By Wise                                                H.B. No. 357
         77R1915 BDH-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to grounds for special accreditation investigations of
 1-3     school districts.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 39.075(a), Education Code, is amended to
 1-6     read as follows:
 1-7           (a)  The commissioner shall authorize special accreditation
 1-8     investigations to be conducted under the following circumstances:
 1-9                 (1)  when excessive numbers of absences of students
1-10     eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are
1-11     determined;
1-12                 (2)  when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions
1-13     from the required state assessment are determined;
1-14                 (3)  in response to complaints submitted to the agency
1-15     with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other
1-16     requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;
1-17                 (4)  in response to established compliance reviews of
1-18     the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal
1-19     program requirements;
1-20                 (5)  when extraordinary numbers of student placements
1-21     in alternative education programs, other than placements under
1-22     Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined; [or]
1-23                 (6)  in response to an allegation involving a conflict
1-24     between members of the board of trustees or between the board and
 2-1     the district administration if it appears that the conflict
 2-2     involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the
 2-3     administration clearly defined by this code; or
 2-4                 (7)  in response to an allegation that the
 2-5     district-level and site-based decision-making process under
 2-6     Subchapter F, Chapter 11, is not properly functioning, if the
 2-7     person making the allegation has exhausted the person's remedies
 2-8     through the district's grievance process.
 2-9           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-10     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-11     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
2-12     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-13     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.