By Dunnam H.B. No. 2923 76R3304 CAS-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the election of the members of the governing body of an 1-3 open-enrollment charter school. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Section 12.111, Education Code, is amended to 1-6 read as follows: 1-7 Sec. 12.111. CONTENT. Each charter granted under this 1-8 subchapter must: 1-9 (1) describe the educational program to be offered, 1-10 which must include the required curriculum as provided by Section 1-11 28.002; 1-12 (2) specify the period for which the charter or any 1-13 charter renewal is valid; 1-14 (3) provide that continuation or renewal of the 1-15 charter is contingent on acceptable student performance on 1-16 assessment instruments adopted under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, and 1-17 on compliance with any accountability provision specified by the 1-18 charter, by a deadline or at intervals specified by the charter; 1-19 (4) establish the level of student performance that is 1-20 considered acceptable for purposes of Subdivision (3); 1-21 (5) specify any basis, in addition to a basis 1-22 specified by this subchapter, on which the charter may be placed on 1-23 probation or revoked or on which renewal of the charter may be 1-24 denied; 2-1 (6) prohibit discrimination in admission policy on the 2-2 basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, 2-3 academic or athletic ability, or the district the child would 2-4 otherwise attend in accordance with this code, although the charter 2-5 may provide for the exclusion of a student who has a documented 2-6 history of a criminal offense, a juvenile court adjudication, or 2-7 discipline problems under Subchapter A, Chapter 37; 2-8 (7) specify the grade levels to be offered; 2-9 (8) describe the governing structure of the program, 2-10 including the term for which members of the governing body serve, 2-11 whether the terms are to be staggered, and any other provision 2-12 necessary for the election of members of the governing body in 2-13 accordance with Section 12.119; 2-14 (9) specify the qualifications to be met by 2-15 professional employees of the program; 2-16 (10) describe the process by which the person 2-17 providing the program will adopt an annual budget; 2-18 (11) describe the manner in which an annual audit of 2-19 the financial and programmatic operations of the program is to be 2-20 conducted, including the manner in which the person providing the 2-21 program will provide information necessary for the school district 2-22 in which the program is located to participate, as required by this 2-23 code or by State Board of Education rule, in the Public Education 2-24 Information Management System (PEIMS); 2-25 (12) describe the facilities to be used; 2-26 (13) describe the geographical area served by the 2-27 program; and 3-1 (14) specify any type of enrollment criteria to be 3-2 used. 3-3 SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, is 3-4 amended by adding Section 12.119 to read as follows: 3-5 Sec. 12.119. ELECTION OF GOVERNING BODY. (a) The members of 3-6 the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school shall be 3-7 elected at an election held in the geographical area served by the 3-8 program as described by the charter in accordance with Section 3-9 12.111(13). 3-10 (b) In each geographical area served by an open-enrollment 3-11 charter school, the commissioners court of the county containing 3-12 that geographical area shall order an election to be held in 3-13 accordance with this section. If that geographical area extends 3-14 into more than one county, the commissioners court of each county 3-15 in which a portion of the geographical area is located shall 3-16 jointly order and hold the election. The commissioners court shall 3-17 hold the first election on the first uniform election date provided 3-18 by Section 41.001, Election Code, that is at least 120 days after 3-19 the date the charter is granted. At that election, all positions 3-20 on the governing body shall be filled for terms provided by the 3-21 charter. The person operating the open-enrollment charter school 3-22 shall reimburse the commissioners court for all necessary costs of 3-23 ordering and conducting the election. 3-24 (c) If the charter provides that the terms are to be 3-25 staggered, the members of the governing body elected at the 3-26 election under Subsection (b) shall draw lots for terms. In the 3-27 case of an established open-enrollment charter school, the term of 4-1 each member of the governing body of the open-enrollment charter 4-2 school in office on the date of that election ends when the 4-3 member's successor has qualified for office. In the case of an 4-4 open-enrollment charter school with a newly-granted charter, 4-5 control of the open-enrollment charter school transfers from the 4-6 person to whom the charter was granted to the governing body on the 4-7 date a quorum of the governing body of the open-enrollment charter 4-8 school elected under Subsection (b) has qualified for office. 4-9 (d) The governing body of an open-enrollment charter school 4-10 shall order and conduct subsequent elections of members of the 4-11 governing body. With the appropriate modifications, Sections 4-12 11.054-11.058 and 11.060 apply to the election under Subsection (b) 4-13 and to subsequent elections of members of the governing body. 4-14 SECTION 3. For an open-enrollment charter school for which a 4-15 charter is granted before September 1, 1999, the appropriate 4-16 commissioners courts shall hold the initial election of charter 4-17 school governing boards on the third Saturday in January 2000. 4-18 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 4-19 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the 4-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 4-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 4-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 4-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.