81R11085 KKA-D
By: Martinez Fischer H.B. No. 4111
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public notice requirements and other provisions
applicable to the board of trustees of a school district proposing
to close a district campus.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 11.163 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.163. CAMPUS CLOSURES. (a) If the board of trustees
of a school district proposes to close a campus, the board must:
(1) send written notice of the proposed closure by
regular mail to the parent of each child who would otherwise attend
the campus during the first school year that the campus is proposed
to be closed;
(2) provide a period of at least 90 days after the date
notice is sent under Subdivision (1) for soliciting and considering
public comment regarding the proposed closure;
(3) promptly make district documents associated with
the proposed closure, other than documents that are confidential
under law, available to the public through the Internet and by other
means for persons without Internet access; and
(4) hold one or more public meetings during the period
described by Subdivision (2) at which the district superintendent
and board members are available to answer questions and receive
comments, including questions and comments relating to the
documents made available under Subdivision (3).
(b) If, after conclusion of the period described by
Subsection (a)(2) and consideration of public comments, the board
of trustees continues to conclude that the campus should be closed,
the district must develop a written closure plan that:
(1) describes the ways in which each affected child's
education will be altered as a result of the closure;
(2) identifies each educational program available at
the campus being closed that will not be available at each campus to
which students will be transferred as a result of the closure;
(3) describes the effect of the closure on student
safety, including such elements as the number of registered sex
offenders residing in the vicinity of each campus to which students
will be transferred as a result of the closure; and
(4) addresses questions and comments raised by the
public during the period described by Subsection (a)(2).
(c) The district must make the closure plan required by
Subsection (b) available to the public through the Internet and by
other appropriate means for persons without Internet access.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, if
any members of the board of trustees of a school district are
elected from single-member trustee districts, the board may not
close a campus unless:
(1) the board includes a member representing the
single-member trustee district that includes the territory in which
the campus to be closed is located; and
(2) the member described by Subdivision (1) attends
each public meeting held under Subsection (a)(4).
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.