By Kitchen H.B. No. 2195
77R8376 T
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to financial and operational accountability requirements
1-3 for open-enrollment charter schools.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 12.110, Education Code, is amended to read
1-6 as follows:
1-7 Sec. 12.110. APPLICATION. (a) The State Board of Education
1-8 shall adopt:
1-9 (1) an application form and a procedure that must be
1-10 used to apply for a charter for an open-enrollment charter school;
1-11 and
1-12 (2) criteria to use in selecting a program for which
1-13 to grant a charter.
1-14 (b) The application form must provide for including the
1-15 information required under Section 12.111 to be contained in a
1-16 charter.
1-17 (c) As part of the application procedure, the board may
1-18 require a petition supporting a charter for a school signed by a
1-19 specified number of parents or guardians of school-age children
1-20 residing in the area in which a school is proposed or may hold a
1-21 public hearing to determine parental support for the school.
1-22 (d) The board may approve or deny an application based on
1-23 criteria it adopts. The criteria the board adopts must include:
1-24 (1) criteria relating to improving student performance
2-1 and encouraging innovative programs; [and]
2-2 (2) a statement from any school district whose
2-3 enrollment is likely to be affected by the open-enrollment charter
2-4 school, including information relating to any financial difficulty
2-5 that a loss in enrollment may have on the district; and
2-6 (3) a requirement for the charter school to prepare
2-7 and submit to TEA documentation from applicants that demonstrates
2-8 that:
2-9 (A) charter school management staff possess an
2-10 understanding of and experience in accounting for funds and in
2-11 providing financial accountability reports that is based on
2-12 generally accepted accounting procedures and standards;
2-13 (B) all charter school board members and school
2-14 management staff have attended some minimum training regarding
2-15 areas from basic school laws and funding aspects to public
2-16 accountability;
2-17 (C) the charter school possesses the ability,
2-18 both prospective and current, to meet payrolls and other
2-19 contractual obligations;
2-20 (D) the charter school has a reasonable plan for
2-21 an organized shut down of operations in the event the charter
2-22 school ceases to operate as a charter school. The closure plan
2-23 shall include, at a minimum:
2-24 (i) the charter school's process of
2-25 notifying its faculty, students, parents, and others involved in
2-26 the charter school that it is ceasing operations as of a specific
2-27 date; and
3-1 (ii) the charter school's process of
3-2 ensuring that all financial obligations incurred to the date it
3-3 ceases operations have been or will be satisfied; and
3-4 (E) the charter school management has a
3-5 reasonable plan for implementation that demonstrates preparedness
3-6 of the charter school operations before the date on which the
3-7 charter school plans to begin operations. The TEA shall respond to
3-8 an implementation plan not later than the 10th day after the date a
3-9 charter school organization submits its plan if the plan does not
3-10 adequately meet preparedness guidelines.
3-11 (e) Each charter school organization that is approved by the
3-12 State Board of Education to operate as an open-enrollment charter
3-13 school shall submit status reports on the implementation plan not
3-14 later then the 60th day and the 30th day before the date on which
3-15 the school plans to begin operations as a charter school, and every
3-16 30th day after that date until the end of each school year.
3-17 (f) The TEA shall conduct a compliance and readiness review
3-18 of each charter school organization that has been approved not
3-19 later than the 45th day before the date which the charter school
3-20 plans to begin operations. The review must include an on-site
3-21 inspection and tests of financial accountability, curriculum
3-22 content, facility safety, and associated systems, including the
3-23 ability of the charter school organization to function
3-24 programmatically and financially according to accepted accounting
3-25 and curriculum content tests.
3-26 (g) The TEA may delay enrollment of students in a charter
3-27 school if the compliance and readiness review reveals that the
4-1 charter school organization is not prepared to meet its contractual
4-2 obligations. The TEA shall notify a charter school organization of
4-3 a decision to delay enrollment.
4-4 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.