Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB14 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1		-	By: Taylor of Galveston, Creighton S.B. No. 14
2		-	(In the Senate - Filed March 3, 2015; March 3, 2015, read
3		-	first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 13, 2015,
4		-	reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
5		-	following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 1, 1 present not voting;
6		-	April 13, 2015, sent to printer.)
7		-	Click here to see the committee vote
8		-	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 14 By: Taylor of Galveston
	1	+	By: Taylor of Galveston S.B. No. 14
	2	+	Bettencourt, Creighton
9	3
10	4
11	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	6		AN ACT
13	7		relating to empowering the parents of students to petition for the
14	8		reconstitution, repurposing, alternative management, or closure of
15	9		low-performing public school campuses.
16	10		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
17	11		SECTION 1. Sections 39.107(a) and (e), Education Code, are
18	12		amended to read as follows:
19	13		(a) After a campus has been identified as unacceptable for
20	14		two consecutive school years, the commissioner shall order the
21	15		reconstitution of the campus, subject to Section 39.1071.
22	16		(e) If a campus is considered to have an unacceptable
23	17		performance rating for three consecutive school years after the
24	18		campus is reconstituted under Subsection (a), the commissioner,
25	19		subject to Subsection (e-1) or Section 39.1071 [(e-2)], shall
26	20		order:
27	21		(1) repurposing of the campus under this section;
28	22		(2) alternative management of the campus under this
29	23		section; or
30	24		(3) closure of the campus.
31	25		SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
32	26		amended by adding Sections 39.1071, 39.1072, and 39.1073 to read as
33	27		follows:
34	28		Sec. 39.1071. PETITION BY PARENTS FOR RECONSTITUTION,
35	29		REPURPOSING, ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT, OR CLOSURE. (a) Unless the
36	30		commissioner has ordered the closure of the campus under Section
37	31		39.107, the parents of students enrolled at a campus with an
38		-	unacceptable performance rating under Section 39.054 for ~~two~~
	32	+	unacceptable performance rating under Section 39.054 for three
39	33		consecutive school years may, at any time, submit a petition to the
40	34		commissioner requesting that the commissioner order one of the
41	35		following actions authorized by Section 39.107:
42	36		(1) reconstitution of the campus;
43	37		(2) repurposing of the campus;
44	38		(3) alternative management of the campus; or
45	39		(4) closure of the campus.
46	40		(b) A petition that seeks alternative management of a campus
47	41		under Subsection (a)(3) may specify the process to be used in
48	42		selecting the organization or team to assume management of the
49	43		campus. If the petition specifies a process to be used, the
50	44		commissioner is required to use the specified process and comply
51	45		with the requirements prescribed by Section 39.1073. If the
52	46		petition does not specify a process to be used, the organization or
53	47		team must be selected by the parents of students enrolled at the
54	48		campus. To the extent this subsection conflicts with another
55	49		provision of this subchapter, this subsection prevails.
56	50		(c) A petition must:
57	51		(1) be in a form developed by the commissioner;
58	52		(2) be made available to all parents of students
59	53		enrolled at the campus;
60	54		(3) include state accountability data on the status of
61	55		the campus, including the performance rating of the campus for each
62	56		year; and
63	57		(4) include detailed information on the options
64	58		available for the campus, including a copy of the proposed options
65	59		listed under Subsection (a).
66	60		(d) If the petition is signed by the parents of a majority of
67	61		the students enrolled at the campus, as determined under Subsection
68	62		(e), the commissioner shall order the specific action requested by
69	63		the petition. If the petition requests:
70	64		(1) reconstitution or repurposing of the campus, the
71	65		commissioner shall consider input from the lead petitioner and the
72	66		parents of students enrolled at the campus in implementing the
73	67		order;
74	68		(2) alternative management of the campus, the
75	69		commissioner shall order alternative management of the campus by
76	70		the organization or team selected as described by Subsection (b);
77	71		or
78	72		(3) closure of the campus, the commissioner shall
79	73		order closure of the campus for the following school year.
80	74		(e) The percentage of parents signing a petition shall be
81	75		calculated based on the total number of students enrolled at the
82	76		campus, applying the following rules:
83	77		(1) the signature of only one parent of a student is
84	78		required;
85	79		(2) a student may not be counted more than once,
86	80		regardless of whether more than one parent signs the petition on
87	81		behalf of the student; and
88	82		(3) the signature of a parent shall be counted on
89	83		behalf of each child of the parent who is enrolled at the campus,
90	84		unless otherwise indicated in the petition.
91	85		(f) The petition may designate as a lead petitioner one or
92	86		more parents of one or more students enrolled at the campus. The
93	87		parent or parents shall be chosen annually by the parents of
94	88		students enrolled at the campus.
95	89		(g) The commissioner shall review the signatures on a
96	90		petition to verify that the petition is signed by the parents of a
97	91		majority of the students enrolled at the campus. In verifying that
98	92		the petition is signed by the parents of a majority of the students
99	93		enrolled at the campus, the commissioner may consult with any
100	94		person necessary to make the verification, including the board of
101	95		trustees for the district in which the campus is located, the
102	96		principal of the campus, the lead petitioner, or any designated
103	97		lead petitioner representative.
104	98		(h) Not later than the 30th day after receipt of the
105	99		petition or additional signatures under Subsection (j), the
106	100		commissioner shall notify, in writing, the board of trustees for
107	101		the district in which the campus is located, the principal of the
108	102		campus, the lead petitioner, any designated lead petitioner
109	103		representative, and any other person who has requested notice in
110	104		writing of the commissioner's determination regarding whether the
111	105		number of signatures on the petition is sufficient to compel the
112	106		action sought in the petition. Additionally, the commissioner's
113	107		written notice must:
114	108		(1) state the number of students the commissioner has
115	109		determined are enrolled at the campus;
116	110		(2) state the number of signatures the commissioner
117	111		counted when determining whether the necessary majority was
118	112		attained; and
119	113		(3) list the signatures that were not counted toward
120	114		determining whether the necessary majority was attained and the
121	115		reason each disqualified signature was not counted.
122	116		(i) In verifying signatures, the commissioner may not
123	117		disregard a signature if the clear intent of the person providing
124	118		the signature was to support the petition.
125	119		(j) If the commissioner determines that a petition is not
126	120		signed by the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at the
127	121		campus, the parents may, not later than the 45th day after the date
128	122		of the commissioner's written notice under Subsection (h), submit
129	123		additional signatures in support of the petition.
130	124		(k) If additional signatures are submitted to the
131	125		commissioner under Subsection (j), the commissioner shall review
132	126		and verify the additional signatures in accordance with Subsections
133	127		(e), (g), and (h).
134	128		(l) If the commissioner determines that the petition is not
135	129		signed by the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at the
136	130		campus, the commissioner's determination is final and may not be
137	131		appealed.
138	132		(m) A student who resides in the campus's assigned
139	133		attendance zone, as that zone existed during the school year
140	134		immediately preceding implementation of an order under this
141	135		section, and who is otherwise eligible to attend the campus may:
142	136		(1) enroll in the campus during each school year that
143	137		the student would otherwise be eligible to attend the campus; or
144	138		(2) transfer and enroll in another campus in the
145	139		district during each school year that the student would otherwise
146	140		be eligible to attend the campus.
147	141		(n) Notwithstanding Subsection (m), the board of trustees
148	142		of a school district may assign or transfer a student between school
149	143		facilities or classrooms in accordance with Chapter 37.
150	144		(o) A person may not use school district or campus resources
151	145		to support or oppose a petition under this section, except that
152	146		school district or campus resources may be used to comply with a
153	147		public information request under Chapter 552, Government Code.
154	148		(p) A person may not coerce or bribe a parent to sign or
155	149		decline to sign a petition under this section.
156		-	(q) For purposes of this section, "parent" includes a
	150	+	(q) An operator of a charter school is prohibited from
	151	+	funding a parent petition campaign conducted under this section.
	152	+	(r) For purposes of this section, "parent" includes a
157	153		student's parent, a student's legal guardian, a person with legal
158	154		authority to act in place of a student's parent or legal guardian,
159	155		or the student, if the student is 18 years of age or older, but does
160	156		not include a parent whose parental rights have been terminated or
161	157		whose rights to make decisions concerning a student's education
162	158		have been limited.
163		-	(r) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
	159	+	(s) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
164	160		this section.
165	161		Sec. 39.1072. PERFORMANCE UPDATES FOLLOWING PETITION BY
166	162		PARENTS FOR RECONSTITUTION, REPURPOSING, ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT,
167	163		OR CLOSURE. Following the submission of a petition for the
168	164		reconstitution, repurposing, alternative management, or closure of
169	165		a campus by the parents of students enrolled at the campus under
170	166		Section 39.1071, the commissioner shall provide quarterly updates
171	167		on the performance of the campus to parents of students enrolled at
172	168		the campus.
173	169		Sec. 39.1073. SELECTION OF ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT
174	170		FOLLOWING PETITION BY PARENTS. (a) In this section, "management
175	171		company" has the meaning assigned by Section 12.1012.
176		-	(b) If the commissioner selects an organization or team to
177		-	assume alternative management of a campus in accordance with a
178		-	process specified in a petition for alternative management
179		-	submitted by parents under Section 39.1071, the commissioner shall
180		-	give preference to proposals submitted by charter holders who do
181		-	not use the services of a management company to operate the charter
182		-	holder's open-enrollment charter schools. The commissioner may
183		-	only consider proposals from charter holders that use the services
184		-	of a management company if the commissioner does not receive
185		-	proposals from charter holders that do not use the services of a
186		-	management company.
	172	+	(b) If the commissioner selects a charter holder as the
	173	+	organization or team to assume alternative management of a campus
	174	+	in accordance with a process specified in a petition for
	175	+	alternative management submitted by parents under Section 39.1071,
	176	+	the commissioner shall give preference to proposals submitted by
	177	+	charter holders who do not use the services of a management company
	178	+	to operate the charter holder's open-enrollment charter schools and
	179	+	who submit information demonstrating a record of success with
	180	+	respect to each item listed under Section 39.107(k). The
	181	+	commissioner may only consider proposals from charter holders that
	182	+	use the services of a management company if the commissioner does
	183	+	not receive proposals from charter holders that do not use the
	184	+	services of a management company and that submit information
	185	+	demonstrating a record of success with respect to each item listed
	186	+	under Section 39.107(k).
187	187		(c) If the commissioner selects a charter school to assume
188	188		alternative management of a campus in accordance with a process
189	189		specified in a petition for alternative management submitted by
190		-	parents under Section 39.1071, laws and rules applicable to ~~school~~
191		-	~~districts~~, ~~including laws and rules related to public information~~,
192		-	~~open meetings, nepotism, conflict of interest,~~ and ~~other~~
193		-	protections of ~~public funds and public trust, shall continue to~~
194		-	apply to the campus.
	190	+	parents under Section 39.1071, laws and rules applicable to
	191	+	open-enrollment charter schools under Subchapter D, Chapter 12,
	192	+	including laws and rules related to public information, open
	193	+	meetings, nepotism, conflict of interest, and other protections of
	194	+	public funds and public trust, shall apply to the campus.
195	195		SECTION 3. Sections 39.107(e-2) and (e-3), Education Code,
196	196		are repealed.
197	197		SECTION 4. This Act applies beginning with the 2016-2017
198	198		school year, except that parents of students enrolled at a school
199	199		campus that has been identified as unacceptable for three or more
200	200		consecutive years as of the effective date of this Act may submit a
201	201		petition under Section 39.1071, Education Code, as added by this
202	202		Act, beginning on the effective date of this Act.
203	203		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
204	204		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
205	205		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
206	206		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
207	207		Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
208		-	* * * * *