AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
C.S.S.B. 1263 seeks to tighten the timeframe in which a majority of parents of students attending an academically unacceptable campus may petition the commissioner of education to take action to remediate the campus.
C.S.S.B. 1263 amends current law relating to allowing parents to petition for repurposing, alternative management, or closure of certain public school campuses.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 39.107, Education Code, by amending Subsections (e-2) and (e-3) and adding Subsection (e-4), as follows:
(e-2) Requires the commissioner of education (commissioner), notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if the commissioner is presented, in the time and manner specified by commissioner rule, a written petition signed by the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at a campus that is assigned an unacceptable performance rating under Section 39.054 (Methods and Standards for Evaluating Performance) for three consecutive school years, rather than at a campus to which Subsection (e) (relating to campuses that have had an unacceptable performance rating for three consecutive school years) applies, specifying the action described by Subsection (e)(1) (relating to the repurposing of a campus that has had an unacceptable performance rating for three consecutive school years), (2) (relating to alternative management of a campus that has had an unacceptable performance rating for three consecutive school years), or (3) (relating to the closure of a campus that has had an unacceptable performance rating for three consecutive school years) that the parents request the commissioner to order, to, except as otherwise authorized by this subsection, order the specific action requested. Requires the commissioner to verify that a petition received under this subsection contains the required number of signatures.
(e-3) Requires that the petition, for purposes of Subsection (e-2):
(1) be developed by the commissioner;
(2) be made available to all parents or guardians of students enrolled at the campus;
(3) include a copy of the proposed options listed under Subsection (e); and
(4) require the signature of only one parent of a student.
Makes a nonsubstantive change.
(e-4) Prohibits the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school from coercing, bribing, or inducing a parent to sign a petition under Subsection (e-2).
SECTION 2. Provides that this Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016 school year.
SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2013.