1-1     By:  Nelson                                           S.B. No. 1653

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 14, 1997; March 24, 1997, read

 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Education; May 5, 1997,

 1-4     reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 11, Nays 0; May 5, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1653              By:  Barrientos

 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-8                                   AN ACT

 1-9     relating to campus or campus program charters.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 12, Education Code, is

1-12     amended by adding a new Section 12.058 and renumbering existing

1-13     Sections 12.058 through 12.064 to read as follows:

1-14           Sec. 12.058.  CHARTER POLICY.  (a)  Each school district

1-15     shall adopt a campus charter and campus program charter policy.

1-16     The policy must specify:

1-17                 (1)  the process to be followed for approval of a

1-18     campus charter or campus program charter;

1-19                 (2)  the statutory requirements with which a campus

1-20     charter or campus program charter must comply; and

1-21                 (3)  the items that must be included in a charter

1-22     application.

1-23           (b)  Each school district shall adopt a campus charter and

1-24     campus program charter policy as required by this section not later

1-25     than January 1, 1998.

1-26           Sec. 12.059.  CONTENT.  Each charter granted under this

1-27     subchapter must:

1-28                 (1)  describe the educational program to be offered,

1-29     which may be a general or specialized program;

1-30                 (2)  provide that continuation of the charter is

1-31     contingent on satisfactory student performance under Subchapter B,

1-32     Chapter 39, and on compliance with other applicable accountability

1-33     provisions under Chapter 39;

1-34                 (3)  specify any basis, in addition to a basis

1-35     specified by this subchapter, on which the charter may be placed on

1-36     probation or revoked;

1-37                 (4)  prohibit discrimination in admission on the basis

1-38     of national origin, ethnicity, race, religion, or disability;

1-39                 (5)  describe the governing structure of the campus or

1-40     program;

1-41                 (6)  specify any procedure or requirement, in addition

1-42     to those under Chapter 38, that the campus or program will follow

1-43     to ensure the health and safety of students and employees; and

1-44                 (7)  describe the manner in which an annual audit of

1-45     financial and programmatic operations of the campus or program is

1-46     to be conducted, including the manner in which the campus or

1-47     program will provide information necessary for the school district

1-48     in which it is located to participate, as required by this code or

1-49     by State Board of Education rule, in the Public Education

1-50     Information Management System (PEIMS).

1-51           Sec. 12.060 [12.059].  FORM.  A charter shall be in the form

1-52     and substance of a written contract signed by the president of the

1-53     board of trustees granting the charter and the chief operating

1-54     officer of the campus or program for which the charter is granted.

1-55           Sec. 12.061 [12.060].  CHARTER GRANTED.  Each charter a board

1-56     of trustees grants under this subchapter must:

1-57                 (1)  satisfy this subchapter; and

1-58                 (2)  include the information that is required under

1-59     Section 12.059 [12.058] consistent with the information provided in

1-60     the application and any modification the board requires.

1-61           Sec. 12.062 [12.061].  REVISION.  A charter granted under

1-62     this subchapter may be revised:

1-63                 (1)  with the approval of the board of trustees that

1-64     granted the charter; and

 2-1                 (2)  on a petition signed by a majority of the parents

 2-2     and a majority of the classroom teachers at the campus or in the

 2-3     program, as applicable.

 2-4           Sec. 12.063 [12.062].  BASIS FOR PLACEMENT ON PROBATION OR

 2-5     REVOCATION.  (a)  A board of trustees may place on probation or

 2-6     revoke a charter it grants if the board determines that the campus

 2-7     or program:

 2-8                 (1)  committed a material violation of the charter;

 2-9                 (2)  failed to satisfy generally accepted accounting

2-10     standards of fiscal management; or

2-11                 (3)  failed to comply with this subchapter, another

2-12     law, or a state agency rule.

2-13           (b)  The action the board takes under Subsection (a) shall be

2-14     based on the best interest of campus or program students, the

2-15     severity of the violation, and any previous violation the campus or

2-16     program has committed.

2-17           Sec. 12.064 [12.063].  PROCEDURE FOR PLACEMENT ON PROBATION

2-18     OR REVOCATION.  (a)  Each board of trustees that grants a charter

2-19     under this subchapter shall adopt a procedure to be used for

2-20     placing on probation or revoking a charter it grants.

2-21           (b)  The procedure adopted under Subsection (a) must provide

2-22     an opportunity for a hearing to the campus or program for which a

2-23     charter is granted under this subchapter and to parents and

2-24     guardians of students at the campus or in the program.  A hearing

2-25     under this subsection must be held on the campus or on one of the

2-26     campuses in the case of a cooperative charter program.

2-27           Sec. 12.065 [12.064].  ADMISSION.  (a)  Eligibility criteria

2-28     for admission of students to the campus or program for which a

2-29     charter is granted under this subchapter must give priority on the

2-30     basis of geographic and residency considerations.  After priority

2-31     is given on those bases, secondary consideration may be given to a

2-32     student's age, grade level, or academic credentials in general or

2-33     in a specific area, as necessary for the type of program offered.

2-34           (b)  The campus or program may require an applicant to submit

2-35     an application not later than a reasonable deadline the campus or

2-36     program establishes.

2-37           SECTION 2.  Section 12.054, Education Code, is amended to

2-38     read as follows:

2-39           Sec. 12.054.  AUTHORITY UNDER CHARTER.  A campus or program

2-40     for which a charter is granted under this subchapter:

2-41                 (1)  is exempt from the instructional and academic

2-42     rules and policies of the board of trustees from which the campus

2-43     or program is specifically exempted in the charter; and

2-44                 (2)  retains authority to operate under the charter

2-45     only if students at the campus or in the program perform

2-46     satisfactorily as provided by the charter in accordance with

2-47     Section 12.059 [12.058].

2-48           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-49           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-50     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-51     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-52     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-53     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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