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.
2-54 * * * * *