78R6242 CAS-F
By: Madden H.B. No. 2527
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a charter for a campus or program in a school district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 12.052, 12.057, 12.058, and 12.062,
Education Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 12.052. AUTHORIZATION. (a) In accordance with this
subchapter, the board of trustees of a school district or the
governing body of a home-rule school district may grant a charter
[to parents and teachers] for:
(1) a campus;
(2) [or] a program on one or more campuses in the
district; or
(3) a program that is operated:
(A) by an entity that has entered into a contract
with the district under Section 11.157 to provide educational
services to the district through the program; and
(B) at a facility located in the boundaries of
the district.
(b) Not later than the 30th day after the school district's
first day of instruction for the school year, the board of trustees
must receive [a campus if the board is presented with] a petition
signed by:
(1) at least one parent of each student who has
enrolled in the [parents of a majority of the students at that
school] campus or program; and
(2) each teacher who has been employed to teach [a
majority of the classroom teachers] at the [that school] campus or
in the program.
[(b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), the signature of
only one parent of a student is required.]
(c) The petition required under Subsection (b) is for
purposes of measuring continuing interest by parents whose children
have enrolled in and by teachers employed by a campus or program.
The fact that a parent or a teacher does not sign the petition does
not preclude the parent's child or the teacher from continuing to
participate at a campus or in a program under this subchapter [board
of trustees may not arbitrarily deny a charter under this section].
Sec. 12.057. STATUS. (a) With respect to the operation of
a campus or program granted a charter under this subchapter, the [A]
governing body of the campus or program provided for under the
charter is considered a governmental body for purposes of Chapters
551 and 552, Government Code.
(b) An employee of a campus or program granted a charter
under Section 12.052(a)(1) or (2) [this subchapter] who qualifies
for membership in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall be
covered under the system in the same manner and to the same extent
as a qualified employee employed on a regularly operating campus or
in a regularly operating program is covered.
(c) A [The] campus or program granted a charter under
Section 12.052(a)(1) or (2) is immune from liability to the same
extent as a school district, and its employees and volunteers are
immune from liability to the same extent as school district
employees and volunteers.
Sec. 12.058. CHARTER POLICY. [(a)] Each school district
shall adopt a campus charter and [campus] program charter policy.
The policy must specify:
(1) the process to be followed for approval of a campus
charter or a [campus] program charter;
(2) the statutory requirements with which a campus
charter or [campus] program charter must comply; and
(3) the items that must be included in a charter
application.
[(b) Each school district shall adopt a campus charter and
campus program charter policy as required by this section not later
than January 1, 1998.]
Sec. 12.062. REVISION. A charter granted under this
subchapter may be revised[:
[(1)] with the approval of the board of trustees at the
request [that granted the charter; and
[(2) on a petition signed by a majority] of [the]
parents and [a majority of the classroom] teachers at the campus or
in the program, as applicable.
SECTION 2. Section 12.053, Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 3. The amendment of Section 12.052, Education Code,
or the repeal of Section 12.053, Education Code, by this Act does
not affect a charter issued under either section before September
1, 2003, and those sections are continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.