Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2541 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	81R6460 CAS-D
2	2	By: Eissler H.B. No. 2541
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the funding and operation of open-enrollment charter
8	8	schools.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 12.106, Education Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
12	12	(d) A charter holder is entitled to receive funding under
13	13	this section for the open-enrollment charter school only if the
14	14	charter holder:
15	15	(1) provides information for the Public Education
16	16	Information Management System (PEIMS) as required by this chapter
17	17	or by commissioner rule;
18	18	(2) submits to the commissioner appropriate fiscal and
19	19	financial records as required by this chapter or by commissioner
20	20	rule; and
21	21	(3) receives an unqualified opinion in the most recent
22	22	independent auditor's report of the school's finances.
23	23	(e) The commissioner shall suspend the funding of a charter
24	24	holder that fails to comply with a rule adopted under Subsection (c)
25	25	until the commissioner determines that the charter holder:
26	26	(1) is in compliance or has cured any noncompliance;
27	27	and
28	28	(2) has adopted adequate procedures to prevent future
29	29	noncompliance.
30	30	SECTION 2. Section 12.116, Education Code, is amended by
31	31	adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (b) to read as
32	32	follows:
33	33	(a-1) The commissioner shall revoke the charter of an
34	34	open-enrollment charter school in accordance with the procedure
35	35	adopted under Subsection (a) if the school is insolvent as a result
36	36	of recovery of over-allocated state funds under Section 42.258(a).
37	37	(b) The commissioner shall revoke the charter of an
38	38	open-enrollment charter school without a hearing if each campus
39	39	operated under the school's charter has been ordered closed under
40	40	Section 39.131(a)(10) or under Section 39.1324(d), (e), or (f).
41	41	[The procedure adopted under Subsection (a) must provide an
42	42	opportunity for a hearing to the charter holder and to parents and
43	43	guardians of students in the school. A hearing under this
44	44	subsection must be held at the facility at which the program is
45	45	operated.]
46	46	SECTION 3. Section 39.1324(f), Education Code, is amended
47	47	to read as follows:
48	48	(f) If a campus, other than an open-enrollment charter
49	49	school campus, is considered academically unacceptable for two
50	50	consecutive school years after the campus is reconstituted under
51	51	Subsection (a), the commissioner shall order closure of the campus
52	52	or pursue alternative management under Section 39.1327. If a
53	53	campus of an open-enrollment charter school is considered
54	54	academically unacceptable for two consecutive school years after
55	55	the campus is reconstituted under Subsection (a), the commissioner
56	56	shall order closure of the campus.
57	57	SECTION 4. Sections 39.202 and 39.203, Education Code, are
58	58	amended to read as follows:
59	59	Sec. 39.202. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION. (a) The
60	60	commissioner shall, in consultation with the comptroller, develop
61	61	and implement a financial accountability rating system for school
62	62	districts and open-enrollment charter schools in this state that:
63	63	(1) distinguishes among school districts and
64	64	open-enrollment charter schools based on levels of financial
65	65	performance; and
66	66	(2) includes procedures to:
67	67	(A) provide additional transparency to public
68	68	education finance; and
69	69	(B) enable the commissioner and school district
70	70	and open-enrollment charter school administrators to provide
71	71	meaningful financial oversight and improvement.
72	72	(b) The system must include uniform indicators adopted by
73	73	the commissioner by which to measure a district's or
74	74	open-enrollment charter school's financial management performance.
75	75	Sec. 39.203. REPORTING. (a) The commissioner shall
76	76	develop, as part of the system, a reporting procedure under which:
77	77	(1) each school district and open-enrollment charter
78	78	school is required to prepare and distribute an annual financial
79	79	management report; and
80	80	(2) the public is provided an opportunity to comment
81	81	on the report at a hearing.
82	82	(b) The annual financial management report must include:
83	83	(1) a description of the district's or school's
84	84	financial management performance based on a comparison, provided by
85	85	the agency, of the district's or school's performance on the
86	86	indicators adopted under Section 39.202(b) to:
87	87	(A) state-established standards; and
88	88	(B) the district's or school's previous
89	89	performance on the indicators; and
90	90	(2) any descriptive information required by the
91	91	commissioner.
92	92	(c) The report may include:
93	93	(1) information concerning, if applicable, the
94	94	district's or school's:
95	95	(A) financial allocations;
96	96	(B) tax collections;
97	97	(C) financial strength;
98	98	(D) operating cost management;
99	99	(E) personnel management;
100	100	(F) debt management;
101	101	(G) facility acquisition and construction
102	102	management;
103	103	(H) cash management;
104	104	(I) budgetary planning;
105	105	(J) overall business management;
106	106	(K) compliance with rules; and
107	107	(L) data quality; and
108	108	(2) any other information the board of trustees
109	109	determines to be necessary or useful.
110	110	(d) The board of trustees of each school district and the
111	111	governing body of each open-enrollment charter school shall hold a
112	112	public hearing on the report. The board shall give notice of the
113	113	hearing to, as applicable, owners of real property in the district
114	114	and to parents of district students or to owners of real property in
115	115	the district in which the open-enrollment charter school is located
116	116	and to the parents of school students. In addition to other notice
117	117	required by law, notice of the hearing must be provided:
118	118	(1) to a newspaper of general circulation in the
119	119	district; and
120	120	(2) through electronic mail to media serving the
121	121	district.
122	122	(e) After the hearing, the report shall be disseminated in
123	123	the district or in the district in which the open-enrollment
124	124	charter school is located in the manner prescribed by the
125	125	commissioner.
126	126	SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 46, Education Code, is
127	127	amended by adding Sections 46.014 and 46.015 to read as follows:
128	128	Sec. 46.014. INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITIES ALLOTMENT FOR
129	129	OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOLS. (a) In this section, "charter
130	130	holder" has the meaning assigned by Section 12.1012.
131	131	(b) In accordance with this section, a charter holder is
132	132	initially eligible for an instructional facilities allotment under
133	133	this section for a school year for a campus of an open-enrollment
134	134	charter school for which the charter holder has been granted a
135	135	charter if:
136	136	(1) the campus has for the two preceding school years
137	137	been rated as recognized or exemplary under Subchapter D, Chapter
138	138	39; and
139	139	(2) the charter holder has satisfied generally
140	140	accepted accounting standards of fiscal management as evidenced by
141	141	an unqualified opinion in the most recent independent auditor's
142	142	report of the financial records of the charter holder.
143	143	(c) After an open-enrollment charter school campus has
144	144	satisfied the eligibility requirement under Subsection (b)(1) and
145	145	receives an allotment under this section, the campus remains
146	146	eligible for an allotment unless the campus receives an
147	147	accountability rating of academically acceptable or below under
148	148	Subchapter D, Chapter 39, for three consecutive school years. To
149	149	regain eligibility, the campus must satisfy the requirement under
150	150	Subsection (b)(1).
151	151	(d) The commissioner annually shall review the eligibility
152	152	of an open-enrollment charter school campus for purposes of this
153	153	section.
154	154	(e) The amount of an allotment under this section is an
155	155	amount established by the commissioner, not to exceed $1,000 or a
156	156	different amount provided by appropriation, for each student in
157	157	average daily attendance during the preceding school year at the
158	158	open-enrollment charter school campus.
159	159	(f) A charter holder who receives funds under this section
160	160	may use the funds only for an open-enrollment charter school campus
161	161	for which the funds were paid under Subsection (e) and only to:
162	162	(1) purchase real property on which to construct an
163	163	instructional facility for the campus;
164	164	(2) purchase, lease, construct, expand, or renovate
165	165	instructional facilities for the campus;
166	166	(3) pay debt service in connection with instructional
167	167	facilities purchased or improved for the campus; or
168	168	(4) maintain and operate instructional facilities for
169	169	the campus.
170	170	(g) A decision of the commissioner under this section is
171	171	final and may not be appealed.
172	172	(h) The commissioner shall by rule establish procedures to
173	173	ensure that funds a charter holder claims to be using for purposes
174	174	of Subsection (f)(3) are used only for that purpose.
175	175	(i) Sections 12.107 and 12.1161 apply to funds allotted
176	176	under this section as though the funds were received under
177	177	Subchapter D, Chapter 12. Section 12.128 applies to property
178	178	purchased with funds allotted under this section as though the
179	179	property were purchased with funds received under Subchapter D,
180	180	Chapter 12.
181	181	Sec. 46.015. ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR OPEN-ENROLLMENT
182	182	CHARTER SCHOOL FACILITIES. (a) In this section, "charter holder"
183	183	has the meaning assigned by Section 12.1012.
184	184	(b) This section applies only to a charter holder that is
185	185	not eligible for an allotment under Section 46.014. A charter
186	186	holder is eligible for an instructional facilities allotment under
187	187	this section for a school year for a campus of an open-enrollment
188	188	charter school for which the charter holder has been granted a
189	189	charter if, as determined by the commissioner, the campus:
190	190	(1) has a current academic accountability rating of
191	191	acceptable, recognized, or exemplary under Subchapter D, Chapter
192	192	39;
193	193	(2) does not have an accreditation rating of
194	194	accredited-warned or accredited-probation;
195	195	(3) meets two or more additional academic requirements
196	196	determined by the commissioner from among the standards specified
197	197	by Section 39.0721(c);
198	198	(4) demonstrates the ability to finance a substantial
199	199	portion of the cost of the instructional facility and the inability
200	200	to fully pay the costs of the instructional facility, as determined
201	201	by the commissioner under commissioner rule; and
202	202	(5) satisfies any other requirement required under
203	203	commissioner rule.
204	204	(c) The commissioner shall use at least 10 percent of the
205	205	total amount of funds available for purposes of allotments under
206	206	Section 46.014 for allotments under this section. The amount of an
207	207	allotment under this section is an amount established by the
208	208	commissioner, based on the amount of funds available for the
209	209	purpose, for each student in average daily attendance during the
210	210	preceding school year at the open-enrollment charter school campus.
211	211	(d) Sections 46.014(f) and (h) apply to the use of funds a
212	212	charter holder receives under this section as if the funds were
213	213	received under Section 46.014.
214	214	(e) A decision of the commissioner under this section is
215	215	final and may not be appealed.
216	216	(f) Sections 12.107 and 12.1161 apply to funds allotted
217	217	under this section as though the funds were received under
218	218	Subchapter D, Chapter 12. Section 12.128 applies to property
219	219	purchased with funds allotted under this section as though the
220	220	property were purchased with funds received under Subchapter D,
221	221	Chapter 12.
222	222	SECTION 6. Sections 12.115(b) and 46.012, Education Code,
223	223	are repealed.
224	224	SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2009-2010
225	225	school year.
226	226	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
227	227	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
228	228	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
229	229	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
230	230	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.