BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.S.B. 1718 |
By: West |
Public Education |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Current law authorizes a variety of actions to be taken for a low-performing campus, such as the reconstitution, repurposing, alternative management, or closure of the campus. Interested parties note that these measures have been utilized in conjunction with campus improvement plans and campus intervention teams with varying results. C.S.S.B. 1718 seeks to add another option for low-performing campuses through the creation of the Texas Achievement School District.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of education in SECTIONS 1 and 5 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.S.B. 1718 amends the Education Code to establish the Texas Achievement School District as a school district under state law and an intermediate educational unit under federal law for the purpose of educating students attending a campus removed from the jurisdiction of a school district under the bill's provisions. The bill requires the commissioner of education to select the superintendent of the achievement school district and employ central administrative staff, who may be employees of the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The bill requires the superintendent to report to the commissioner under a written contract for services. The bill establishes that the achievement school district does not have authority to impose taxes but has authority to seek and expend federal funding and grant funding and to otherwise seek, obtain, and expend funding with the same authority as an independent school district. The bill authorizes the achievement school district to provide for the supervision, management, and operation of each campus placed under the district's jurisdiction and receive, control, and expend the local, state, and federal funding attributable to that campus, with all the same power and authority as the prior system, subject to the bill's requirements, and with any other power or authority otherwise granted by law. The bill defines "prior system" as the school district from which a campus that is transferred to the jurisdiction of the achievement school district was removed.
C.S.S.B. 1718 entitles the achievement school district to the same level of services provided to other school districts by regional education service centers and to participate in any state program available to school districts. The bill prohibits the achievement school district from contracting with a private entity for providing educational services to the students attending a campus transferred to the district, other than an eligible entity, as defined by statutory provisions authorizing the grant of a charter, that holds a charter granted under applicable law and that has: operated one or more open-enrollment charter schools in Texas for three or more consecutive years; achieved, for three of the preceding five years, an exemplary or recognized district rating or the equivalent; documented success in whole school interventions that increased the educational and performance levels of students in campuses that received unacceptable performance ratings; and demonstrated success in educating populations of students similar to the populations of students enrolled at the campus transferred to the district. The bill authorizes the achievement school district to employ such staff as the superintendent deems necessary.
C.S.S.B. 1718 makes a campus eligible for transfer to the jurisdiction of the achievement school district only if the school district from which the campus is to be transferred has at least 20,000 students enrolled in the district at the time the campus is to be transferred.
C.S.S.B. 1718 subjects the achievement school district to federal and state laws and rules and to municipal zoning ordinances governing school districts, except as expressly provided by law. The bill also subjects the achievement school district, except as expressly provided by other law, to statutory provisions governing public education to the extent and in the manner that such provisions apply to an open-enrollment charter school but specifies that a teacher employed by the achievement school district must be certified and may only teach a subject in which the teacher is certified. The bill prohibits the performance of a campus under the jurisdiction of the achievement school district from being used for purposes of determining the prior system's performance rating. The bill provides for the applicability of the state open meetings law and state public information law to the achievement school district, the superintendent of the district, and the students attending the district and provides for the immunity from liability of the achievement school district and its employees and volunteers to the same extent that any other school district and its employees and volunteers are immune from liability. The bill requires an employee of the achievement school district who qualifies for membership in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas to be covered under the system to the same extent a qualified employee of any other school district is covered. The bill makes the achievement school district responsible for making any contribution for each district employee covered under the system that otherwise would be the legal responsibility of the district and makes the state responsible for making contributions to the same extent it would be legally responsible if the employee were that of another school district.
C.S.S.B. 1718 entitles the achievement school district to receive for the education of students transferred to the district Foundation School Program (FSP) funding equal to the amount of funding per student in weighted average daily attendance to which the prior system would be entitled under the program if the prior system were a school district without a tier one local share. The bill establishes that in determining funding for the achievement school district, the cost of education, small and mid-sized district, and sparsity adjustments are based on the actual adjustment for the prior system. The bill also entitles the achievement school district to receive enrichment funding under the guaranteed yield program based on the actual amount for the prior system. The bill adds a temporary provision, set to expire September 1, 2015, to require the commissioner, in determining funding for the district, to apply the same adjustment factor to calculate the achievement school district's regular program allotment as for the prior system. The bill entitles the achievement school district to funds that are available to other school districts from the TEA or the commissioner in the form of grants or other discretionary funding. The bill entitles the achievement school district to a pro rata share of all revenue to the prior system from TEA or the commissioner in the form of grants or other discretionary funding. The bill entitles the achievement school district to share in the available school fund apportionment and other privileges in the same manner as the prior system. The bill requires the achievement school district to report its student attendance and receive funding in the same manner as any other district. The bill establishes that, for purposes of the prior system's obligations and entitlements with regard to the equalized wealth level and the Foundation School Program, students transferred to the achievement school district who would otherwise have attended the prior system are not counted in calculating the average daily attendance of the prior system and that, for purposes of the prior system's allotments with regard to instructional facilities and existing debt payment, students transferred to the achievement school district who would otherwise have attended the prior system are counted in such calculation. The bill requires the commissioner to adopt rules necessary to implement the funding of students enrolled in the achievement school district.
C.S.S.B. 1718 entitles the achievement school district to use any school building and all facilities and property otherwise part of the campus and recognized as part of the facilities or assets of the campus before the campus was placed in the district and to access to such additional facilities as were typically available to the campus, its students, and faculty and staff before the campus was placed in the district. The bill prohibits the restriction of such use and specifies that the achievement school district is responsible for and obligated to provide for routine maintenance and repair such that the facilities and property are maintained in as good an order as when the right of use was acquired by the district. The bill requires the commissioner or the commissioner's designee, if a dispute arises between the achievement school district and the prior system regarding the maintenance and repair of facilities, to determine each entity's responsibilities concerning the maintenance and repair. The bill makes such a determination final and prohibits the appeal of the determination.
C.S.S.B. 1718 authorizes the achievement school district to require the prior system to provide school support or student support services for a campus transferred from the prior system's jurisdiction, including student transportation, school food service, or student assessment for special education eligibility that are compliant with all laws and rules governing such services. The bill requires the achievement school district to reimburse the actual cost of such services to the prior system. The bill requires the commissioner or the commissioner's designee, if a dispute arises between the achievement school district and the prior system regarding the actual cost of services to be reimbursed, to determine the cost to be reimbursed. The bill makes such a determination final and prohibits the appeal of the determination.
C.S.S.B. 1718 requires FSP funds and other funds received by the achievement school district under the bill's provisions relating to funding of students enrolled in the district to be used for the operation and administration of campuses transferred from prior systems to the district.
C.S.S.B. 1718 authorizes the commissioner to transfer to the jurisdiction of the achievement school district not more than five campuses during the state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 2013, and five campuses during the state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 2015. The bill prohibits the achievement school district from containing more than 10 campuses at any time.
C.S.S.B. 1718 makes the achievement school district subject to the Texas Sunset Act and, unless continued in existence as provided by that act, abolishes the district on and makes provisions relating to the district expire on September 1, 2025. The bill requires the Sunset Advisory Commission, not later than December 1, 2024, to evaluate the achievement school district and to submit a report on that evaluation and the commission's recommendations in relation to the district to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the presiding officer of each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction over primary and secondary education.
C.S.S.B. 1718 authorizes the commissioner, if the commissioner determines that a campus for which an intervention is ordered is not fully implementing the campus intervention team's recommendations or targeted improvement plan or updated plan, to order the removal of the campus to the achievement school district as an alternative to reconstitution.
C.S.S.B. 1718 changes the action that the commissioner must take after a campus has been identified as unacceptable for two consecutive school years. The bill requires the commissioner in such circumstances to determine whether the school district has instituted meaningful change, including reconstituting the staff or leadership at the campus. The bill authorizes the commissioner, if the commissioner determines that the campus has instituted meaningful change, to reevaluate the campus following the conclusion of the subsequent school year. The bill requires the commissioner, if the commissioner determines that the campus has not instituted meaningful change, to take the following actions based on the commissioner's determination of the best remedy for the campus: · order the reconstitution of the campus; · order the removal of the campus to the achievement school district, subject to the bill's limitations; · approve a plan by the board of trustees for the school district to operate the campus in the manner provided for the operation of an open-enrollment charter school, with all applicable exemptions from application of laws that apply to school districts but not to open-enrollment charter schools, for a period not to exceed two school years, after the expiration of which the commissioner must remove the campus to the achievement school district if the campus is identified as unacceptable during the final year of its operation in the manner provided for an open-enrollment charter school; or · require the school district to contract for appropriate technical assistance, if the commissioner determines the basis for the campus being identified as unacceptable is limited to a specific condition the campus may overcome with appropriate technical assistance. The bill requires the commissioner, in making a determination regarding the action to be taken, to seek and give considerable weight to recommendations from parents of students enrolled at the campus and members of the community who reside in the attendance zone of the campus. The bill requires the reconstitution of a campus by a campus intervention team to occur with the involvement and advice of the school community partnership team, if applicable. The bill requires the campus intervention team or a school community partnership team to develop information regarding campus performance and available options for improving campus performance that may be provided to interested parties on request.
C.S.S.B. 1718 adds a temporary provision, set to expire September 1, 2016, to authorize the commissioner to refrain from taking action otherwise required against a campus based on campus performance for the 2014-2015 school year and preceding school years and prohibits the commissioner, if the commissioner takes action, from ordering the reconstitution of the campus and provides that the commissioner may only take other actions authorized by law.
C.S.S.B. 1718 prohibits a managing entity from assuming management of a campus identified as unacceptable if a member of the entity's management and leadership team provided any input to the commissioner regarding the commissioner's determination with respect to the action to be taken for the campus.
C.S.S.B. 1718 authorizes the commissioner to order the removal of a campus that has been identified as unacceptable for two consecutive school years to the achievement school district. The bill authorizes students assigned to attend a removed campus or the students who would have been eligible to attend the campus if the campus had remained in the prior system to choose to attend the campus under the jurisdiction of the achievement school district or exercise an option, made available by the prior system, to attend another campus remaining under the jurisdiction of the prior system. The bill makes students who were eligible to attend a removed campus under the prior system or who would have been eligible to attend the campus if the campus had remained in the prior system to attend that campus at the achievement school district. The bill authorizes other students eligible to attend a campus of the prior system other than the campus transferred to the achievement school district to choose to attend the campus transferred to the achievement school district if the campus has the ability to enroll more students.
C.S.S.B. 1718 requires a campus subject to removal to the achievement school district to be removed from the jurisdiction of the school district and transferred to the achievement school district effective on a date determined by the commissioner after consulting with the superintendent of the achievement school district and specifies that the school district from which the campus was removed becomes the prior system on that date. The bill requires the removed campus to be reorganized and reformed, as necessary, and operated by the achievement school district. The bill requires the superintendent of the achievement school district to decide which educators may be retained at a removed campus in the superintendent's sole discretion and specifies that an educator may be assigned to another position by the prior system if the achievement school district does not retain the educator. The bill requires a certified teacher with regular and direct responsibility for providing classroom instruction to students who is employed at the removed campus by the prior system to be given priority consideration for employment in a comparable position by the achievement school district's superintendent.
C.S.S.B. 1718 authorizes a person employed by the prior system at a removed campus to choose to remain in the employ of the prior system and, in that case, requires the prior system to retain and reassign the person consistent with the prior system's contractual obligations or policies regarding the retention and reassignment of employees. The bill requires the prior system, for the purposes of any benefit or right requiring continuous service or based on years of service, to grant a leave of absence to a person employed by the achievement school district who was employed at a campus when the campus was removed. The bill requires the prior system to consider the period during which the achievement school district operates the campus to be service time with the prior system if the employee returns to the prior system's employment. The bill specifies that the prior system is not required to provide benefits during such leave. The bill requires the benefits and privileges of any person employed in a campus by the achievement school district who was not employed by the prior system at the time the campus was removed to the district to be those determined by the district at the time of such employment in compliance with applicable law.
C.S.S.B. 1718 requires the achievement school district to retain jurisdiction over any campus removed to the district until the commissioner, on the recommendation of the achievement school district's superintendent, enters into an agreement with the prior system for return of the campus to the prior system. The bill requires the commissioner to direct the achievement school district to seek agreement for the return of a campus to the prior system when the campus achieves an acceptable level of performance under the public school accountability system and requires such an agreement to contain certain specified details and provisions. The bill requires the commissioner, if a campus has been operating under arrangements established by the achievement school district for three years, or two years if the commissioner determines that the campus has not made meaningful progress during those two years, and the campus has failed during that period of three or two years, as applicable, to achieve an acceptable level of performance, to return the campus to the prior system or close the campus. The bill requires the commissioner to close the campus 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 such a campus specifying that the parents prefer the commissioner to close the campus.
C.S.S.B. 1718 requires the commissioner and the superintendent of the achievement school district, on request, to provide information concerning the new operations and performance of a removed campus to the prior system. The bill authorizes a campus operated by the achievement school district to change the name of the campus only on agreement of the prior system and the achievement school district. The bill requires a diploma issued to a student who graduates from high school at a campus operated by the achievement school district to bear the name of the prior system. The bill authorizes the commissioner to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions relating to the removal of a campus to the achievement school district.
C.S.S.B. 1718 requires TEA's comprehensive annual report to contain a listing and description of the status of each campus under the jurisdiction of the achievement school district and a summary of the reforms implemented and progress of the campus. The bill requires the commissioner's annual review of the performance of a district or campus subject to statutory provisions relating to accreditation interventions and sanctions to form the basis of such information in the report. The bill's provisions apply beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.S.B. 1718 may differ
from the engrossed version in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following
comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the
substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute
versions of the bill. |
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