C.S.H.B. 2527 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2527 By: Madden Public Education Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND In 1995, Senate Bill 1 created charter school laws and authorized school districts to grant a charter to a campus or a program. When this law was enacted, it contained numerous restrictions on forming the charter, on who may run the charter, and on where the charter may operate. PURPOSE C.S.H.B. 2527 provides an alternative authorization process for school districts to grant a charter. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2527 amends the Education Code to authorize the board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of a home-rule school district to grant a charter for a program operated by an entity that has entered into a contract for educational services and that is at a facility located in the boundaries of the district. The bill requires that the charter be initiated by a petition signed by at least one parent of each student who has enrolled in the charter program and each teacher employed to teach in the charter program. The bill provides that the petition is for purposes of measuring continuing interest by parents and teachers and that not signing the petition does not preclude the parent's child or the teacher from continuing to participate at a charter program. The bill stipulates that a governing body of a charter program comply with the public information and open meetings laws with respect to the operation of the program granted a charter. The bill clarifies that employees of a charter program are entitled to the Teacher Retirement System. The bill deletes the requirement that each school district adopt a charter policy not later than January 1, 1998. The bill provides that a charter may be revised with the approval of the board at the request of at least two parents and at least two teachers in the program. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2527 modifies the original by including an alternative authorization process for granting school district charters instead of deleting current requirements. C.S.H.B. 2527 modifies the original by permitting school districts to choose which authorization process to use when granting district charters.