1-1 By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 911
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 4, 1999; March 8, 1999, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 26, 1999,
1-4 reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 26, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 911 By: Sibley
1-7 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-8 AN ACT
1-9 relating to sanctions imposed on low-performing public school
1-10 campuses.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Section 39.131, Education Code, is amended by
1-13 amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to
1-14 read as follows:
1-15 (b) If a campus performance is below any standard under
1-16 Section 39.073(b), the campus is considered a low-performing campus
1-17 and the commissioner shall [may] take [any of] the following
1-18 actions, listed in order of severity, as [to the extent] the
1-19 commissioner determines necessary:
1-20 (1) issue public notice of the deficiency to the board
1-21 of trustees;
1-22 (2) order a hearing conducted by the board of trustees
1-23 at the campus for the purpose of notifying the public of the
1-24 unacceptable performance, the improvements in performance expected
1-25 by the agency, and the sanctions that may be imposed under this
1-26 section if the performance does not improve within a designated
1-27 period of time and of soliciting public comment on the initial
1-28 steps being taken to improve performance;
1-29 (3) order the preparation of a student achievement
1-30 improvement plan that addresses each academic excellence indicator
1-31 for which the campus's performance is unacceptable, the submission
1-32 of the plan to the commissioner for approval, and implementation of
1-33 the plan;
1-34 (4) order a hearing to be held before the commissioner
1-35 or the commissioner's designee at which the president of the board
1-36 of trustees, the superintendent, and the campus principal shall
1-37 appear and explain the campus's low performance, lack of
1-38 improvement, and plans for improvement; or
1-39 (5) appoint a special campus intervention team to:
1-40 (A) conduct a comprehensive on-site evaluation
1-41 of each low-performing campus to determine the cause for the
1-42 campus's low performance and lack of progress;
1-43 (B) recommend actions, including reallocation of
1-44 resources and technical assistance, changes in school procedures or
1-45 operations, staff development for instructional and administrative
1-46 staff, intervention for individual administrators or teachers,
1-47 waivers from state statute or rule, or other actions the team
1-48 considers appropriate;
1-49 (C) assist in the development of a campus plan
1-50 for student achievement; and
1-51 (D) assist the commissioner in monitoring the
1-52 progress of the campus in implementing the campus plan for
1-53 improvement of student achievement.
1-54 (b-1) If[; (6) if] a campus has been a low-performing campus
1-55 for a period of one year or more, the commissioner may appoint a
1-56 board of managers composed of residents of the district to exercise
1-57 the powers and duties of the board of trustees of the district in
1-58 relation to the campus.
1-59 (b-2) If[; or (7) if] a campus has been a low-performing
1-60 campus for a period of two years or more, the commissioner may
1-61 order closure of the school program on the campus.
1-62 SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 1999-2000
1-63 school year.
1-64 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
2-1 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-2 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-3 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-4 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-5 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-6 passage, and it is so enacted.
2-7 * * * * *