is granted under this subchapter must give priority on the
6-8 basis of geographic and residency considerations. After priority
6-9 is given on those bases, secondary consideration may be given to a
6-10 student's age, grade level, or academic credentials in general or
6-11 in a specific area, as necessary for the type of program offered.
6-12 (b) The campus or program may require an applicant to submit
6-13 an application not later than a reasonable deadline the campus or
6-14 program establishes.
6-15 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
6-16 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
6-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.