By: West S.B. No. 1718
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of the Texas Achievement School
District for educating students attending campuses removed from the
jurisdiction of a school district or charter school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 11, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter I to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I. TEXAS ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Sec. 11.401. TEXAS ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
ESTABLISHED. (a) The Texas Achievement School District is hereby
established as a school district under this Chapter and an
intermediate educational unit under Title 34, Code of Federal
Regulations, Section 222.50, for the purpose of educating students
attending any campus removed from the jurisdiction of a school
district or open-enrollment charter school under Section 39.107.
The school district or charter school from which the campus was
removed is the "prior system" under this Section.
(b) The superintendent of the Achievement School District
shall report to the commissioner under a written contract for
services.
(c) The Achievement School District does not have authority
to impose taxes, but has authority to seek and expend federal
funding and grant funding and to otherwise seek, obtain, and expend
funding with the same authority as an independent school district.
(d) The Achievement School District may provide for the
supervision, management, and operation of each campus placed under
its jurisdiction and receive, control, and expend the local, state,
and federal funding attributable to that campus, with all the same
power and authority as the prior system subject to the requirements
of this Subchapter and Section 39.107, and with any other power or
authority otherwise granted by law.
(e) The Achievement School District is entitled to the same
level of services provided to other school districts by regional
education service centers, and to participate in any state program
available to school districts, including a purchasing program. In
addition, using funds appropriated for the regional education
service centers, the commissioner shall direct that appropriate
administrative facilities and support be made available to serve as
the central administrative offices of the District.
(f) The Achievement School District may employ such staff as
the superintendent deems necessary.
Sec. 11.402. APPLICABILITY OF LAWS, RULES, AND ORDINANCES
TO ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) Except as expressly provided
by law, the Achievement School District is subject to federal and
state laws and rules governing public schools and to municipal
zoning ordinances governing public schools.
(b) Except as expressly provided by law, the Achievement
School District is subject to a provision of this title to the
extent and in the manner that such provision applies to an
open-enrollment charter school under Chapter 12, Subchapter D.
Sec. 11.403. IMMUNITY. The Achievement School District is
immune from liability to the same extent as any other school
district, and its employees and volunteers are immune from
liability to the same extent as other school district employees and
volunteers.
Sec. 11.404. MEMBERSHIP IN TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF
TEXAS BY ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES. (a) An employee of
the Achievement School District who qualifies for membership in the
Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall be covered under the
system to the same extent a qualified employee of any other school
district is covered.
(b) For each employee of the Achievement School District
covered under the system, the District is responsible for making
any contribution that otherwise would be the legal responsibility
of the District, and the state is responsible for making
contributions to the same extent it would be legally responsible if
the employee were that of another school district.
Sec. 11.405. FUNDING OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN ACHIEVEMENT
SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) The Achievement School District is entitled
to receive for the education of students transferred to it funding
under Chapter 42 equal to the amount of funding per student in
weighted average daily attendance to which the prior system would
be entitled under Chapter 42 if it were a school district without a
tier one local share for purposes of Section 42.253.
(b) In determining funding for the District under
Subsection (a), adjustments under Sections 42.102, 42.103, 42.104,
and 42.105 are based on the actual adjustment for the prior system.
In addition to the funding provided by Subsection (a), the
Achievement School District is entitled to receive enrichment
funding under Section 42.302 based on the actual amount for the
prior system.
(c) In determining funding for the Achievement School
District under Subsection (a), the commissioner shall apply the
same adjustment factor provided under Section 42.101 to calculate
the regular program allotment as for the prior system.
(d) The Achievement School District is entitled to funds
that are available to other school districts from the agency or the
commissioner in the form of grants or other discretionary funding.
The District is entitled to a pro-rata share of all revenue to the
prior system from the agency or the commissioner in the form of
grants or other discretionary funding.
(e) The Achievement School District is entitled to share in
the available school fund apportionment and other privileges the
same as the prior system. The District shall report its student
attendance and receive funding as any other district.
(f) The amount the prior system is entitled to receive under
Chapter 42 shall be reduced by the amount received by the
Achievement School District under this Section, including the tier
one local share.
(g) The commissioner shall adopt rules under this Section.
Sec. 11.406. FACILITIES SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN
ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. The Achievement School District shall
have the right to use any school building and all facilities and
property otherwise part of the campus and recognized as part of the
facilities or assets of the campus prior to its placement in the
District, and shall have access to such additional facilities as
are typically available to the campus, its students, and faculty
and staff prior to its placement in the District. Such use shall be
unrestricted, except that the District shall be responsible for and
obligated to provide for routine maintenance and repair such that
the facilities and property are maintained in as good an order as
when the right of use was acquired by the District.
Sec. 11.407. OTHER SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN
ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. The Achievement School District may
require the prior system to provide school support or student
support services for a campus transferred from its jurisdiction
including but not limited to student transportation, school food
service, or student assessment for special education eligibility
that are compliant with all laws and regulations governing such
services. The Achievement School District shall reimburse the
actual cost of such services to the prior system. If a dispute
arises between the District and the prior system regarding the
actual cost of services to be reimbursed, the commissioner or his
designee shall determine the cost to be reimbursed.
Sec. 11.408. EXPENDITURES FOR SUPPORT OF STUDENTS ENROLLED
IN ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. Funds received by the Achievement
School District under Section 11.405 shall be used for the
operation and administration of campuses transferred from prior
systems to the District.
SECTION 2. Subsection (f), Section 39.106, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
if the commissioner determines that a campus for which an
intervention is ordered under Subsection (a) is not fully
implementing the campus intervention team's recommendations or
targeted improvement plan or updated plan, the commissioner may
order the reconstruction or removal of the campus as provided by
Section 39.107.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 39.107, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39.107. RECONSTITUTION, REPURPOSING, ALTERNATIVE
MANAGEMENT, CLOSURE OR REMOVAL OF CAMPUS TO ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOL
DISTRICT. RECONSTITUTION, REPURPOSING, ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT, AND
CLOSURE.
SECTION 4. Section 39.107, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a)(1) After a campus has been identified as unacceptable
for three consecutive school years, the commissioner may order the
reconstruction or removal [reconstitution] of the campus to the
Achievement School District established by Section 11.401.
(2) The students assigned to attend the campus may
choose to attend the campus under the jurisdiction of the
Achievement School District or may exercise an option, made
available by the prior system, to attend another campus remaining
under the jurisdiction of the prior system.
(3) Only students who were eligible to attend a campus
under the prior system may attend that campus at the District.
(a-1) In reconstituting a campus, a campus intervention
team shall assist the campus in:
(1) developing 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) Effective on a date determined by the commissioner after
consulting with the superintendent of the Achievement School
District, a campus subject to this Section may be removed from the
jurisdiction of the school district or open-enrollment charter
school and transferred to the jurisdiction of the District. On such
date, the district or charter holder from which the campus was
transferred becomes the "prior system" under this Section.
(c)(1) The removed campus shall be reorganized and
reformed, as necessary, and operated by the Achievement School
District.
(2) The Achievement School District [campus
intervention team] shall decide which educators may be retained at
that campus in the superintendent's sole discretion. If the
District does not retain an educator, that educator may be assigned
to another position by the prior system.
(3) A certified teacher with regular and direct
responsibility for providing classroom instruction to students who
is employed at the transferred campus by the prior system shall be
given priority consideration for employment in a comparable
position by the District's superintendent. A person employed by
the prior system at a transferred campus may choose to remain in the
employ of the prior system and, in that case, the prior system shall
retain and reassign such person consistent with its contractual
obligations or policies regarding the retention and reassignment of
employees.
(4) For the purposes of any benefit or right requiring
continuous service or based on years of service, the prior system
shall grant leave of absence to a person employed by the Achievement
School District who was employed at a campus when it was transferred
under this Section. The prior system shall consider the period
while the District operated the campus to be service time if the
employee returns to the prior system's employment, but the prior
system need not provide benefits during such leave.
(5) The benefits and privileges of any person employed
in a campus by the District or employed by any operator of a
District campus pursuant to any contract with the District who was
not employed by the prior system at the time the campus was
transferred to the District shall be those determined by the
District or the operator at the time of such employment in
compliance with applicable law.
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 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 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 campus intervention team shall:
(1) assist in updating the targeted improvement plan
to identify and analyze areas of growth and areas that require
improvement;
(2) submit the updated plan to:
(A) the board of trustees of the school district;
and
(B) the parents of campus students; and
(3) assist in submitting the updated plan to the
commissioner for approval.
(d) The Achievement School District shall retain
jurisdiction over any campus transferred to it until the
commissioner, in consultation with the District's superintendent,
enters into an agreement with the prior system for return of the
campus to the prior system.
(e) When a campus in the Achievement School District
achieves an acceptable level of performance under this Chapter, the
commissioner shall direct the Achievement School District to seek
agreement for the return of the campus to the prior system. An
agreement between the commissioner and the prior system for the
return of the campus shall include all of the following:
(1) Details for the operation of the campus by the
prior system, including provisions for the continuation of the
programs that have provided the basis for the academic achievement
by the students and any charter granted under this Section.
(2) Provisions providing for the employment status of
all persons employed by the Achievement School District or by the
operator of the campus who were not employed by the prior system at
the time the campus was transferred to the Achievement School
District.
(3) Provisions for the means and timetable for the
campus' transition and return to the prior system.
(f) When a campus has been operating pursuant to
arrangements established by the Achievement School District for
three years, yet has failed to achieve and maintain an acceptable
level of performance under this Chapter, the Commissioner shall:
(1) address the failure to turn around the campus
within three years in the next statewide plan under Section 11.409,
(2) record these steps for annual reporting as
required by Section 39.332.
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.
[(e) If a campus is considered to have an unacceptable
performance rating for three consecutive school years after the
campus is reconstituted under Subsection (a), the commissioner,
subject to Subsection (e-1) or (e-2), shall order:
(1) repurposing of the campus under this section;
(2) alternative management of the campus under this
section; or
(3) closure of the campus.
(e-1) The commissioner may waive the requirement to enter an
order under Subsection (e) for not more than one school year if the
commissioner determines that, on the basis of significant
improvement in student performance over the preceding two school
years, the campus is likely to be assigned an acceptable
performance rating for the following school year.
(g)(1) [(e-2)] For purposes of this subsection, "parent"
has the meaning assigned by Section 12.051.
(2) If the commissioner is presented, in the time and
manner specified by commissioner rule, a written petition signed by
the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at a campus to
which Subsection (f) [(e)] applies, specifying an [the] action
described by Subsection (e)(1), (2),(3)or(g)(4). that the parents
request the commissioner to order, the commissioner shall, except
as otherwise authorized by this subsection, order the specific
action requested.
(3) If a campus governing body established by the
Achievement School District under this Section [the board of
trustees of the school district in which the campus is located]
presents to the commissioner, in the time and manner specified by
commissioner rule, a written request that the commissioner order
specific action authorized under Subsection (g)(4) [(e)] other than
the specific action requested in the parents' petition and a
written explanation of the basis for the governing body's [board's]
request, the commissioner may order the action requested by the
governing body [board of trustees].
(5) [(e-3)] For purposes of Subsection (g)(2)
[(e-2)], the signature of only one parent of a student is required.
[(e-3) For purposes of Subsection (e-2), the signature of
only one parent of a student is required.
[(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
approval, using the procedures described by Section 39.106(e-1),
and to the commissioner for 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.
[(g) If an educator is not retained under Subsection (f), the
educator may be assigned to another position in the district.
[(h) If the commissioner orders alternative management under
this section, the commissioner shall solicit proposals from
qualified nonprofit entities to assume management of a campus
subject to this section or may appoint to assume management of a
campus subject to this section a school district other than the
district in which the campus is located that is located in the
boundaries of the same regional education service center as the
campus is located. The commissioner may solicit proposals from
qualified for-profit entities to assume management of a campus
subject to this section if a nonprofit entity has not responded to
the commissioner's request for proposals. A district appointed
under this section shall assume management of a campus subject to
this section in the same manner provided by this section for a
qualified entity or in accordance with commissioner rule.
(g) [(i)] If the commissioner determines that the basis for
the unsatisfactory performance of a campus for more than three
consecutive school years is limited to a specific condition that
may be remedied with targeted technical assistance, the
commissioner may require the district to contract for the
appropriate technical assistance.
[(j) The commissioner may annually solicit proposals under
this section for the management of a campus subject to this section.
The commissioner shall notify a qualified entity that has been
approved as a provider under this section. The district must
execute a contract with an approved provider and relinquish control
of the campus before January 1 of the school year.
[(k) To qualify for consideration as a managing entity under
this section, the entity must submit a proposal that provides
information relating to the entity's management and leadership team
that will participate in management of the campus under
consideration, including information relating to individuals that
have:
(1) documented success in whole school interventions
that increased the educational and performance levels of students
in campuses considered to have an unacceptable performance rating;
(2) a proven record of effectiveness with programs
assisting low-performing students;
(3) a proven ability to apply research-based school
intervention strategies;
(4) a proven record of financial ability to perform
under the management contract; and
(5) any other experience or qualifications the
commissioner determines necessary.
[(l) In selecting a managing entity under this section, the
commissioner shall give preference to a qualified entity that:
(1) meets any qualifications under this section; and
(2) has documented success in educating students from
similar demographic groups and with similar educational needs as
the students who attend the campus that is to be operated by a
managing entity under this section.
[(m) The school district may negotiate the term of a
management contract for not more than five years with an option to
renew the contract. The management contract must include a
provision describing the district's responsibilities in supporting
the operation of the campus. The commissioner shall approve the
contract before the contract is executed and, as appropriate, may
require the district, as a term of the contract, to support the
campus in the same manner as the district was required to support
the campus before the execution of the management contract.
[(n) A management contract under this section shall include
provisions approved by the commissioner that require the managing
entity to demonstrate improvement in campus performance, including
negotiated performance measures. The performance measures must be
consistent with the priorities of this chapter. The commissioner
shall evaluate a managing entity's performance on the first and
second anniversaries of the date of the management contract. If the
evaluation fails to demonstrate improvement as negotiated under the
contract by the first anniversary of the date of the management
contract, the district may terminate the management contract, with
the commissioner's consent, for nonperformance or breach of
contract and select another provider from an approved list provided
by the commissioner. If the evaluation fails to demonstrate
significant improvement, as determined by the commissioner, by the
second anniversary of the date of the management contract, the
district shall terminate the management contract and select another
provider from an approved list provided by the commissioner or
resume operation of the campus if approved by the commissioner. If
the commissioner approves the district's operation of the campus,
the commissioner shall assign a technical assistance team to assist
the campus.
(h) [(o)] Notwithstanding any other provision of this code,
the funding for a campus operated by the Achievement School
District or a managing entity must be not less than the funding of
the other campuses in the prior system [district] on a per student
basis so that the Achievement School District or a managing entity
receives at least the same funding the campus would otherwise have
received.
(p) Each campus operated by a managing entity under this
section is subject to this chapter in the same manner as any other
campus in the district.
(i) [(q)] The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to
implement this section.
[(r) With respect to the management of a campus under this
section:
(1) a managing entity is considered to be a
governmental body for purposes of Chapters 551 and 552, Government
Code; and
(2) any requirement in Chapter 551 or 552, Government
Code, that applies to a school district or the board of trustees of
a school district applies to a managing entity.]
SECTION 5. Section 39.108, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.108. ANNUAL REVIEW. (a) 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 shall increase the level of state intervention and
sanction unless the commissioner finds good cause for maintaining
the current status.
(b) The reviews required by subsection (a) shall form the
basis of the reporting required by Section 39.332, Subsection
(b)(23).
SECTION 6. Subsection (b), Section 39.332, Education Code,
is amended by adding Subdivision (23) to read as follows:
(23) The report must contain a listing and description
of the status of each campus under the jurisdiction of the
Achievement School District and a summary of the reforms
implemented and progress of the campus.
SECTION 7. This Act applies beginning with the 2013-2014
school year.
SECTION 8. 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; and if
this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect,
this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.