84R8931 JSL-F
By: Frank H.B. No. 3281
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school accountability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.1141, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (d) and (k) and adding Subsections (l) and (m)
to read as follows:
(d) At the end of the term of a charter for an
open-enrollment charter school, if a charter holder submits to the
commissioner a petition for renewal of the charter, the
commissioner may not renew the charter and shall allow the charter
to expire if:
(1) the charter holder has been assigned the lowest
performance rating under Subchapter C, Chapter 39, for any three of
the five preceding school years;
(2) the charter holder has been assigned a financial
accountability performance rating under Subchapter D, Chapter 39,
indicating financial performance that is lower than satisfactory
for any three of the five preceding school years; or
(3) [the charter holder has been assigned any
combination of the ratings described by Subdivision (1) or (2) for
any three of the five preceding school years; or
[(4)] any campus operating under the charter has been
assigned the lowest performance rating under Subchapter C, Chapter
39, for the three preceding school years and such a campus has not
been closed.
(k) For purposes of determination of renewal under
Subsection (b)(1) or (3) or (d)(1) or (3) [(4)], performance during
the 2011-2012 school year may not be considered. For purposes of
determination of renewal under Subsection (b)(1) or (3) or (d)(1)
or (3) [(4)], the initial three school years for which performance
ratings under Subchapter C, Chapter 39, shall be considered are the
2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2012-2013 school years. For purposes of
determination of renewal under Subsection (b)(2) or (d)(2), the
earliest school year for which financial accountability
performance ratings under Subchapter D, Chapter 39, may be
considered is the 2010-2011 school year. This subsection expires
September 1, 2016.
(l) For purposes of determination of renewal under
Subsection (d)(1), the charter holder's first assigned performance
rating under Subchapter C, Chapter 39, may not be considered. For
purposes of determination of renewal under Subsection (d)(2), the
charter holder's first assigned performance rating under
Subchapter D, Chapter 39, may not be considered.
(m) For purposes of determination of renewal under
Subsection (d)(1), the charter holder's assigned performance
rating under Subchapter C, Chapter 39, may not be considered unless
the accountability ratings criteria and targets for assigning the
performance rating are adopted in rule and have been in effect as
adopted for at least two full school years preceding the date on
which the rating was assigned. For purposes of determination of
renewal under Subsection (d)(2), the charter holder's assigned
performance rating under Subchapter D, Chapter 39, may not be
considered unless the financial accountability rating system on
which the performance rating is based is adopted in rule and has
been in effect as adopted for at least two full school years
preceding the date on which the rating was assigned.
SECTION 2. Section 12.115, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (c-1) and adding
Subsections (c-2) and (c-3) to read as follows:
(a) The [Except as provided by Subsection (c), the]
commissioner shall revoke the charter of an open-enrollment charter
school or reconstitute the governing body of the charter holder if
the commissioner determines that the charter holder:
(1) committed a material violation of the charter,
including failure to satisfy accountability provisions prescribed
by the charter;
(2) failed to satisfy generally accepted accounting
standards of fiscal management;
(3) failed to protect the health, safety, or welfare
of the students enrolled at the school;
(4) failed to comply with this subchapter or another
applicable law or rule;
(5) failed to satisfy the performance framework
standards adopted under Section 12.1181; or
(6) is imminently insolvent as determined by the
commissioner in accordance with commissioner rule.
(b) The action the commissioner takes under Subsection (a)
shall be based on the best interest of the open-enrollment charter
school's students, the severity of the violation, any previous
violation the school has committed, and the accreditation status of
the school. The commissioner shall also consider whether:
(1) the charter holder has:
(A) timely complied with any corrective action
plans relating to the violation;
(B) no prior or subsequent history of similar
violations; and
(C) remedied the violation without intervention
by the commissioner and has taken proactive measures to prevent
reoccurrence; and
(2) substantial amounts of time have passed between
the occurrences of the violation.
(c) The commissioner shall revoke the charter of an
open-enrollment charter school or reconstitute the governing body
of the charter holder if:
(1) the charter holder has been assigned an
unacceptable performance rating under Subchapter C, Chapter 39, for
the three preceding school years; or
(2) the charter holder has been assigned a financial
accountability performance rating under Subchapter D, Chapter 39,
indicating financial performance lower than satisfactory for the
three preceding school years[; or
[(3) the charter holder has been assigned any
combination of the ratings described by Subdivision (1) or (2) for
the three preceding school years].
(c-1) [For purposes of revocation under Subsection (c)(1),
performance during the 2011-2012 school year may not be
considered.] For purposes of revocation under Subsection (c)(1),
the first [initial three] school year [years] for which performance
ratings under Subchapter C, Chapter 39, shall be considered is
[are] the [2009-2010, 2010-2011, and] 2012-2013 school year
[years]. For purposes of revocation under Subsection (c)(2), the
first [initial three] school year [years] for which financial
accountability performance ratings under Subchapter D, Chapter 39,
shall be considered is [are] the 2015-2016 [2010-2011, 2011-2012,
and 2012-2013] school year [years]. This subsection expires
September 1, 2018 [2016].
(c-2) For purposes of revocation under Subsection (c)(1), a
charter holder's first assigned performance rating under
Subchapter C, Chapter 39, may not be considered. For purposes of
revocation under Subsection (c)(2), a charter holder's first
assigned performance rating under Subchapter D, Chapter 39, may not
be considered.
(c-3) For purposes of revocation under Subsection (c)(1), a
charter holder's assigned performance rating under Subchapter C,
Chapter 39, may not be considered unless the accountability ratings
criteria and targets for assigning the performance rating are
adopted in rule and have been in effect as adopted for at least two
full school years preceding the date on which the rating was
assigned. For purposes of revocation under Subsection (c)(2), the
charter holder's assigned performance rating under Subchapter D,
Chapter 39, may not be considered unless the financial
accountability rating system on which the performance rating is
based is adopted in rule and has been in effect as adopted for at
least two full school years preceding the date on which the rating
was assigned.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 12.1151 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.1151. ALTERNATIVES TO REVOCATION. (a) Before the
commissioner revokes the charter of an open-enrollment charter
school under Section 12.115(c), the commissioner shall consider an
alternative operation of the school proposed by the charter holder
as provided by this section.
(b) A charter holder whose charter is subject to revocation
under Section 12.115(c) may request the commissioner:
(1) to assign operation of one or more campuses
operated under the charter to a different charter holder who
consents to the assignment;
(2) to transfer the charter to a different charter
holder who consents to the transfer;
(3) to consolidate the charter with the charter of a
different charter holder who consents to the consolidation; or
(4) to take any other reasonable and equitable action
as an alternative to charter revocation.
(c) A charter holder that is involved as an alternative to
the original charter holder as provided by Subsection (b) must not
have been assigned:
(1) an unacceptable performance rating under
Subchapter C, Chapter 39, for the two preceding school years; or
(2) a financial accountability performance rating
under Subchapter D, Chapter 39, indicating financial performance
lower than satisfactory for the two preceding school years.
(d) Any action the commissioner takes under this section
must be based on the best interest of the students of the
open-enrollment charter school for which the commissioner approves
an alternative operation under Subsection (a).
SECTION 4. Section 12.116, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) The commissioner shall adopt an informal procedure to be
used for:
(1) revoking the charter of an open-enrollment charter
school or for reconstituting the governing body of the charter
holder as authorized by Section 12.115; and
(2) denying the renewal of a charter of an
open-enrollment charter school as authorized by Section
12.1141(c).
(a-1) The procedure adopted under Subsection (a) must allow
representatives of the charter holder to meet with the commissioner
to discuss the commissioner's decision and must allow the charter
holder to submit additional information to the commissioner
relating to the commissioner's decision. In a final decision issued
by the commissioner, the commissioner shall provide a written
response to any information the charter holder submits under this
subsection.
(c) A decision by the commissioner to revoke a charter is
subject to review by the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
As part of a review under this subsection, the State Office of
Administrative Hearings may, subject to Section 39.151(d), also
review a performance rating under Subchapter C, Chapter 39, or a
financial accountability performance rating under Subchapter D,
Chapter 39. Notwithstanding Chapter 2001, Government Code:
(1) the administrative law judge shall uphold a
decision by the commissioner to revoke a charter unless the judge
finds the decision is arbitrary and capricious or clearly
erroneous; and
(2) a decision of the administrative law judge under
this subsection is final and may not be appealed.
SECTION 5. Section 39.151, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
follows:
(b) The rules under Subsection (a) must provide for the
commissioner to appoint a committee to make recommendations to the
commissioner on a challenge made to an agency decision relating to
an academic performance rating or determination or financial
accountability rating. The committee shall review the challenge
regardless of the issue identified in the challenge by the school
district or open-enrollment charter school. The commissioner may
not appoint an agency employee as a member of the committee.
(c-1) The commissioner may not limit a challenge relating to
a data or calculation error or inaccuracy attributable to the
school district or open-enrollment charter school, even if the
challenge demonstrates the data or calculation error or inaccuracy
caused the district or school to have a lower academic or financial
accountability rating. If a challenge demonstrates that the data or
calculation error or inaccuracy caused the district or school to
have a lower academic or financial accountability rating, the
commissioner shall assign the district or school the corrected
rating or shall indicate that the district or school will not be
rated for that school year. The commissioner may not revoke the
charter of an open-enrollment charter school or reconstitute the
governing body of a charter holder as provided by Section 12.115(c)
if the school is not rated as provided by this subsection.
SECTION 6. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
school year.
SECTION 7. 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, 2015.