83R9514 JSL-D
By: Rodriguez of Bexar H.B. No. 2455
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to minimum qualifications for a teacher at an open-
enrollment charter school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense; and
(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E,
Chapter 29;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, E, F, G, and J, Chapter 39;
(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct; [and]
(N) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213; and
(O) educator certification under Chapter 21 and
educator rights under Sections 21.407, 21.408, and 22.001.
SECTION 2. Section 12.111(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each charter granted under this subchapter must:
(1) describe the educational program to be offered,
which must include the required curriculum as provided by Section
28.002;
(2) specify the period for which the charter or any
charter renewal is valid;
(3) provide that continuation or renewal of the
charter is contingent on acceptable student performance on
assessment instruments adopted under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, and
on compliance with any accountability provision specified by the
charter, by a deadline or at intervals specified by the charter;
(4) establish the level of student performance that is
considered acceptable for purposes of Subdivision (3);
(5) specify any basis, in addition to a basis
specified by this subchapter, on which the charter may be placed on
probation or revoked or on which renewal of the charter may be
denied;
(6) prohibit discrimination in admission policy on the
basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability,
academic, artistic, or athletic ability, or the district the child
would otherwise attend in accordance with this code, although the
charter may:
(A) provide for the exclusion of a student who
has a documented history of a criminal offense, a juvenile court
adjudication, or discipline problems under Subchapter A, Chapter
37; and
(B) provide for an admission policy that requires
a student to demonstrate artistic ability if the school specializes
in performing arts;
(7) specify the grade levels to be offered;
(8) describe the governing structure of the program,
including:
(A) the officer positions designated;
(B) the manner in which officers are selected and
removed from office;
(C) the manner in which members of the governing
body of the school are selected and removed from office;
(D) the manner in which vacancies on that
governing body are filled;
(E) the term for which members of that governing
body serve; and
(F) whether the terms are to be staggered;
(9) specify the powers or duties of the governing body
of the school that the governing body may delegate to an officer;
(10) specify the manner in which the school will
distribute to parents information related to the qualifications of
each professional employee of the program, including any
professional or educational degree held by each employee, a
statement of the appropriate [any] certification under Subchapter
B, Chapter 21, held by each employee, and any relevant experience of
each employee;
(11) describe the process by which the person
providing the program will adopt an annual budget;
(12) describe the manner in which an annual audit of
the financial and programmatic operations of the program is to be
conducted, including the manner in which the person providing the
program will provide information necessary for the school district
in which the program is located to participate, as required by this
code or by State Board of Education rule, in the Public Education
Information Management System (PEIMS);
(13) describe the facilities to be used;
(14) describe the geographical area served by the
program; and
(15) specify any type of enrollment criteria to be
used.
SECTION 3. Section 12.129, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 12.129. MINIMUM TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS. A person
employed as a teacher by an open-enrollment charter school must
hold the appropriate certification under Subchapter B, Chapter 21
[a high school diploma].
SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2013-2014
school year.
SECTION 5. 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 September 1, 2013.