HBA-LCA H.B. 1809 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1809 By: Lengefeld Public Education 3/7/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE As part of the 1995 recodification of the Texas Education Code, school boards were authorized to grant campus program charters and cooperative campus charters at the request of parents and teachers. School districts use charters to create specialized curricula and methodology. Currently, the application process for a charter requires a petition signed by a majority of parents and teachers at campuses to be affected by proposed charters. H.B. 1809 simplifies the charter application process by removing the petition requirement from the law, and retains a requirement that school boards adopt local policies for the charter approval process among requirements governing campus and program charters. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Sections 12.052 and 12.053, Education Code, as follows: Sec. 12.052. AUTHORIZATION. Provides that the board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of a home-rule school district may grant a charter to parents and teachers for a campus or a program on a campus without a petition signed by the parents of a majority of the students and by a majority of the teachers at that campus. Sec. 12.053. COOPERATIVE CAMPUS CHARTER. Authorizes the board of trustees to grant a charter to parents and teachers at two or more campuses in the district for a cooperative charter program without a petition signed by the parents of a majority of the students and by the majority of teachers at that campus. SECTION 2. Redesignates Section 12.058, Education Code, as Section 12.0531, and amends it as follows: Sec. 12.0531. CHARTER POLICY. Deletes language requiring a school district to adopt the campus charter and campus program charter policy required by this section no later than January 1, 1998. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.