By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 777
(In the Senate - Filed February 25, 2005; March 10, 2005,
read first time and referred to Committee on Education;
March 29, 2005, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 6,
Nays 0; March 29, 2005, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the powers and duties of the boards of trustees and
superintendents of independent school districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.051, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) An independent school district is governed by a board of
trustees who, as a body corporate, shall:
(1) oversee the management of the district; and
(2) ensure that the superintendent implements and
monitors plans, procedures, programs, and systems to achieve
appropriate, clearly defined, and desired results in the major
areas of district operations.
(a-1) Unless authorized by the board, a member of the board
may not, individually, act on behalf of the board. The board of
trustees may act only by majority vote of the members present at a
meeting held in compliance with Chapter 551, Government Code, at
which a quorum of the board is present and voting and at which the
superintendent or a person designated by the superintendent is
present.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 11.0621 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.0621. MEETINGS. The minutes, certified agenda, or
recording, as applicable, of a regular or special meeting of the
board of trustees must reflect each member's attendance at or
absence from the meeting. The minutes or tape recording of an open
meeting must be accessible to the public in accordance with Section
551.022, Government Code.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 11.1511 and 11.1512 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.1511. SPECIFIC POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a) In
addition to powers and duties under Section 11.151 or other law, the
board of trustees of an independent school district has the powers
and duties provided by Subsection (b).
(b) The board shall:
(1) seek to establish working relationships with other
public entities to make effective use of community resources and to
serve the needs of public school students in the community;
(2) adopt a vision statement and comprehensive goals
for the district and the superintendent and monitor progress toward
those goals;
(3) establish performance goals for the district
concerning:
(A) the academic and fiscal performance
indicators under Subchapter C, Chapter 39; and
(B) any performance indicators adopted by the
district;
(4) ensure that the superintendent:
(A) is accountable for achieving performance
results;
(B) recognizes performance accomplishments; and
(C) takes action as necessary to meet performance
goals;
(5) adopt a policy to establish a district- and
campus-level planning and decision-making process as required
under Section 11.251;
(6) publish an annual educational performance report
as required under Section 39.053;
(7) adopt an annual budget for the district as
required under Section 44.004;
(8) adopt a tax rate each fiscal year as required under
Section 26.05, Tax Code;
(9) monitor district finances to ensure that the
superintendent is properly maintaining the district's financial
procedures and records;
(10) ensure that district fiscal accounts are audited
annually as required under Section 44.008;
(11) publish an end-of-year financial report for
distribution to the community;
(12) conduct elections as required by law;
(13) by rule, adopt a process through which district
personnel, students or the parents or guardians of students, and
members of the public may obtain a hearing before the district
administrators and the board regarding a complaint; and
(14) carry out other powers and duties as provided by
this code or other law.
(c) The board may:
(1) issue bonds and levy, pledge, assess, and collect
an annual ad valorem tax to pay the principal and interest on the
bonds as authorized under Sections 45.001 and 45.003;
(2) levy, assess, and collect an annual ad valorem tax
for maintenance and operation of the district as authorized under
Sections 45.002 and 45.003;
(3) employ a person to assess or collect the district's
taxes as authorized under Section 45.231; and
(4) enter into contracts as authorized under this code
or other law and delegate contractual authority to the
superintendent as appropriate.
Sec. 11.1512. COLLABORATION BETWEEN BOARD AND
SUPERINTENDENT. (a) In relation to the superintendent of the
school district, the board of trustees of the district has the
powers and duties specified by Sections 11.151(b) and (c). The
superintendent shall, on a day-to-day basis, ensure the
implementation of the policy created by the board.
(b) The board of trustees and the superintendent shall work
together to:
(1) advocate for the high achievement of all district
students;
(2) create and support connections with community
organizations to provide community-wide support for the high
achievement of all district students;
(3) provide educational leadership for the district,
including leadership in developing the district vision statement
and long-range educational plan;
(4) establish district-wide policies and annual goals
that are tied directly to the district's vision statement and
long-range educational plan;
(5) support the professional development of
principals, teachers, and other staff; and
(6) periodically evaluate board and superintendent
leadership, governance, and teamwork.
SECTION 4. Section 11.163, Education Code, is redesignated
as Section 11.1513, Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 11.1513 [11.163]. EMPLOYMENT POLICY. (a) The board
of trustees of each independent school district shall adopt a
policy providing for the employment and duties of district
personnel. The employment policy must provide that:
(1) the board employs, evaluates, and, if appropriate,
terminates the employment of the superintendent;
(2) the superintendent has sole authority to make
recommendations to the board regarding the selection of all
personnel other than the superintendent, except that the board may
delegate final authority for those decisions to the superintendent;
and
(3) [(2)] each principal must approve each teacher or
staff appointment to the principal's campus as provided by Section
11.202.
(b) The board of trustees may accept or reject the
superintendent's recommendation regarding the selection of
district personnel and shall include the board's acceptance or
rejection in the minutes of the board's meeting, as required under
Section 551.021, Government Code, in the certified agenda or tape
recording required under Section 551.103, Government Code, or in
the recording required under Section 551.125 or 551.127, Government
Code, as applicable. If the board rejects the superintendent's
recommendation, the superintendent shall make alternative
recommendations until the board accepts a recommendation.
(c) The employment policy may:
(1) specify the terms of employment with the district;
or
(2) delegate to the superintendent the authority to
determine the terms of employment with the district.
SECTION 5. Subsection (b), Section 11.159, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) A trustee must complete any training required by the
State Board of Education. The minutes of the last regular meeting
of the board of trustees held during a calendar year must reflect
whether each trustee has met or is delinquent in meeting the
training required to be completed as of the date of the meeting.
SECTION 6. Subsection (d), Section 11.201, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(d) The duties of the superintendent include:
(1) assuming administrative responsibility and
leadership for the planning, organization, operation, supervision,
and evaluation of the education programs, services, and facilities
of the district and for the annual performance appraisal of the
district's staff;
(2) except as provided by Section 11.202, assuming
administrative authority and responsibility for the employment,
assignment, supervision, and evaluation of all personnel of the
district other than the superintendent;
(3) ensuring compliance with the standards for school
facilities established by the commissioner under Section 46.008
[making recommendations regarding the selection of personnel of the
district other than the superintendent, as provided by Section
11.163];
(4) assuming responsibility for [initiating] the
termination or suspension of an employee or the nonrenewal of an
employee's term contract;
(5) managing the day-to-day operations of the district
as its administrative manager, including implementing and
monitoring plans, procedures, programs, and systems to achieve
clearly defined and desired results in major areas of district
operations;
(6) preparing and submitting to the board of trustees
a proposed budget as provided by Section 44.002 and rules adopted
under that section, and administering the budget;
(7) preparing recommendations for policies to be
adopted by the board of trustees and overseeing the implementation
of adopted policies;
(8) developing or causing to be developed appropriate
administrative regulations to implement policies established by
the board of trustees;
(9) providing leadership for the attainment and, if
necessary, improvement of student performance in the district based
on the indicators adopted under Section 39.051 and other indicators
adopted by the State Board of Education or the district's board of
trustees;
(10) organizing the district's central
administration; [and]
(11) consulting with the district-level committee as
required under Section 11.252(f);
(12) ensuring:
(A) adoption of a student code of conduct as
required under Section 37.001 and enforcement of that code of
conduct; and
(B) adoption and enforcement of other student
disciplinary rules and procedures as necessary;
(13) submitting reports as required by state or
federal law, rule, or regulation;
(14) providing leadership to ensure that the
responsibilities of the board and superintendent team are carried
out; and
(15) performing any other duties assigned by action of
the board of trustees.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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