By:  Wise                                                         H.B. No. 77 



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to grounds for special accreditation investigations of 
school districts.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.   Section 39.075(a), Education Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
	(a)  The commissioner shall authorize special accreditation 
investigations to be conducted under the following circumstances:
		(1)  when excessive numbers of absences of students 
eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are 
determined;
		(2)  when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions 
from the required state assessment are determined;
		(3)  in response to complaints submitted to the agency 
with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other 
requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;
		(4)  in response to established compliance reviews of 
the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal 
program requirements;
		(5)  when extraordinary numbers of student placements 
in alternative education programs, other than placements under 
Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined; [or]
		(6)  in response to an allegation involving a conflict 
between members of the board of trustees or between the board and 
the district administration if it appears that the conflict 
involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the 
administration clearly defined by this code; or
		(7)  in response to an allegation that the 
district-level and site-based decision-making process under 
Subchapter F, Chapter 11, is not properly functioning, if the 
person making the allegation has exhausted the person's remedies 
through the district's grievance process.
	SECTION 2.   This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.