By: Taylor of Galveston, Creighton S.B. No. 14

(In the Senate - Filed March 3, 2015; March 3, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 13, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 1, 1 present not voting; April 13, 2015, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 14 By: Taylor of Galveston

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to empowering the parents of students to petition for the reconstitution, repurposing, alternative management, or closure of low-performing public school campuses.

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

SECTION 1. Sections 39.107(a) and (e), Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) After a campus has been identified as unacceptable for two consecutive school years, the commissioner shall order the reconstitution of the campus, subject to Section 39.1071.

(e) If a campus is considered to have an unacceptable performance rating for three consecutive school years after the campus is reconstituted under Subsection (a), the commissioner, subject to Subsection (e-1) or Section 39.1071 [(e-2)], shall order:

(1) repurposing of the campus under this section;

(2) alternative management of the campus under this section; or

(3) closure of the campus.

SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 39, Education Code, is amended by adding Sections 39.1071, 39.1072, and 39.1073 to read as follows:

Sec. 39.1071. PETITION BY PARENTS FOR RECONSTITUTION, REPURPOSING, ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT, OR CLOSURE. (a) Unless the commissioner has ordered the closure of the campus under Section 39.107, the parents of students enrolled at a campus with an unacceptable performance rating under Section 39.054 for two consecutive school years may, at any time, submit a petition to the commissioner requesting that the commissioner order one of the following actions authorized by Section 39.107:

(1) reconstitution of the campus;

(2) repurposing of the campus;

(3) alternative management of the campus; or

(4) closure of the campus.

(b) A petition that seeks alternative management of a campus under Subsection (a)(3) may specify the process to be used in selecting the organization or team to assume management of the campus. If the petition specifies a process to be used, the commissioner is required to use the specified process and comply with the requirements prescribed by Section 39.1073. If the petition does not specify a process to be used, the organization or team must be selected by the parents of students enrolled at the campus. To the extent this subsection conflicts with another provision of this subchapter, this subsection prevails.

(c) A petition must:

(1) be in a form developed by the commissioner;

(2) be made available to all parents of students enrolled at the campus;

(3) include state accountability data on the status of the campus, including the performance rating of the campus for each year; and

(4) include detailed information on the options available for the campus, including a copy of the proposed options listed under Subsection (a).

(d) If the petition is signed by the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at the campus, as determined under Subsection (e), the commissioner shall order the specific action requested by the petition. If the petition requests:

(1) reconstitution or repurposing of the campus, the commissioner shall consider input from the lead petitioner and the parents of students enrolled at the campus in implementing the order;

(2) alternative management of the campus, the commissioner shall order alternative management of the campus by the organization or team selected as described by Subsection (b); or

(3) closure of the campus, the commissioner shall order closure of the campus for the following school year.

(e) The percentage of parents signing a petition shall be calculated based on the total number of students enrolled at the campus, applying the following rules:

(1) the signature of only one parent of a student is required;

(2) a student may not be counted more than once, regardless of whether more than one parent signs the petition on behalf of the student; and

(3) the signature of a parent shall be counted on behalf of each child of the parent who is enrolled at the campus, unless otherwise indicated in the petition.

(f) The petition may designate as a lead petitioner one or more parents of one or more students enrolled at the campus. The parent or parents shall be chosen annually by the parents of students enrolled at the campus.

(g) The commissioner shall review the signatures on a petition to verify that the petition is signed by the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at the campus. In verifying that the petition is signed by the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at the campus, the commissioner may consult with any person necessary to make the verification, including the board of trustees for the district in which the campus is located, the principal of the campus, the lead petitioner, or any designated lead petitioner representative.

(h) Not later than the 30th day after receipt of the petition or additional signatures under Subsection (j), the commissioner shall notify, in writing, the board of trustees for the district in which the campus is located, the principal of the campus, the lead petitioner, any designated lead petitioner representative, and any other person who has requested notice in writing of the commissioner's determination regarding whether the number of signatures on the petition is sufficient to compel the action sought in the petition. Additionally, the commissioner's written notice must:

(1) state the number of students the commissioner has determined are enrolled at the campus;

(2) state the number of signatures the commissioner counted when determining whether the necessary majority was attained; and

(3) list the signatures that were not counted toward determining whether the necessary majority was attained and the reason each disqualified signature was not counted.

(i) In verifying signatures, the commissioner may not disregard a signature if the clear intent of the person providing the signature was to support the petition.

(j) If the commissioner determines that a petition is not signed by the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at the campus, the parents may, not later than the 45th day after the date of the commissioner's written notice under Subsection (h), submit additional signatures in support of the petition.

(k) If additional signatures are submitted to the commissioner under Subsection (j), the commissioner shall review and verify the additional signatures in accordance with Subsections (e), (g), and (h).

(l) If the commissioner determines that the petition is not signed by the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at the campus, the commissioner's determination is final and may not be appealed.

(m) A student who resides in the campus's assigned attendance zone, as that zone existed during the school year immediately preceding implementation of an order under this section, and who is otherwise eligible to attend the campus may:

(1) enroll in the campus during each school year that the student would otherwise be eligible to attend the campus; or

(2) transfer and enroll in another campus in the district during each school year that the student would otherwise be eligible to attend the campus.

(n) Notwithstanding Subsection (m), the board of trustees of a school district may assign or transfer a student between school facilities or classrooms in accordance with Chapter 37.

(o) A person may not use school district or campus resources to support or oppose a petition under this section, except that school district or campus resources may be used to comply with a public information request under Chapter 552, Government Code.

(p) A person may not coerce or bribe a parent to sign or decline to sign a petition under this section.

(q) For purposes of this section, "parent" includes a student's parent, a student's legal guardian, a person with legal authority to act in place of a student's parent or legal guardian, or the student, if the student is 18 years of age or older, but does not include a parent whose parental rights have been terminated or whose rights to make decisions concerning a student's education have been limited.

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

Sec. 39.1072. PERFORMANCE UPDATES FOLLOWING PETITION BY PARENTS FOR RECONSTITUTION, REPURPOSING, ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT, OR CLOSURE. Following the submission of a petition for the reconstitution, repurposing, alternative management, or closure of a campus by the parents of students enrolled at the campus under Section 39.1071, the commissioner shall provide quarterly updates on the performance of the campus to parents of students enrolled at the campus.

Sec. 39.1073. SELECTION OF ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT FOLLOWING PETITION BY PARENTS. (a) In this section, "management company" has the meaning assigned by Section 12.1012.

(b) If the commissioner selects an organization or team to assume alternative management of a campus in accordance with a process specified in a petition for alternative management submitted by parents under Section 39.1071, the commissioner shall give preference to proposals submitted by charter holders who do not use the services of a management company to operate the charter holder's open-enrollment charter schools. The commissioner may only consider proposals from charter holders that use the services of a management company if the commissioner does not receive proposals from charter holders that do not use the services of a management company.

(c) If the commissioner selects a charter school to assume alternative management of a campus in accordance with a process specified in a petition for alternative management submitted by parents under Section 39.1071, laws and rules applicable to school districts, including laws and rules related to public information, open meetings, nepotism, conflict of interest, and other protections of public funds and public trust, shall continue to apply to the campus.

SECTION 3. Sections 39.107(e-2) and (e-3), Education Code, are repealed.

SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, except that parents of students enrolled at a school campus that has been identified as unacceptable for three or more consecutive years as of the effective date of this Act may submit a petition under Section 39.1071, Education Code, as added by this Act, beginning on the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 5. 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, 2015.

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