1-1     By:  Shapiro, Shapleigh                                 S.B. No. 26
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed November 13, 2000; January 10, 2001,
 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Education;
 1-4     March 29, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
 1-5     Nays 0; March 29, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to restaffing certain low-performing schools.
 1-9           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-10           SECTION 1.  Subsection (b), Section 39.131, Education Code,
1-11     is amended to read as follows:
1-12           (b)  If a campus performance is below any standard under
1-13     Section 39.073(b), the campus is considered a low-performing campus
1-14     and the commissioner may take any of the following actions, listed
1-15     in order of severity, to the extent the commissioner determines
1-16     necessary:
1-17                 (1)  issue public notice of the deficiency to the board
1-18     of trustees;
1-19                 (2)  order a hearing conducted by the board of trustees
1-20     at the campus for the purpose of notifying the public of the
1-21     unacceptable performance, the improvements in performance expected
1-22     by the agency, and the sanctions that may be imposed under this
1-23     section if the performance does not improve within a designated
1-24     period of time and of soliciting public comment on the initial
1-25     steps being taken to improve performance;
1-26                 (3)  order the preparation of a report regarding the
1-27     parental involvement program at the campus and a plan describing
1-28     strategies for improving parental involvement at the campus;
1-29                 (4)  order the preparation of a report regarding the
1-30     effectiveness of the district- and campus-level planning and
1-31     decision-making committees established under Subchapter F, Chapter
1-32     11, and a plan describing strategies for improving the
1-33     effectiveness of those committees;
1-34                 (5)  order the preparation of a student achievement
1-35     improvement plan that addresses each academic excellence indicator
1-36     for which the campus's performance is unacceptable, the submission
1-37     of the plan to the commissioner for approval, and implementation of
1-38     the plan;
1-39                 (6)  order a hearing to be held before the commissioner
1-40     or the commissioner's designee at which the president of the board
1-41     of trustees, the superintendent, and the campus principal shall
1-42     appear and explain the campus's low performance, lack of
1-43     improvement, and plans for improvement;
1-44                 (7)  appoint a special campus intervention team to:
1-45                       (A)  conduct a comprehensive on-site evaluation
1-46     of each low-performing campus to determine the cause for the
1-47     campus's low performance and lack of progress;
1-48                       (B)  recommend actions, including reallocation of
1-49     resources and technical assistance, changes in school procedures or
1-50     operations, staff development for instructional and administrative
1-51     staff, intervention for individual administrators or teachers,
1-52     waivers from state statute or rule, or other actions the team
1-53     considers appropriate;
1-54                       (C)  assist in the development of a campus plan
1-55     for student achievement; and
1-56                       (D)  assist the commissioner in monitoring the
1-57     progress of the campus in implementing the campus plan for
1-58     improvement of student achievement;
1-59                 (8)  if a campus has been a low-performing campus for a
1-60     period of one year or more, appoint a board of managers composed of
1-61     residents of the district to exercise the powers and duties of the
1-62     board of trustees of the district in relation to the campus; or
1-63                 (9)  if a campus has been a low-performing campus for a
1-64     period of two years or more, order:
 2-1                       (A)  closure of the school program on the campus;
 2-2     or
 2-3                       (B)  reassignment to other appropriate positions
 2-4     in the district of some or all of the educators employed for at
 2-5     least the two preceding years on the campus.
 2-6           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately and applies
 2-7     beginning with the 2001-2002 school year.
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