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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the flexibility of the board of trustees of a school |
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district in the management and operation of public schools in the |
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district. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 21.0031, Education Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) An employee's probationary, continuing, or term |
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contract under this chapter is void if the employee: |
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(1) does not hold a valid certificate or permit issued |
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by the State Board for Educator Certification; [or] |
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(2) fails to fulfill the requirements necessary to |
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renew or extend the employee's temporary, probationary, or |
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emergency certificate or any other certificate or permit issued |
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under Subchapter B; or |
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(3) fails to comply with any requirement under |
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Subchapter C, Chapter 22, if the failure results in suspension or |
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revocation of the employee's certificate under Section |
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22.0831(f)(2). |
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(b) If a school district has knowledge that an [After an
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employee receives notice that the] employee's contract is void |
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under Subsection (a): |
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(1) the [a school] district may, except as provided by |
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Subsection (b-1): |
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(A) terminate the employee; |
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(B) suspend the employee with or without pay; or |
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(C) retain the employee for the remainder of the |
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school year on an at-will employment basis in a position other than |
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a position required to be held by an employee under a contract under |
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Section 21.002 [classroom teacher] at the employee's existing rate |
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of pay or at a reduced rate; and |
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(2) the employee is not entitled to the minimum salary |
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prescribed by Section 21.402. |
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(b-1) A school district may not terminate or suspend under |
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Subsection (b) an employee whose contract is void under Subsection |
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(a)(1) or (2) because the employee failed to renew or extend the |
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employee's certificate or permit if the employee: |
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(1) requests an extension from the State Board for |
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Educator Certification to renew, extend, or otherwise validate the |
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employee's certificate or permit; and |
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(2) not later than the 10th day after the date the |
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contract is void, takes necessary measures to renew, extend, or |
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otherwise validate the employee's certificate or permit, as |
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determined by the State Board for Educator Certification. |
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SECTION 2. Section 21.103(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) The board of trustees of a school district may terminate |
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the employment of a teacher employed under a probationary contract |
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at the end of the contract period if in the board's judgment the |
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best interests of the district will be served by terminating the |
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employment. The board of trustees must give notice of its decision |
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to terminate the employment to the teacher not later than the 10th |
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[45th] day before the last day of instruction required under the |
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contract. The board's decision is final and may not be appealed. |
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SECTION 3. Section 21.105(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) A teacher employed under a probationary contract for the |
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following school year may relinquish the position and leave the |
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employment of the district at the end of a school year without |
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penalty by filing with the board of trustees or its designee a |
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written resignation not later than the 30th [45th] day before the |
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first day of instruction of the following school year. A written |
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resignation mailed by prepaid certified or registered mail to the |
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president of the board of trustees or the board's designee at the |
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post office address of the district is considered filed at the time |
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of mailing. |
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SECTION 4. Section 21.157, Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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Sec. 21.157. NECESSARY REDUCTION OF PERSONNEL. (a) A |
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teacher employed under a continuing contract may be released at the |
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end of a school year and the teacher's employment with the school |
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district terminated at that time because of: |
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(1) a necessary reduction of personnel by the school |
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district; or |
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(2) a program change that requires a reduction in |
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personnel[, with those reductions made in the reverse order of
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seniority in the specific teaching fields]. |
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(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(1), a teacher employed |
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under a continuing contract may not be released as described by that |
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subdivision for a school year in which the district is authorized to |
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implement a furlough program under Section 21.4021 or reduce |
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salaries under Section 21.4022 unless the district has taken action |
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under either or both of those sections to achieve the greatest |
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savings in salary costs permitted by Section 21.4022. |
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SECTION 5. Section 21.160(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) A teacher employed under a continuing contract may |
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relinquish the position and leave the employment of the district at |
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|
the end of a school year without penalty by filing with the board of |
|
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trustees or its designee a written resignation not later than the |
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30th [45th] day before the first day of instruction of the following |
|
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school year. A written resignation mailed by prepaid certified or |
|
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registered mail to the president of the board of trustees or the |
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board's designee at the post office address of the district is |
|
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considered filed at time of mailing. |
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SECTION 6. Section 21.206(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) Not later than the 10th [45th] day before the last day of |
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instruction in a school year, the board of trustees shall notify in |
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writing each teacher whose contract is about to expire whether the |
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board proposes to renew or not renew the contract. |
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SECTION 7. Section 21.210(a), Education Code, is amended to |
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|
read as follows: |
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(a) A teacher employed under a term contract with a school |
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|
district may relinquish the teaching position and leave the |
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|
employment of the district at the end of a school year without |
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|
penalty by filing a written resignation with the board of trustees |
|
|
or the board's designee not later than the 30th [45th] day before |
|
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the first day of instruction of the following school year. A |
|
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written resignation mailed by prepaid certified or registered mail |
|
|
to the president of the board of trustees or the board's designee at |
|
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the post office address of the district is considered filed at the |
|
|
time of mailing. |
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SECTION 8. Section 21.211, Education Code, is amended by |
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|
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as |
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follows: |
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(a) The board of trustees may terminate a term contract and |
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|
discharge a teacher at any time for: |
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(1) good cause as determined by the board; [or] |
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|
(2) a financial exigency that requires a reduction in |
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personnel; or |
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(3) a program change that requires a reduction in |
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personnel. |
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(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), the board of |
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trustees may not terminate a term contract as described by that |
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subdivision for a school year in which the district is authorized to |
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implement a furlough program under Section 21.4021 or reduce |
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salaries under Section 21.4022 unless the district has taken action |
|
|
under either or both of those sections to achieve the greatest |
|
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savings in salary costs permitted by Section 21.4022. |
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SECTION 9. Subchapter I, Chapter 21, Education Code, is |
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|
amended by adding Sections 21.4021, 21.4022, and 21.4023 to read as |
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follows: |
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Sec. 21.4021. FURLOUGHS. (a) Notwithstanding Section |
|
|
21.401 and subject to Sections 21.4022 and 21.4023, the board of |
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trustees of a school district may, in accordance with district |
|
|
policy, implement a furlough program and reduce the number of days |
|
|
of service otherwise required under Section 21.401 by not more than |
|
|
six days of service during a school year if the commissioner |
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|
certifies in accordance with Section 42.009 that the district will |
|
|
be provided with less state and local funding for that year than was |
|
|
provided to the district for the 2010-2011 school year. |
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(b) Notwithstanding Section 21.402 but subject to Section |
|
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21.4022, the board of trustees may reduce the salary of an employee |
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who is furloughed in proportion to the number of days by which |
|
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service is reduced, provided that the furlough program is |
|
|
implemented in compliance with this section. |
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(c) A furlough program must subject all contract personnel |
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|
to the same number of furlough days, except that, for purposes of |
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|
providing professional development, the board of trustees may |
|
|
exempt from furloughs or subject to a lesser number of required |
|
|
furlough days contract personnel assigned to a campus that: |
|
|
(1) does not satisfy performance standards under |
|
|
Section 39.054(e); or |
|
|
(2) satisfies performance standards under Section |
|
|
39.054(e) for the current school year but would not satisfy |
|
|
performance standards under Section 39.054(e) if the standards to |
|
|
be used for the following year were applied to the current year. |
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(d) An educator may not be furloughed on a day that is |
|
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included in the number of days of instruction required under |
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Section 25.081. |
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(e) An educator may not use personal, sick, or any other |
|
|
paid leave while the educator is on a furlough. |
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(f) A furlough imposed under this section does not |
|
|
constitute a break in service for purposes of the Teacher |
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|
Retirement System of Texas. |
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(g) Implementation of a furlough program may not result in |
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|
an increase in the number of required teacher workdays. |
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(h) If a board of trustees adopts a furlough program after |
|
|
the date by which a teacher must give notice of resignation under |
|
|
Section 21.105, 21.160, or 21.210, as applicable, a teacher who |
|
|
subsequently resigns is not subject to sanctions imposed by the |
|
|
State Board for Educator Certification as otherwise authorized by |
|
|
those sections. |
|
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(i) A decision by the board of trustees to implement a |
|
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furlough program: |
|
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(1) is final and may not be appealed; and |
|
|
(2) does not create a cause of action or require |
|
|
collective bargaining. |
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Sec. 21.4022. SALARY REDUCTION. (a) Notwithstanding |
|
|
Section 21.402 or any other law, but subject to Section 21.4023, a |
|
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school district may, if authorized by the board of trustees, reduce |
|
|
for a school year the monthly salary of contract personnel employed |
|
|
by the district during the 2010-2011 school year if the |
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|
commissioner certifies in accordance with Section 42.009 that the |
|
|
district will be provided with less state and local funding for that |
|
|
year than was provided to the district for the 2010-2011 school |
|
|
year. |
|
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(b) A salary reduction may be achieved through a reduction |
|
|
associated with a furlough as provided by Section 21.4021, through |
|
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a reduction not associated with a furlough, or through a |
|
|
combination of those reductions. |
|
|
(c) A school district may not, through the cumulative effect |
|
|
of actions described by Subsection (b), reduce an employee's salary |
|
|
received for the 2010-2011 school year by more than the percentage |
|
|
by which the district's state and local funding is reduced for the |
|
|
applicable school year, as certified by the commissioner under |
|
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Section 42.009. |
|
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(d) For purposes of this section, an employee's salary does |
|
|
not include any stipends provided by the district to the employee. |
|
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(e) A decision by the board of trustees to authorize a |
|
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salary reduction: |
|
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(1) is final and may not be appealed; and |
|
|
(2) does not create a cause of action or require |
|
|
collective bargaining. |
|
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Sec. 21.4023. REQUIRED PROCESS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF FURLOUGH |
|
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PROGRAM OR OTHER SALARY REDUCTION PROPOSAL. (a) The board of |
|
|
trustees of a school district may not implement a furlough program |
|
|
under Section 21.4021 or reduce salaries in accordance with Section |
|
|
21.4022 until the district has complied with this section. |
|
|
(b) A school district must use a process to develop a |
|
|
furlough program or other salary reduction proposal, as applicable, |
|
|
that: |
|
|
(1) includes the involvement of the district's |
|
|
professional staff; and |
|
|
(2) provides district employees with the opportunity |
|
|
to express opinions regarding the furlough program or salary |
|
|
reduction proposal, as applicable, at the public meeting required |
|
|
by Subsection (c). |
|
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(c) The board of trustees must hold a public meeting at |
|
|
which the board and school district administration present: |
|
|
(1) information regarding the options considered for |
|
|
managing the district's available resources, including |
|
|
consideration of a tax rate increase and use of the district's |
|
|
available fund balance; and |
|
|
(2) an explanation of how the district intends, |
|
|
through implementation of a furlough program under Section 21.4021 |
|
|
or through other salary reductions authorized under Section |
|
|
21.4022, as applicable, to limit the number of district employees |
|
|
who will be discharged or whose contracts will not be renewed. |
|
|
(d) Any explanation of a furlough program under Subsection |
|
|
(c)(2) must state the specific number of furlough days proposed to |
|
|
be required. |
|
|
(e) The public and school district employees must be |
|
|
provided with an opportunity to comment at the public meeting |
|
|
required under Subsection (c). |
|
|
SECTION 10. Section 38.101(a), Education Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a school district |
|
|
annually shall assess the physical fitness of students enrolled in |
|
|
grade three or higher in a course that satisfies the curriculum |
|
|
requirements for physical education under Section 28.002(a)(2)(C) |
|
|
[grades 3 through 12]. |
|
|
SECTION 11. Section 39.082, Education Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
|
|
(d) The commissioner may not use the system developed under |
|
|
this section to evaluate: |
|
|
(1) a district during a school year for which the |
|
|
commissioner certifies in accordance with Section 42.009 that the |
|
|
district will be provided with less state and local funding than was |
|
|
provided to the district for the 2010-2011 school year; or |
|
|
(2) an open-enrollment charter school during a school |
|
|
year for which the commissioner determines in a manner comparable |
|
|
to the process described in Section 42.009 that the school will be |
|
|
provided with less state and local funding than was provided to the |
|
|
school for the 2010-2011 school year. |
|
|
SECTION 12. Section 39.0822, Education Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows: |
|
|
(f) The agency may not review a district using the process |
|
|
developed under this section during a school year for which the |
|
|
commissioner certifies in accordance with Section 42.009 that the |
|
|
district will be provided with less state and local funding than was |
|
|
provided to the district for the 2010-2011 school year. |
|
|
SECTION 13. Subchapter A, Chapter 42, Education Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 42.009 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 42.009. DETERMINATION OF FUNDING LEVELS. (a) Not |
|
|
later than July 1 of each year, the commissioner shall determine for |
|
|
each school district whether the estimated amount of state and |
|
|
local funding per student in weighted average daily attendance to |
|
|
be provided to the district under the Foundation School Program for |
|
|
maintenance and operations for the following school year is less |
|
|
than the amount provided to the district for the 2010-2011 school |
|
|
year. If the amount estimated to be provided is less, the |
|
|
commissioner shall certify the percentage decrease in funding to be |
|
|
provided to the district. |
|
|
(b) In making the determinations regarding funding levels |
|
|
required by Subsection (a), the commissioner shall: |
|
|
(1) make adjustments as necessary to reflect changes |
|
|
in a school district's maintenance and operations tax rate; |
|
|
(2) for a district required to take action under |
|
|
Chapter 41 to reduce its wealth per student to the equalized wealth |
|
|
level, base the determinations on the district's net funding levels |
|
|
after deducting any amounts required to be expended by the district |
|
|
to comply with Chapter 41; and |
|
|
(3) determine a district's weighted average daily |
|
|
attendance in accordance with this chapter as it existed on January |
|
|
1, 2011. |
|
|
SECTION 14. Section 44.004, Education Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subsection (g-1) to read as follows: |
|
|
(g-1) If the rate calculated under Section |
|
|
44.004(c)(5)(A)(ii)(b) decreases after the publication of the |
|
|
notice required by this section, the president is not required to |
|
|
publish another notice or call another meeting to discuss and adopt |
|
|
the budget and the proposed lower tax rate. |
|
|
SECTION 15. Section 26.05(a), Tax Code, is amended to read |
|
|
as follows: |
|
|
(a) The governing body of each taxing unit, before the later |
|
|
of September 30 or the 60th day after the date the certified |
|
|
appraisal roll is received by the taxing unit, shall adopt a tax |
|
|
rate for the current tax year and shall notify the assessor for the |
|
|
unit of the rate adopted. The tax rate consists of two components, |
|
|
each of which must be approved separately. The components are: |
|
|
(1) for a taxing unit other than a school district, the |
|
|
rate that, if applied to the total taxable value, will impose the |
|
|
total amount published under Section 26.04(e)(3)(C), less any |
|
|
amount of additional sales and use tax revenue that will be used to |
|
|
pay debt service, or, for a school district, the rate calculated |
|
|
[published] under Section 44.004(c)(5)(A)(ii)(b), Education Code; |
|
|
and |
|
|
(2) the rate that, if applied to the total taxable |
|
|
value, will impose the amount of taxes needed to fund maintenance |
|
|
and operation expenditures of the unit for the next year. |
|
|
SECTION 16. Section 58.258(a), Utilities Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) Notwithstanding the pricing flexibility authorized by |
|
|
this subtitle, an electing company's rates for private network |
|
|
services may not be increased before January 1, 2014 [2012]. |
|
|
However, an electing company may increase a rate in accordance with |
|
|
the provisions of a customer specific contract. |
|
|
SECTION 17. Section 58.268, Utilities Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 58.268. CONTINUATION OF OBLIGATION. Notwithstanding |
|
|
any other provision of this title, an electing company shall |
|
|
continue to comply with this subchapter until January 1, 2014 |
|
|
[2012], regardless of: |
|
|
(1) the date the company elected under this chapter; |
|
|
or |
|
|
(2) any action taken in relation to that company under |
|
|
Chapter 65. |
|
|
SECTION 18. Section 59.077(a), Utilities Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) Notwithstanding the pricing flexibility authorized by |
|
|
this subtitle, an electing company's rates for private network |
|
|
services may not be increased before January 1, 2014 [2012]. |
|
|
SECTION 19. Section 59.083, Utilities Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 59.083. CONTINUATION OF OBLIGATION. Notwithstanding |
|
|
any other provision of this title, an electing company shall |
|
|
continue to comply with this subchapter until January 1, 2014 |
|
|
[2012], regardless of: |
|
|
(1) the date the company elected under this chapter; |
|
|
or |
|
|
(2) any action taken in relation to that company under |
|
|
Chapter 65. |
|
|
SECTION 20. The change in law made by Section 44.004(g-1), |
|
|
Education Code, as added by this Act, applies beginning with |
|
|
adoption of a tax rate for the 2011 tax year. |
|
|
SECTION 21. 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, 2011. |