2017S0412-1 03/07/17
 
  By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1566
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to certain powers and duties of the board of trustees of an
  independent school district and the governing body of an
  open-enrollment charter school.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 11.1511, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  The board may compel a school district's chief financial
  officer or chief academic officer or a person holding an equivalent
  position to appear at an executive session of the board or to
  testify at a public hearing held by the board. A superintendent may
  not interfere with an appearance or testimony compelled by the
  board under this subsection.
         SECTION 2.  Section 11.1512, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
  follows:
         (c)  A member of the board of trustees of the district, when
  acting in the member's official capacity, has an inherent right of
  access to information, documents, and records maintained by the
  district, and the district shall provide the information,
  documents, and records to the member without requiring the member
  to submit a public information request under Chapter 552,
  Government Code. The district shall provide the information,
  documents, and records to the member not later than the 20th
  business day after the date the district receives a request,
  without regard to whether the requested items are the subject of or
  relate to an item listed on an agenda for an upcoming meeting. The
  district may withhold or redact information, a document, or a
  record requested by a member of the board to the extent that the
  item is excepted from disclosure or is confidential under Chapter
  552, Government Code, or other law. This subsection does not
  require the district to provide information, documents, and records
  that are not subject to disclosure under the Family Educational
  Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
         (g)  A district shall create a policy on visits to a district
  campus or other facility by a member of the board of trustees of the
  district.
         SECTION 3.  Section 11.1513, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
         (k)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), the board of
  trustees may employ or dismiss a chief financial officer, a chief
  academic officer, or a person holding an equivalent position.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 11.1515 and 11.1516 to read as follows:
         Sec. 11.1515.  OVERSIGHT OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. The board
  of trustees of an independent school district or the governing body
  of an open-enrollment charter school is responsible for overseeing
  student academic achievement and maximizing student performance.
         Sec. 11.1516.  DISTRICT DATA ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
  (a)  On request by the board of trustees of an independent school
  district, the agency shall create a secure Internet website that
  members of the board may use to review campus and district academic
  achievement data.
         (b)  The website must:
               (1)  include district information, disaggregated by
  campus, grade, academic quarter or semester, as applicable, and
  school year, regarding the following:
                     (A)  student academic achievement and growth;
                     (B)  teacher and student attendance; and
                     (C)  student discipline records; and
               (2)  be updated each quarter of the school year.
         (c)  The commissioner shall provide information that permits
  a board member to compare the district's academic performance with
  the academic performance of other districts of similar size and
  racial and economic demographics.
         (d)  A district must provide requested information to the
  commissioner for the creation of a website under this section.
         (e)  The agency may contract with a private entity as
  necessary to implement this section.
         (f)  All information and reports created or received by the
  commissioner under this section from a district are considered
  confidential under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be
  disclosed in any public or private setting.
         (g)  The commissioner may adopt rules for the implementation
  of this section.
         SECTION 5.  Section 11.157, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 11.157.  CONTRACTS FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICES. (a)  The
  board of trustees of an independent school district may contract
  with a public or private entity for that entity to provide
  educational services for the district.
         (b)  The board of trustees by a majority vote may require a
  two-thirds vote for the renewal of a contract described by
  Subsection (a).
         SECTION 6.  Section 11.159, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read
  as follows:
         (b)  A trustee must complete any training required by the
  State Board of Education. The minutes of the last regular meeting
  of the board of trustees held during a calendar year must reflect
  whether each trustee has met or is delinquent in meeting the
  training required to be completed as of the date of the meeting. If
  the minutes reflect that a trustee is delinquent, the district
  shall post notice of the delinquency on the district's Internet
  website within two weeks of discovering the delinquency and
  maintain the posting until the trustee meets the requirements.
         (c)  The State Board of Education shall require a trustee to
  complete at least three hours of training on evaluating student
  academic performance each year. The agency shall create the
  training on evaluating student academic performance and certify a
  trustee's completion of the training. A candidate for trustee may
  complete the training before the candidate is elected. A new
  trustee shall complete the training within 120 days after the date
  of the trustee's election or appointment. A returning trustee
  shall complete the training annually.
         (d)  A trustee or candidate for trustee may complete training
  required under Subsection (c) at a regional education service
  center.
         SECTION 7.  Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 11.182 to read as follows:
         Sec. 11.182.  BOARD IMPROVEMENT AND EVALUATION TOOL.
  (a)  The commissioner shall develop a board of trustees improvement
  and evaluation tool. The evaluation tool must be designed to assist
  a school district in improving board oversight and academic
  achievement.
         (b)  A board of trustees may determine whether to use the
  evaluation tool, except that the commissioner shall require a board
  to use the evaluation tool if:
               (1)  the district has received an overall performance
  rating of D or F under Section 39.054 for two of the preceding three
  school years; or
               (2)  the commissioner determines the board is
  ineffectively managing the district.
         (c)  The commissioner may adopt rules for the implementation
  of this section.
         SECTION 8.  Section 11.201(b), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The board of trustees of an independent school district
  may employ by contract a superintendent for a term not to exceed
  five years. If approved by a majority vote of the board, the board
  may specify in a superintendent's contract that the contract may be
  renewed only with a two-thirds vote of the board.
         SECTION 9.  The heading to Section 12.064, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 12.064.  PROCEDURE FOR PLACEMENT ON PROBATION, [OR]
  REVOCATION, OR RENEWAL.
         SECTION 10.  Section 12.064, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  The board of trustees by a majority vote may require a
  two-thirds vote for the renewal of a charter under this subchapter.
         SECTION 11.  Section 39.057(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The commissioner may authorize special accreditation
  investigations to be conducted:
               (1)  when excessive numbers of absences of students
  eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are
  determined;
               (2)  when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions
  from the required state assessment instruments are determined;
               (3)  in response to complaints submitted to the agency
  with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other
  requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;
               (4)  in response to established compliance reviews of
  the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal
  program requirements;
               (5)  when extraordinary numbers of student placements
  in disciplinary alternative education programs, other than
  placements under Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined;
               (6)  in response to an allegation involving a conflict
  between members of the board of trustees or between the board and
  the district administration if it appears that the conflict
  involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the
  administration clearly defined by this code;
               (7)  when excessive numbers of students in special
  education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, are assessed
  through assessment instruments developed or adopted under Section
  39.023(b);
               (8)  in response to an allegation regarding or an
  analysis using a statistical method result indicating a possible
  violation of an assessment instrument security procedure
  established under Section 39.0301, including for the purpose of
  investigating or auditing a school district under that section;
               (9)  when a significant pattern of decreased academic
  performance has developed as a result of the promotion in the
  preceding two school years of students who did not perform
  satisfactorily as determined by the commissioner under Section
  39.0241(a) on assessment instruments administered under Section
  39.023(a), (c), or (l);
               (10)  when excessive numbers of students eligible to
  enroll fail to complete an Algebra II course or any other advanced
  course as determined by the commissioner;
               (11)  when resource allocation practices as evaluated
  under Section 39.0821 indicate a potential for significant
  improvement in resource allocation;
               (12)  when a disproportionate number of students of a
  particular demographic group is graduating with a particular
  endorsement under Section 28.025(c-1);
               (13)  when an excessive number of students is
  graduating with a particular endorsement under Section
  28.025(c-1);
               (14)  in response to a complaint submitted to the
  agency with respect to alleged inaccurate data that is reported
  through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
  or through other reports required by state or federal law or rule or
  court order and that is used by the agency to make a determination
  relating to public school accountability, including accreditation,
  under this chapter; [or]
               (15)  when the commissioner determines the board is
  ineffectively managing the district; or
               (16)  as the commissioner otherwise determines
  necessary.
         SECTION 12.  Section 39.102(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  If a school district does not satisfy the accreditation
  criteria under Section 39.052, the academic performance standards
  under Section 39.053 or 39.054, or any financial accountability
  standard as determined by commissioner rule, or if considered
  appropriate by the commissioner on the basis of a special
  accreditation investigation under Section 39.057, the commissioner
  shall take any of the following actions to the extent the
  commissioner determines necessary:
               (1)  issue public notice of the deficiency to the board
  of trustees;
               (2)  order a hearing conducted by the board of trustees
  of the district for the purpose of notifying the public of the
  insufficient performance, the improvements in performance expected
  by the agency, and the interventions and sanctions that may be
  imposed under this section if the performance does not improve;
               (3)  order the preparation of a student achievement
  improvement plan that addresses each academic achievement
  indicator under Section 39.053(c) for which the district's
  performance is insufficient, the submission of the plan to the
  commissioner for approval, and implementation of the plan;
               (4)  order a hearing to be held before the commissioner
  or the commissioner's designee at which the president of the board
  of trustees of the district and the superintendent shall appear and
  explain the district's low performance, lack of improvement, and
  plans for improvement;
               (5)  arrange a monitoring review of the district;
               (6)  appoint an agency monitor to participate in and
  report to the agency on the activities of the board of trustees or
  the superintendent;
               (7)  appoint a conservator to oversee the operations of
  the district;
               (8)  appoint a management team to direct the operations
  of the district in areas of insufficient performance or require the
  district to obtain certain services under a contract with another
  person;
               (9)  if a district has a current accreditation status
  of accredited-warned or accredited-probation, fails to satisfy any
  standard under Section 39.054(e), or fails to satisfy financial
  accountability standards as determined by commissioner rule,
  appoint a board of managers to exercise the powers and duties of the
  board of trustees;
               (10)  if for two consecutive school years, including
  the current school year, a district has received an accreditation
  status of accredited-warned or accredited-probation, has failed to
  satisfy any standard under Section 39.054(e), or has failed to
  satisfy financial accountability standards as determined by
  commissioner rule, revoke the district's accreditation and:
                     (A)  order closure of the district and annex the
  district to one or more adjoining districts under Section 13.054;
  or
                     (B)  in the case of a home-rule school district or
  open-enrollment charter school, order closure of all programs
  operated under the district's or school's charter; [or]
               (11)  if a district has failed to satisfy any standard
  under Section 39.054(e) due to the district's dropout rates, impose
  sanctions designed to improve high school completion rates,
  including:
                     (A)  ordering the development of a dropout
  prevention plan for approval by the commissioner;
                     (B)  restructuring the district or appropriate
  school campuses to improve identification of and service to
  students who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by
  Section 29.081;
                     (C)  ordering lower student-to-counselor ratios
  on school campuses with high dropout rates; and
                     (D)  ordering the use of any other intervention
  strategy effective in reducing dropout rates, including mentor
  programs and flexible class scheduling; or
               (12)  order the use of the board improvement and
  evaluation tool as provided by Section 11.182.
         SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.