By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 1705
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the election of school district trustees from
1-3 single-member districts.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subsections (f) and (g), Section 11.052,
1-6 Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-7 (f) At the first election at which some or all of the
1-8 trustees are elected from trustee districts and after each
1-9 redistricting, all positions on the board shall be filled unless
1-10 the board of trustees determines the positions should be filled as
1-11 provided by Section 11.053 as the terms of trustees then in office
1-12 expire. If all positions are filled, the [The] trustees then
1-13 elected shall draw lots for staggered terms that comply with [as
1-14 provided by] Section 11.059.
1-15 (g) Not later than the 90th day before the date of the first
1-16 regular school board election at which trustees may officially
1-17 recognize and act on the last preceding federal census, the board
1-18 shall redistrict [redivide] the school district into the
1-19 appropriate number of trustee districts if the census data
1-20 indicates that the population of the most populous trustee district
1-21 exceeds the population of the least populous trustee district by
1-22 more than 10 percent. Redistricting [Redivision] of the school
1-23 district shall be in the manner provided for division of the school
1-24 district under Subsection (d).
1-25 SECTION 2. Section 11.053, Education Code, is amended to
2-1 read as follows:
2-2 Sec. 11.053. [TRANSITION TO SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS:]
2-3 OPTION TO CONTINUE IN OFFICE FOLLOWING ADOPTION OF SINGLE-MEMBER
2-4 PLAN OR REDISTRICTING. (a) The board of trustees of [For] an
2-5 independent school district that adopts a redistricting plan under
2-6 Section 11.052 [providing for five members of the board to be
2-7 elected from single-member trustee districts and two members to be
2-8 elected at large, the board of trustees] may provide [in the plan]
2-9 for the trustees [then] in office when the plan is adopted or the
2-10 school district is redistricted to serve [at large] for the
2-11 remainder of their terms in accordance with this section.
2-12 (b) The trustee district and any at-large positions provided
2-13 by the district's plan shall be filled as the staggered terms of
2-14 [incumbent] trustees then in office expire. Not later than the
2-15 90th day before the date of the first election from trustee
2-16 districts and after each redistricting, the board shall determine
2-17 [by lot] the order in which the positions will be filled.
2-18 (c) If a resident of a school district submits a request to
2-19 the superintendent of the district that the board of trustees of
2-20 the district hold a public hearing on the issue of staggered or
2-21 simultaneous election of trustees from single-member districts
2-22 after redistricting, the board of trustees shall hold a hearing on
2-23 that issue. The board may not exercise the authority granted by
2-24 Subsection (a) until any hearing requested under this subsection
2-25 has been held.
2-26 (d) the hearing requirement provided under this section
3-1 applies to any school district with 50,000 or more students in
3-2 average daily attendance.
3-3 [The trustees of a district to which this section applies may
3-4 also provide for members serving at the time of a redistricting to
3-5 serve for the remainder of their terms.]
3-6 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
3-7 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
3-8 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
3-9 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
3-10 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.