82S10424 CAS-D
By: Dutton H.B. No. 70
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a financial exigency of a school district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 44, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 44.011 to read as follows:
Sec. 44.011. FINANCIAL EXIGENCY. (a) In this section,
"financial exigency" means substantial and recurring financial
deficits in the total operating budget of a school district that
have occurred and are reasonably projected to continue to occur,
placing the district at serious risk of insolvency. The term does
not include:
(1) the expectation of short-term deficits in the
operating budget of a district; or
(2) the elimination of or reduction in a district
academic program for academic reasons.
(b) This section applies only if, in response to a financial
exigency as determined by the board of trustees of a school
district, the district proposes to terminate contracts of and
discharge classroom teachers. A district shall consider
termination of contracts and discharge of classroom teachers to be
an exceptional action. The board of trustees of a district must
comply with this section before the board may terminate contracts
of and discharge classroom teachers on the basis of a financial
exigency.
(c) The board of trustees of a school district that proposes
to terminate contracts of and discharge classroom teachers on the
basis of a financial exigency must prepare and submit to the
commissioner a report specifying the precise nature and extent of
the district's financial problems. The report must include:
(1) a description of each measure the district has
taken to address the financial problems;
(2) whether reduction or elimination of any academic
program redundancies is recommended in addressing the financial
problems;
(3) each reason for proposing termination of contracts
and discharge of classroom teachers; and
(4) the number of classroom teachers whom the district
is proposing to discharge.
(d) Not later than the 10th day after the date the board of
trustees of a school district submits a report to the commissioner
under Subsection (c), a financial exigency committee shall be
established to review all documentation relevant in determining
whether a district financial exigency exists. The committee shall
be composed of five members, none of whom may be employed by the
district. Two members of the committee shall be appointed by the
board of trustees, two members shall be appointed by the
commissioner, and one member shall be appointed to serve as
presiding officer by the other members of the committee.
(e) In performing its duties under this section, the
financial exigency committee may consult with any person and may
consider oral or written submissions concerning the school
district's financial condition and district academic program
redundancies.
(f) The financial exigency committee shall prepare and
submit to the commissioner and the board of trustees of the school
district, in the time and manner required by commissioner rule, a
report that includes:
(1) an analysis of the nature and extent of the
district's financial problems;
(2) a determination of whether a district financial
exigency exists;
(3) a description of the potential impact on the
district's academic programs of the district's proposals under
Subsection (c);
(4) a determination of whether district enrollment
projections are consistent with the reduction in the number of
classroom teachers proposed under Subsection (c);
(5) a determination of whether the district has
proposed making any necessary reductions among district employees
in a manner that best maintains the academic viability of the
district; and
(6) a determination of whether the district has
exhausted all reasonable means, other than termination of contracts
and discharge of classroom teachers, to alleviate the district's
financial problems, including:
(A) applying rigorous economies in all areas of
the district's present and projected expenditures;
(B) using all reasonable means of increasing the
district's income; and
(C) reducing the number of classroom teachers by
voluntary retirement, resignation, or reduction in workload or by
other voluntary means.
(g) If the financial exigency committee determines that a
school district financial exigency does not exist, the district may
not terminate a contract of and discharge a classroom teacher for
budgetary reasons. If the committee determines that a district
financial exigency does exist and that the district has exhausted
all other reasonable means to alleviate the district's financial
problems, the committee may recommend a reduction in the number of
classroom teachers or in the district's budgetary allocations for
classroom teacher salaries or benefits. If the committee
recommends a reduction in the number of classroom teachers that is
different from the number proposed under Subsection (c), the
committee shall explain the reasons for the difference in the
report under Subsection (f).
(h) If the financial exigency committee determines a school
district financial exigency exists and no other satisfactory
provision can be made for the continued employment of all district
classroom teachers, the board of trustees of the district shall
prepare a plan for the reduction in the number of classroom
teachers. The plan must be structured in a manner that allows the
district to continue to operate to the greatest extent practicable
in accordance with the district's mission and may include a
reduction in or elimination of one or more academic programs. The
district may terminate contracts of and discharge classroom
teachers only to the extent necessary to alleviate the financial
exigency. The number of classroom teachers discharged may not
exceed the number recommended by the financial exigency committee
under Subsection (g).
(i) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary for the
administration of this section.
SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012
school year.
SECTION 3. 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 on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.