By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 1443
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
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 D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
1-15 amended by adding Sections 11.1511 and 11.1512 to read as follows:
1-16 Sec. 11.1511. SPECIFIC POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a) The
1-17 board of trustees of an independent school district has the powers
1-18 and duties provided by Subsection (b).
1-19 (b)(1) The board shall:
1-20 (A) serve as the leader of and advocate for the
1-21 children of the community the board represents; and
1-22 (B) work with the community to make the best use
1-23 of community resources.
2-1 (2) The board shall:
2-2 (A) adopt a vision statement and comprehensive
2-3 goals for the district and the superintendent; and
2-4 (B) monitor progress toward those goals.
2-5 (3) The board shall establish performance goals for
2-6 the district concerning:
2-7 (A) the performance indicators under Subchapter
2-8 C, Chapter 39; and
2-9 (B) any performance indicators adopted by the
2-10 district.
2-11 (4) The board shall ensure that the district:
2-12 (A) is accountable for achieving results;
2-13 (B) recognizes accomplishments; and
2-14 (C) takes action as necessary.
2-15 (5) The board shall adopt a policy to establish a
2-16 district- and campus-level planning and decision-making process as
2-17 required under Section 11.251.
2-18 (6) The board shall publish an annual educational
2-19 performance report as required under Section 39.053.
2-20 (7) The board shall:
2-21 (A) establish financial goals for the district;
2-22 (B) adopt an annual budget for the district as
2-23 required under Section 44.004;
2-24 (C) adopt a tax rate each fiscal year as
2-25 required under Section 26.05, Tax Code;
2-26 (D) monitor district finances to ensure that
3-1 district finances are properly maintained;
3-2 (E) ensure that district fiscal accounts are
3-3 audited annually as required under Section 44.008; and
3-4 (F) publish an end-of-year financial report for
3-5 distribution to the community.
3-6 (8) The board may:
3-7 (A) issue bonds and levy, pledge, assess, and
3-8 collect an annual ad valorem tax to pay the principal and interest
3-9 on the bonds as authorized under Sections 45.001 and 45.003;
3-10 (B) levy, assess, and collect an annual ad
3-11 valorem tax for maintenance and operation of the district as
3-12 authorized under Sections 45.002 and 45.003; and
3-13 (C) employ a person to assess or collect the
3-14 district's taxes as authorized under Section 45.231.
3-15 (9) The board may enter into contracts as authorized
3-16 under this code or other law and delegate contractual
3-17 responsibility to the superintendent as appropriate.
3-18 (10) The board shall conduct elections as required by
3-19 law.
3-20 (11) The board shall inform the superintendent of any
3-21 recommendation or complaint requiring action by the superintendent
3-22 that a member of the public has made concerning district personnel.
3-23 (12) The board shall carry out other powers and duties
3-24 provided by this code or other law.
3-25 Sec. 11.1512. COLLABORATION BETWEEN BOARD AND
3-26 SUPERINTENDENT. The board of trustees of a school district and the
4-1 superintendent of the district shall work together to:
4-2 (1) advocate for the high achievement of all district
4-3 students;
4-4 (2) create strong connections with community
4-5 organizations to provide community-wide support for the high
4-6 achievement of all district students;
4-7 (3) provide educational leadership for the district,
4-8 including leadership in developing and implementing the district
4-9 vision statement and long-range educational plan in close
4-10 collaboration with teachers, other staff, and parents;
4-11 (4) establish district-wide policies and annual goals
4-12 that are tied directly to the district's vision statement and
4-13 long-range educational plan;
4-14 (5) support the professional development of
4-15 principals, teachers, and other staff; and
4-16 (6) periodically evaluate board and superintendent
4-17 leadership, governance, and teamwork.
4-18 SECTION 3. Section 11.163, Education Code, is redesignated
4-19 as Section 11.1513, Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
4-20 Sec. 11.1513 [11.163]. EMPLOYMENT POLICY. (a) The board of
4-21 trustees of each independent school district shall adopt a policy
4-22 providing for the employment and duties of district personnel. The
4-23 employment policy must provide that:
4-24 (1) the board employs, evaluates, and, if appropriate,
4-25 terminates the employment of the superintendent;
4-26 (2) the superintendent has sole authority to make
5-1 recommendations to the board regarding the selection of all
5-2 personnel other than the superintendent, except that the board may
5-3 delegate final authority for those decisions to the superintendent;
5-4 [and]
5-5 (3) [(2)] each principal must approve each teacher or
5-6 staff appointment to the principal's campus as provided by Section
5-7 11.202; and
5-8 (4) each district employee, other than the
5-9 superintendent, ultimately is answerable to the superintendent.
5-10 (b) The board of trustees may accept or reject the
5-11 superintendent's recommendation regarding the selection of district
5-12 personnel but may not arbitrarily reject that recommendation. If
5-13 the board rejects the superintendent's recommendation, the
5-14 superintendent shall make alternative recommendations until the
5-15 board accepts a recommendation.
5-16 (c) The employment policy may:
5-17 (1) specify the terms of employment with the district;
5-18 or
5-19 (2) delegate to the superintendent the authority to
5-20 determine the terms of employment with the district.
5-21 SECTION 4. Section 11.201(d), Education Code, is amended to
5-22 read as follows:
5-23 (d) The duties of the superintendent include:
5-24 (1) assuming administrative responsibility and
5-25 leadership for the planning, organization, operation, supervision,
5-26 and evaluation of the education programs, services, and facilities
6-1 of the district and for the annual performance appraisal of the
6-2 district's staff;
6-3 (2) except as provided by Section 11.202, assuming
6-4 administrative authority and responsibility for the employment,
6-5 assignment, and evaluation of all personnel of the district other
6-6 than the superintendent;
6-7 (3) ensuring compliance with standards for the
6-8 adequacy of school facilities established by the commissioner under
6-9 Section 46.008 [making recommendations regarding the selection of
6-10 personnel of the district other than the superintendent, as
6-11 provided by Section 11.163];
6-12 (4) assuming responsibility for [initiating] the
6-13 termination or suspension of an employee or the nonrenewal of an
6-14 employee's term contract;
6-15 (5) managing the day-to-day operations of the district
6-16 as its administrative manager;
6-17 (6) preparing and submitting to the board of trustees
6-18 a proposed budget as provided by Section 44.002 and administering
6-19 the budget;
6-20 (7) preparing recommendations for policies to be
6-21 adopted by the board of trustees and overseeing the implementation
6-22 of adopted policies;
6-23 (8) developing or causing to be developed appropriate
6-24 administrative regulations to implement policies established by the
6-25 board of trustees;
6-26 (9) providing leadership for the attainment and, if
7-1 necessary, improvement of student performance in the district based
7-2 on the indicators adopted under Section 39.051 and other indicators
7-3 adopted by the State Board of Education or the district's board of
7-4 trustees;
7-5 (10) organizing the district's central administration;
7-6 [and]
7-7 (11) consulting with the district-level committee as
7-8 required under Section 11.252(f);
7-9 (12) ensuring:
7-10 (A) adoption of a student code of conduct as
7-11 required under Section 37.001 and enforcement of that code of
7-12 conduct; and
7-13 (B) adoption and enforcement of other student
7-14 disciplinary rules and procedures as necessary;
7-15 (13) submitting reports as required by state or
7-16 federal law, rule, or regulation;
7-17 (14) providing leadership to ensure that the
7-18 responsibilities of the board and superintendent team are carried
7-19 out;
7-20 (15) addressing any issue arising from any
7-21 recommendation or complaint a member of the public has made
7-22 concerning district personnel unless this subchapter clearly
7-23 assigns the responsibility for that issue to the board; and
7-24 (16) performing any other duties assigned by action of
7-25 the board of trustees.
7-26 SECTION 5. Section 11.159(b), Education Code, is amended to
8-1 read as follows:
8-2 (b) A trustee must complete any training required by the
8-3 State Board of Education. The minutes of the last regular meeting
8-4 of the board of trustees held during a calendar year must reflect
8-5 whether each trustee has met or is delinquent in meeting the
8-6 training required to be completed by the date of that meeting.
8-7 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.