By Krusee H.B. No. 3754
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to creation of the Charter School Commission.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
1-5 amended by adding Section 12.1012 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 12.1012. CHARTER SCHOOL COMMISSION. (a) The Charter
1-7 School Commission is composed of five members appointed as follows:
1-8 (1) three members appointed by the governor with the
1-9 advice and consent of the senate;
1-10 (2) one member appointed by the commissioner;
1-11 (3) one member appointed by the chair of the board[;].
1-12 [(4) one member appointed by the lieutenant governor;
1-13 and]
1-14 [(5) one member appointed by the comptroller.]
1-15 (b) An appointment to the commission may not be made with
1-16 regard to the race, creed, sex, religion, or national origin of the
1-17 appointed member.
1-18 (c) A person is not eligible for service on the commission
1-19 if the person:
1-20 (1) holds an office with this state or any political
1-21 subdivision of this state; or
2-1 (2) is required to register as a lobbyist under
2-2 Chapter 305, Government Code, by virtue of the person's activities
2-3 for compensation in or on behalf of a profession, business, or
2-4 association related to the operation of the commission or the
2-5 board.
2-6 (d) Members of the commission serve for two-year terms
2-7 expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year. A member of the
2-8 commission may not serve more than two full terms as a commission
2-9 member.
2-10 (e) The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate,
2-11 shall appoint the chair from among the membership of the
2-12 commission. The chair serves at the pleasure of the governor.
2-13 (f) The commission shall hold four meetings a year on dates
2-14 determined by the chair and may hold other meetings at the call of
2-15 the chair.
2-16 (g) A member of the commission is not entitled to receive
2-17 compensation for service on the commission. A member of the
2-18 commission is entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary
2-19 expenses incurred in discharging the member's duties as a
2-20 commission member as provided by the General Appropriations Act.
2-21 (h) The agency shall provide staff and facilities for the
2-22 commission.
2-23 SECTION 2. Sections 12.101(a) and (b), Education Code, are
2-24 amended to read as follows:
2-25 (a) In accordance with this subchapter, the Charter School
3-1 Commission [State Board of Education] may grant a charter on the
3-2 application of an eligible entity for an open-enrollment charter
3-3 school to operate in a facility of a commercial or nonprofit entity
3-4 or a school district, including a home-rule school district. In
3-5 this subsection, "eligible entity" means:
3-6 (1) an institution of higher education as defined
3-7 under Section 61.003;
3-8 (2) a private or independent institution of higher
3-9 education as defined under Section 61.003;
3-10 (3) an organization that is exempt from taxation under
3-11 Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.
3-12 Section 501(c)(3)); or
3-13 (4) a governmental entity.
3-14 (b) The Charter School Commission [State Board of Education]
3-15 may not grant a total of more than 20 charters for an
3-16 open-enrollment charter school.
3-17 SECTION 3. Section 12.1011(a), Education Code, is amended to
3-18 read as follows:
3-19 (a) In addition to the other charters authorized under this
3-20 subchapter, in accordance with this subchapter the Charter School
3-21 Commission [State Board of Education] may grant:
3-22 (1) not more than 100 charters for open-enrollment
3-23 charter schools that adopt an express policy providing for the
3-24 admission of students eligible for a public education grant under
3-25 Subchapter G, Chapter 29; and
4-1 (2) additional charters for open-enrollment charter
4-2 schools for which at least 75 percent of the prospective student
4-3 population, as specified in the proposed charter, will be students
4-4 who have dropped out of school or are at risk of dropping out of
4-5 school as defined by Section 29.081.
4-6 SECTION 4. Sections 12.110(a), (c), and (d), Education
4-7 Code, are amended to read as follows:
4-8 (a) The Charter School Commission [State Board of Education]
4-9 shall adopt:
4-10 (1) an application form and a procedure that must be
4-11 used to apply for a charter for an open-enrollment charter school;
4-12 and
4-13 (2) criteria to use in selecting a program for which
4-14 to grant a charter.
4-15 (c) As part of the application procedure, the commission
4-16 [board] may require a petition supporting a charter for a school
4-17 signed by a specified number of parents or guardians of school-age
4-18 children residing in the area in which a school is proposed or may
4-19 hold a public hearing to determine parental support for the school.
4-20 (d) The commission [board] may approve or deny an
4-21 application based on criteria it adopts. The criteria the
4-22 commission [board] adopts must include:
4-23 (1) criteria relating to improving student performance
4-24 and encouraging innovative programs; and
4-25 (2) a statement from any school district whose
5-1 enrollment is likely to be affected by the open-enrollment charter
5-2 school, including information relating to any financial difficulty
5-3 that a loss in enrollment may have on the district.
5-4 SECTION 5. Section 12.112, Education Code, is amended to
5-5 read as follows:
5-6 Sec. 12.112. FORM. A charter for an open-enrollment charter
5-7 school shall be in the form of a written contract signed by the
5-8 chair of the Charter School Commission [State Board of Education]
5-9 and the chief operating officer of the school.
5-10 SECTION 6. Section 12.113, Education Code, is amended to
5-11 read as follows:
5-12 Sec. 12.113. CHARTER GRANTED. Each charter the Charter
5-13 School Commission [State Board of Education] grants for an
5-14 open-enrollment charter school must:
5-15 (1) satisfy this subchapter; and
5-16 (2) include the information that is required under
5-17 Section 12.111 consistent with the information provided in the
5-18 application and any modification the commission [board] requires.
5-19 SECTION 7. Section 12.114, Education Code, is amended to
5-20 read as follows:
5-21 Sec. 12.114. REVISION. A revision of a charter of an
5-22 open-enrollment charter school may be made only with the approval
5-23 of the Charter School Commission [State Board of Education].
5-24 SECTION 8. Section 12.115, Education Code, is amended to
5-25 read as follows:
6-1 Sec. 12.115. BASIS FOR MODIFICATION, PLACEMENT ON PROBATION,
6-2 REVOCATION, OR DENIAL OF RENEWAL. (a) The Charter School
6-3 Commission [State Board of Education] may modify, place on
6-4 probation, revoke, or deny renewal of the charter of an
6-5 open-enrollment charter school if the commission [board] determines
6-6 that the person operating the school:
6-7 (1) committed a material violation of the charter,
6-8 including failure to satisfy accountability provisions prescribed
6-9 by the charter;
6-10 (2) failed to satisfy generally accepted accounting
6-11 standards of fiscal management; or
6-12 (3) failed to comply with this subchapter or another
6-13 applicable law or rule.
6-14 (b) The action the commission [board] takes under Subsection
6-15 (a) shall be based on the best interest of the school's students,
6-16 the severity of the violation, and any previous violation the
6-17 school has committed.
6-18 SECTION 9. Section 12.116(a), Education Code, is amended to
6-19 read as follows:
6-20 (a) The Charter School Commission [State Board of Education]
6-21 shall adopt a procedure to be used for modifying, placing on
6-22 probation, revoking, or denying renewal of the charter of an
6-23 open-enrollment charter school.
6-24 SECTION 10. Section 12.118(a), Education Code, is amended to
6-25 read as follows:
7-1 (a) The Charter School Commission [board] shall designate an
7-2 impartial organization with experience in evaluating school choice
7-3 programs to conduct an annual evaluation of open-enrollment charter
7-4 schools.
7-5 SECTION 11. Section 7.102(c)(9), Education Code, is
7-6 repealed.
7-7 SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
7-8 SECTION 13. (a) Not later than November 1, 1999, each
7-9 appointing authority specified in Section 12.1012, Education Code,
7-10 as added by this Act, shall make the initial appointments to the
7-11 Charter School Commission.
7-12 (b) During the period beginning September 1, 1999, and
7-13 ending on the date that a quorum of the Charter School Commission
7-14 has been appointed and has qualified for office, the State Board of
7-15 Education may modify a charter for an open-enrollment charter
7-16 school granted by the State Board of Education under Subchapter D,
7-17 Chapter 12, Education Code, as that law existed on January 1, 1999,
7-18 or may place such a charter on probation, but may not revoke such a
7-19 charter.
7-20 (c) A charter for an open-enrollment charter school granted
7-21 by the State Board of Education under Subchapter D, Chapter 12,
7-22 Education Code, as that law existed on January 1, 1999, or a
7-23 revision to such a charter, remains valid for the period for which
7-24 it was granted unless the charter is modified or placed on
7-25 probation by the State Board of Education under Subsection (b) of
8-1 this section or by the Charter School Commission. The Charter
8-2 School Commission may take any action concerning such a charter as
8-3 if the commission had granted the charter.
8-4 SECTION 14. The importance of this legislation and the
8-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.