By Sadler H.B. No. 2861
77R2846 CAS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the powers and duties of the boards of trustees and
1-3 superintendents of independent school districts.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 11.051(a), Education Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 (a) An independent school district is governed by a board of
1-8 trustees who, as a body corporate, shall oversee the management of
1-9 the district. A member of the board may not, individually, act on
1-10 behalf of the board. The board of trustees may act only by
1-11 majority vote of the members present at a meeting at which a quorum
1-12 of the board and the district's superintendent or the
1-13 superintendent's designee are present.
1-14 SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
1-15 amended by adding Section 11.0621 to read as follows:
1-16 Sec. 11.0621. MEETINGS. (a) The board of trustees of an
1-17 independent school district may hold only one regular meeting each
1-18 month.
1-19 (b) The president of the board, with the approval of a
1-20 majority of the members of the board and the district's
1-21 superintendent, may call a special meeting.
1-22 (c) The minutes of a regular or special meeting of the board
1-23 of trustees must reflect each member's attendance at or failure to
1-24 attend the meeting. The minutes must be readily accessible to the
2-1 public.
2-2 SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
2-3 amended by adding Sections 11.1511 and 11.1512 to read as follows:
2-4 Sec. 11.1511. SPECIFIC POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a) The
2-5 board of trustees of an independent school district has the powers
2-6 and duties provided by Subsection (b).
2-7 (b)(1) The board shall:
2-8 (A) serve as the leader of and advocate for the
2-9 children of the community the board represents; and
2-10 (B) work with the community to make the best use
2-11 of community resources.
2-12 (2) The board shall:
2-13 (A) adopt a vision statement and comprehensive
2-14 goals for the district and the superintendent; and
2-15 (B) monitor progress toward those goals.
2-16 (3) The board shall establish performance goals for
2-17 the district concerning:
2-18 (A) the performance indicators under Subchapter
2-19 C, Chapter 39; and
2-20 (B) any performance indicators adopted by the
2-21 district.
2-22 (4) The board shall ensure that the district:
2-23 (A) is accountable for achieving results;
2-24 (B) recognizes accomplishments; and
2-25 (C) takes action as necessary.
2-26 (5) The board shall adopt a policy to establish a
2-27 district- and campus-level planning and decision-making process as
3-1 required under Section 11.251.
3-2 (6) The board shall publish an annual educational
3-3 performance report as required under Section 39.053.
3-4 (7) The board shall:
3-5 (A) establish financial goals for the district;
3-6 (B) adopt an annual budget for the district as
3-7 required under Section 44.004;
3-8 (C) adopt a tax rate each fiscal year as
3-9 required under Section 26.05, Tax Code;
3-10 (D) monitor district finances to ensure that
3-11 district finances are properly maintained;
3-12 (E) ensure that district fiscal accounts are
3-13 audited annually as required under Section 44.008; and
3-14 (F) publish an end-of-year financial report for
3-15 distribution to the community.
3-16 (8) The board may:
3-17 (A) issue bonds and levy, pledge, assess, and
3-18 collect an annual ad valorem tax to pay the principal and interest
3-19 on the bonds as authorized under Sections 45.001 and 45.003;
3-20 (B) levy, assess, and collect an annual ad
3-21 valorem tax for maintenance and operation of the district as
3-22 authorized under Sections 45.002 and 45.003; and
3-23 (C) employ a person to assess or collect the
3-24 district's taxes as authorized under Section 45.231.
3-25 (9) The board may enter into contracts as authorized
3-26 under this code or other law and delegate contractual
3-27 responsibility to the superintendent as appropriate.
4-1 (10) The board shall conduct elections as required by
4-2 law.
4-3 (11) The board shall inform the superintendent of any
4-4 recommendation or complaint requiring action by the superintendent
4-5 that a member of the public has made concerning district personnel.
4-6 (12) The board shall carry out other powers and duties
4-7 provided by this code or other law.
4-8 Sec. 11.1512. COLLABORATION BETWEEN BOARD AND
4-9 SUPERINTENDENT. The board of trustees of a school district and the
4-10 superintendent of the district shall work together to:
4-11 (1) advocate for the high achievement of all district
4-12 students;
4-13 (2) create strong connections with community
4-14 organizations to provide community-wide support for the high
4-15 achievement of all district students;
4-16 (3) provide educational leadership for the district,
4-17 including leadership in developing and implementing the district
4-18 vision statement and long-range educational plan in close
4-19 collaboration with teachers, other staff, and parents;
4-20 (4) establish district-wide policies and annual goals
4-21 that are tied directly to the district's vision statement and
4-22 long-range educational plan;
4-23 (5) support the professional development of
4-24 principals, teachers, and other staff; and
4-25 (6) periodically evaluate board and superintendent
4-26 leadership, governance, and teamwork.
4-27 SECTION 4. Section 11.163, Education Code, is redesignated as
5-1 Section 11.1513, Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
5-2 Sec. 11.1513 [11.163]. EMPLOYMENT POLICY. (a) The board of
5-3 trustees of each independent school district shall adopt a policy
5-4 providing for the employment and duties of district personnel. The
5-5 employment policy must provide that:
5-6 (1) the board employs, evaluates, and, if appropriate,
5-7 terminates the employment of the superintendent;
5-8 (2) the superintendent has sole authority to make
5-9 recommendations to the board regarding the selection of all
5-10 personnel other than the superintendent, except that the board may
5-11 delegate final authority for those decisions to the superintendent;
5-12 [and]
5-13 (3) [(2)] each principal must approve each teacher or
5-14 staff appointment to the principal's campus as provided by Section
5-15 11.202; and
5-16 (4) each district employee, other than the
5-17 superintendent, ultimately is answerable to the superintendent.
5-18 (b) The board of trustees may accept or reject the
5-19 superintendent's recommendation regarding the selection of district
5-20 personnel but may not arbitrarily reject that recommendation. If
5-21 the board rejects the superintendent's recommendation, the
5-22 superintendent shall make alternative recommendations until the
5-23 board accepts a recommendation.
5-24 (c) The employment policy may:
5-25 (1) specify the terms of employment with the district;
5-26 or
5-27 (2) delegate to the superintendent the authority to
6-1 determine the terms of employment with the district.
6-2 SECTION 5. Section 11.201(d), Education Code, is amended to
6-3 read as follows:
6-4 (d) The duties of the superintendent include:
6-5 (1) assuming administrative responsibility and
6-6 leadership for the planning, organization, operation, supervision,
6-7 and evaluation of the education programs, services, and facilities
6-8 of the district and for the annual performance appraisal of the
6-9 district's staff;
6-10 (2) except as provided by Section 11.202, assuming
6-11 administrative authority and responsibility for the employment,
6-12 assignment, and evaluation of all personnel of the district other
6-13 than the superintendent;
6-14 (3) ensuring compliance with standards for the
6-15 adequacy of school facilities established by the commissioner under
6-16 Section 46.008 [making recommendations regarding the selection of
6-17 personnel of the district other than the superintendent, as
6-18 provided by Section 11.163];
6-19 (4) assuming responsibility for [initiating] the
6-20 termination or suspension of an employee or the nonrenewal of an
6-21 employee's term contract;
6-22 (5) managing the day-to-day operations of the district
6-23 as its administrative manager;
6-24 (6) preparing and submitting to the board of trustees
6-25 a proposed budget as provided by Section 44.002 and administering
6-26 the budget;
6-27 (7) preparing recommendations for policies to be
7-1 adopted by the board of trustees and overseeing the implementation
7-2 of adopted policies;
7-3 (8) developing or causing to be developed appropriate
7-4 administrative regulations to implement policies established by the
7-5 board of trustees;
7-6 (9) providing leadership for the attainment and, if
7-7 necessary, improvement of student performance in the district based
7-8 on the indicators adopted under Section 39.051 and other indicators
7-9 adopted by the State Board of Education or the district's board of
7-10 trustees;
7-11 (10) organizing the district's central administration;
7-12 [and]
7-13 (11) consulting with the district-level committee as
7-14 required under Section 11.252(f);
7-15 (12) ensuring:
7-16 (A) adoption of a student code of conduct as
7-17 required under Section 37.001 and enforcement of that code of
7-18 conduct; and
7-19 (B) adoption and enforcement of other student
7-20 disciplinary rules and procedures as necessary;
7-21 (13) submitting reports as required by state or
7-22 federal law, rule, or regulation;
7-23 (14) providing leadership to ensure that the
7-24 responsibilities of the board and superintendent team are carried
7-25 out;
7-26 (15) addressing any issue arising from any
7-27 recommendation or complaint a member of the public has made
8-1 concerning district personnel unless this subchapter clearly
8-2 assigns the responsibility for that issue to the board; and
8-3 (16) performing any other duties assigned by action of
8-4 the board of trustees.
8-5 SECTION 6. Section 11.159(b), Education Code, is amended to
8-6 read as follows:
8-7 (b) A trustee must complete any training required by the
8-8 State Board of Education. The minutes of the last regular meeting
8-9 of the board of trustees held during a calendar year must reflect
8-10 whether each trustee has met or is delinquent in meeting the
8-11 training required to be completed by the date of that meeting.
8-12 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.