82R4078 KKA-D
By: Guillen H.B. No. 1846
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state interventions and sanctions under the public
school accountability system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.103(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If a campus performance is below any standard under
Section 39.054(e), the commissioner may [shall] take actions, to
the extent the commissioner determines necessary, as provided by
this subchapter.
SECTION 2. Section 39.107, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (b), (b-1), (b-2), (c), (d), and
(f) and adding Subsection (s) to read as follows:
(a) After a campus has been identified as unacceptable for
two consecutive school years without improvements in performance,
the commissioner may [shall] order the reconstitution of the campus
by the school district.
(a-1) In reconstituting a campus, a school district [campus
intervention team] shall assist the campus in:
(1) developing a [an updated] targeted improvement
plan;
(2) submitting the [updated] targeted improvement
plan to the board of trustees of the [school] district for approval
and presenting the plan in a public hearing [as provided by Section
39.106(e-1)];
(3) obtaining approval of the [updated] plan from the
commissioner; and
(4) executing the plan on approval by the
commissioner.
(b) The school district [campus intervention team] shall
decide which educators may be retained at that campus. A principal
who has been employed by the campus in that capacity during the full
period described by Subsection (a) may not be retained at that
campus unless the district [campus intervention team] determines
that retention of the principal would be more beneficial to the
student achievement and campus stability than removal.
(b-1) A teacher of a subject assessed by an assessment
instrument under Section 39.023 may be retained only if the school
district [campus intervention team] determines that a pattern
exists of significant academic improvement by students taught by
the teacher. If an educator is not retained, the educator may be
assigned to another position in the district.
(b-2) For each year that a campus is considered to have an
unacceptable performance rating, a school district [campus
intervention team] shall:
(1) assist the campus in updating the targeted
improvement plan to identify and analyze areas of growth and areas
that require improvement;
(2) assist the campus in submitting [submit] the
updated plan to:
(A) the board of trustees of the [school]
district; and
(B) the parents of campus students; and
(3) assist the campus in submitting the updated plan
to the commissioner for approval.
(c) A campus subject to Subsection (a) shall implement the
[updated] targeted improvement plan as approved by the
commissioner. The commissioner may appoint a monitor, conservator,
management team, or board of managers to the district to ensure and
oversee district-level support to low-performing campuses and the
implementation of the [updated] targeted improvement plan. In
making appointments under this subsection, the commissioner shall
consider individuals who have demonstrated success in managing
campuses with student populations similar to the campus at which
the individual appointed will serve.
(d) If the commissioner determines that the campus is not
fully implementing the [updated] targeted improvement plan or if
the students enrolled at the campus fail to demonstrate substantial
improvement in the areas targeted by the [updated] plan, the
commissioner may order:
(1) repurposing of the campus under this section;
(2) alternative management of the campus under this
section; or
(3) closure of the campus.
(f) If the commissioner orders repurposing of a campus, the
school district shall develop a comprehensive plan for repurposing
the campus and submit the plan to the board of trustees for initial
approval, [using the procedures described by Section 39.106(e-1),]
and subsequently to the commissioner for final approval. The plan
must include a description of a rigorous and relevant academic
program for the campus. The plan may include various instructional
models. The commissioner may not approve the repurposing of a
campus unless:
(1) all students in the assigned attendance zone of
the campus in the school year immediately preceding the repurposing
of the campus are provided with the opportunity to enroll in and are
provided transportation on request to another campus, unless the
commissioner grants an exception because there is no other campus
in the district in which the students may enroll;
(2) the principal is not retained at the campus,
unless the commissioner determines that students enrolled at the
campus have demonstrated significant academic improvement; and
(3) teachers employed at the campus in the school year
immediately preceding the repurposing of the campus are not
retained at the campus, unless the commissioner or the
commissioner's designee grants an exception, at the request of a
school district, for:
(A) a teacher who provides instruction in a
subject other than a subject for which an assessment instrument is
administered under Section 39.023(a) or (c) who demonstrates to the
commissioner satisfactory performance; or
(B) a teacher who provides instruction in a
subject for which an assessment instrument is administered under
Section 39.023(a) or (c) if the district demonstrates that the
students of the teacher demonstrated satisfactory performance or
improved academic growth on that assessment instrument.
(s) The state shall pay all costs arising from actions
required to be taken by a school district or campus under this
section.
SECTION 3. Section 39.108, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.108. ANNUAL REVIEW. The commissioner shall review
annually the performance of a district or campus subject to this
subchapter to determine the appropriate actions to be implemented
under this subchapter. The commissioner must review at least
annually the performance of a district for which the accreditation
status or rating has been lowered due to insufficient student
performance and may not raise the accreditation status or rating
until the district has demonstrated improved student performance.
If the review reveals a lack of improvement, the commissioner may
[shall] increase the level of state intervention and sanction
[unless the commissioner finds good cause for maintaining the
current status].
SECTION 4. Section 39.109, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.109. ACQUISITION OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. In
addition to other interventions and sanctions authorized under this
subchapter, the commissioner may order a school district or campus
to acquire professional services available through the state at no
expense to [at the expense of] the district or campus to address the
applicable financial, assessment, data quality, program,
performance, or governance deficiency. The commissioner's order
may require the district or campus to:
(1) select or be assigned an external auditor, data
quality expert, professional authorized to monitor district
assessment instrument administration, or curriculum or program
expert; or
(2) provide for or participate in the appropriate
training of district staff or board of trustees members in the case
of a district, or campus staff, in the case of a campus.
SECTION 5. Section 39.0233(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The agency, in coordination with the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, shall adopt a series of questions to
be included in an end-of-course assessment instrument administered
under Section 39.023(c) to be used for purposes of Section 51.3062.
The questions adopted under this subsection must be developed in a
manner consistent with any college readiness standards adopted
under Sections 39.233 [39.113] and 51.3062.
SECTION 6. Sections 39.106, 39.107(i), 39.110, and 39.113,
Education Code, are repealed.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.