78R11855 BDH-D
By: Dutton H.B. No. 2224
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2224:
By: Dutton C.S.H.B. No. 2224
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to open-enrollment charter schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.101(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The State Board of Education may grant a charter for an
open-enrollment charter school only to an applicant that meets
reasonable [any] financial, governing, and operational standards
adopted by the commissioner under this subchapter and approved by
the board. The board [State Board of Education] may not grant a
total of more than 215 charters for an open-enrollment charter
school.
SECTION 2. Section 12.1012(6), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(6) "Officer of an open-enrollment charter school"
means a member of the governing body [:
[(A) the principal, director, or other chief
operating officer of an open-enrollment charter school;
[(B) an assistant principal or assistant
director of an open-enrollment charter school; or
[(C) a person charged with managing the finances]
of an open-enrollment charter school who holds the position of
presiding officer, president, vice president, or secretary or
another similar position. The term does not include a principal, a
vice principal, or any other administrative support personnel.
SECTION 3. Section 12.1052, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 12.1052. APPLICABILITY OF LAWS RELATING TO [LOCAL
GOVERNMENT] RECORDS. (a) With respect only to the retention of
personnel records and records of a student enrolled in or formerly
enrolled in [operation of] an open-enrollment charter school, an
open-enrollment charter school is considered to be a local
government for purposes of Subtitle C, Title 6, Local Government
Code, and Subchapter J, Chapter 441, Government Code. A charter
holder or an open-enrollment charter school is required to retain
school records other than personnel records or records related to a
student enrolled or formerly enrolled at the school only as
provided by the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01
et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
(b) Records retained under Subsection (a) [of an
open-enrollment charter school and records of a charter holder that
relate to an open-enrollment charter school] are government records
for all purposes under state law.
(c) Any requirement in Subtitle C, Title 6, Local Government
Code, or Subchapter J, Chapter 441, Government Code, that applies
to a school district, the board of trustees of a school district, or
an officer or employee of a school district applies to an
open-enrollment charter school, the governing body of a charter
holder, the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school, or
an [officer or] employee of an open-enrollment charter school to
the extent that the requirement relates to student or personnel
records, except that the records required to be retained under
Subsection (a) by [of] an open-enrollment charter school that
ceases to operate shall be transferred in the manner prescribed by
Subsection (d).
(d) The records required to be retained under Subsection (a)
by [of] an open-enrollment charter school that ceases to operate
shall be transferred in the manner specified by the commissioner to
a custodian designated by the commissioner. The commissioner may
designate any appropriate entity to serve as custodian, including
the agency, a regional education service center, or a school
district. In designating a custodian, the commissioner shall
ensure that the transferred records, including student and
personnel records, are transferred to a custodian capable of:
(1) maintaining the records;
(2) making the records readily accessible to students,
parents, former school employees, and other persons entitled to
access; and
(3) complying with applicable state or federal law
restricting access to the records.
(e) If the charter holder of an open-enrollment charter
school that ceases to operate or an officer or employee of such a
school refuses to transfer school records required to be retained
under Subsection (a) in the manner specified by the commissioner
under Subsection (d), the commissioner may ask the attorney general
to petition a court for recovery of the records. If the court
grants the petition, the court shall award attorney's fees and
court costs to the state.
SECTION 4. Section 12.1054(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A member of the governing body of a charter holder or [,]
a member of the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school
[, or an officer of an open-enrollment charter school] is
considered to be a local public official for purposes of Chapter
171, Local Government Code. For purposes of that chapter:
(1) a member of the governing body of a charter holder
or a member of the governing body [or officer] of an open-enrollment
charter school is considered to have a substantial interest in a
business entity if a person related to the member [or officer] in
the third degree by consanguinity or affinity, as determined under
Chapter 573, Government Code, has a substantial interest in the
business entity under Section 171.002, Local Government Code; and
(2) notwithstanding any provision of Subdivision (1)
[Section 12.1054(1)], an employee of an open-enrollment charter
school rated as academically acceptable or higher under Chapter 39
for at least two of the preceding three school years may serve as a
member of the governing body of the charter holder or [of] the
governing body of the school if the employees do not constitute a
quorum of the governing body or any committee of the governing body
and[; however,] all members [shall] comply with the requirements of
Sections 171.003-171.007, Local Government Code.
SECTION 5. Section 12.1055(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if an open-enrollment
charter school is rated academically acceptable or higher under
Chapter 39 for at least two of the preceding three school years,
then Chapter 573, Government Code, does not apply to that school;
however, a member of the governing body of a charter holder or a
member of the governing body [or officer] of an open-enrollment
charter school shall comply with the requirements of Sections
171.003-171.007, Local Government Code, with respect to a personnel
matter concerning a person related to the member [or officer]
within the degree specified by Section 573.002, Government Code, as
if the personnel matter were a transaction with a business entity
subject to those sections, and persons defined under Sections
573.021-573.025, Government Code, shall not constitute a quorum of
the governing body or any committee of the governing body.
SECTION 6. Section 12.114, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 12.114. REVISION. (a) Except as otherwise provided by
this section, a [A] revision of a charter of an open-enrollment
charter school may be made only with the approval of the
commissioner.
(b) The governing body of an open-enrollment charter school
may revise the school's charter without the approval of the
commissioner as necessary to comply with a change in law. The
governing body shall provide the commissioner written notice of the
revision not later than the 14th day after the date the revision is
approved by the governing body.
(c) A revision of a charter of an open-enrollment charter
school under Subsection (b) is final unless the commissioner
provides the governing body of the school written notice of the
commissioner's disapproval not later than the 30th day after the
date the commissioner receives notice of the revision. With any
notice of disapproval, the commissioner shall include a statement
of the reasons for disapproval.
SECTION 7. Section 12.116(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Chapter 2001, Government Code, applies [does not apply]
to a hearing that is related to a modification, placement on
probation, revocation, or denial of renewal under this subchapter.
SECTION 8. Section 12.117, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read
as follows:
(a) For admission to an open-enrollment charter school, the
governing body of the school shall:
(1) require the applicant to complete and submit an
application not later than a reasonable deadline the school
establishes; and
(2) except as otherwise provided by Subsection (c), on
receipt of more acceptable applications for admission under this
section than available positions in the school:
(A) fill the available positions by lottery; or
(B) subject to Subsection (b), fill the available
positions in the order in which applications received before the
application deadline were received.
(c) An open-enrollment charter school may give preference
in admissions to the school if the preference is based on:
(1) reasonable academic, artistic, or other
eligibility standards, including gender, that are consistent with
the nonregulatory guidance provided by the United States Department
of Education for the public charter schools program authorized by
20 U.S.C. Sections 7221-7221j, as amended, and specified in the
school's charter application; or
(2) standards consistent with the school's mission and
purpose, as specified in the school's charter, and consistent with
admissions practices in public schools.
(d) In admitting students under this section, an
open-enrollment charter school may not discriminate on the basis of
a student's race, color, creed, religion, or national origin.
SECTION 9. Section 12.119(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Each year within the period and in a form prescribed by
the State Board of Education, each open-enrollment charter school
shall file with the board the following information:
(1) the name, address, and telephone number of each
[officer and] member of the governing body of the open-enrollment
charter school; and
(2) the amount of annual compensation the
open-enrollment charter school pays to each [officer and] member of
the governing body.
SECTION 10. Section 12.120(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A person may not serve as a member of the governing body
of a charter holder, as a member of the governing body of an
open-enrollment charter school, or as an [officer or] employee of
an open-enrollment charter school if the person:
(1) has been convicted of a felony [or a misdemeanor
involving moral turpitude];
(2) has been convicted of an offense listed in Section
37.007(a);
(3) has been convicted of an offense listed in Article
62.01(5), Code of Criminal Procedure; or
(4) has a substantial interest in a management
company.
SECTION 11. Sections 12.122(a) and (b), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act
(Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) or other
law, [on request of the commissioner, the attorney general may
bring suit against] a member of the governing body of an
open-enrollment charter school is liable for breach of a fiduciary
duty by the member, including misapplication of public funds, only
to the extent that a member of a school district board of trustees
would be liable for the breach.
(b) The attorney general may bring suit under Subsection (a)
only to the extent that the attorney general may bring suit against
a member of a school district board of trustees [for:
[(1) damages;
[(2) injunctive relief; or
[(3) any other equitable remedy determined to be
appropriate by the court].
SECTION 12. Sections 12.125 and 12.126, Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 12.125. CONTRACT FOR MANAGEMENT SERVICES. (a) Any
contract, including a contract renewal, between an open-enrollment
charter school and a management company proposing to provide
management services to the school must require the management
company to maintain all records related to the management services
separately from any other records of the management company.
(b) The commissioner may by rule adopt guidelines for a
contract under this section between an open-enrollment charter
school and a management company.
(c) A contract under this section between an
open-enrollment charter school and a management company does not
require approval of the commissioner.
Sec. 12.126. CERTAIN MANAGEMENT SERVICES CONTRACTS
PROHIBITED. The commissioner may require that the governing body of
an open-enrollment charter school consider denying the [prohibit,
deny] renewal of, suspending [suspend], or revoking [revoke] a
contract between the [an open-enrollment charter] school and a
management company providing management services to the school if
the commissioner determines that the management company has:
(1) substantially failed to provide educational or
related services in compliance with the company's contractual or
other legal obligation to the [any open-enrollment charter] school
[in this state or to any other similar school in another state];
(2) substantially failed to protect the health,
safety, or welfare of the students enrolled at an open-enrollment
charter school served by the company; or
(3) [violated this subchapter or a rule adopted under
this subchapter; or
[(4)] otherwise failed to comply with any material
contractual or other material legal obligation to provide services
to the school.
SECTION 13. Section 22.083(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A school district, private school, open-enrollment
charter school, regional education service center, or shared
services arrangement may obtain from any law enforcement or
criminal justice agency all criminal history record information
that relates to a person:
(1) whom the district, school, service center, or
shared services arrangement intends to employ in any capacity; or
(2) who has indicated, in writing, an intention to
serve as a volunteer with the district, school, service center, or
shared services arrangement.
SECTION 14. Sections 12.122(c) and 22.083(b), Education
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 15. This Act applies beginning with the 2003-2004
school year.
SECTION 16. 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.