By: Bohac H.B. No. 3802

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to public school transfers and interventions and sanctions for a campus experiencing a routinely large number of requests to transfer from the campus.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 25, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 25.0344 to read as follows:

Sec. 25.0344. CAMPUS TRANSFER REQUESTS. (a) This section applies only to a school district that operates more than one campus serving the same grade levels.

(b) The board of trustees of a school district shall establish a local policy consistent with this subchapter to allow a parent or person standing in parental relation to any student to request a transfer of the student from the campus the student would otherwise attend to another campus in the district. The district shall maintain information as required by the commissioner regarding the number of requests for transfer each school year and the extent to which transfer requests are approved. A decision by the board regarding student assignment to a campus is final unless the student, parent, or person standing in parental relation to the student files an exception as provided by Sections 25.034(e) and (f).

(c) If the parents of more than 4 percent of the students at a campus during a school year request a transfer for the following school year, the board shall hold a public hearing before the end of the school year to discuss transfers. At the hearing the board shall consider:

(1) increasing the capacity at campuses to which transfers are requested;

(2) improving programs and facilities at the campus from which transfers are requested; and

(3) reallocating budget resources or staff to the campus from which transfers are requested.

(d) If the parents of more than 4 percent of the students at a campus have requested a transfer for three consecutive school years, the board must enter into an agreement with a consultant from an approved list provided by the commissioner for recommendations to decrease the number of parents requesting a transfer. The consultant's recommendations must be considered at a public hearing before the district's budget is adopted by the board.

(e) If the parents of more than 4 percent of the students at a campus have requested a transfer for five consecutive years, the board shall, after a public hearing, repurpose the campus to provide a magnet, early college, or other alternative program. The board repurposing plan must be approved by the commissioner before the campus may reopen.

(f) If the parents of more than 4 percent of students at a campus have requested a transfer for seven consecutive years, the board may not issue bonds for the acquisition or equipment of facilities under Chapter 45 until the board makes a finding that the bonds are prioritized to address the persistence of transfer requests.

(g) If the parents of more than 4 p ercent of students at a campus have requested a transfer for 10 consecutive years, the board must close the campus for at least one school year. The educational program, staffing, and budget of the campus must be approved by the commissioner before the campus may be reopened.

(h) The board shall maintain on the district's Internet website and shall annually notify parents in writing of the percentage of transfer requests for the previous 10 years for the campus to which a student is assigned.

(i) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this section.

SECTION 2. 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, 2013.