Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB520 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: West S.B. No. 520
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to state interventions and sanctions against public school
7	7	campuses with unacceptable performance and the establishment of the
8	8	Texas Opportunity School District for educating students at certain
9	9	low-performing campuses.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the Low
12	12	Performing Campus Intervention Act.
13	13	SECTION 2. Chapter 11, Education Code, is amended by adding
14	14	Subchapter I to read as follows:
15	15	SUBCHAPTER I. TEXAS OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
16	16	Sec. 11.401. TEXAS OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
17	17	ESTABLISHED. (a) The Texas Opportunity School District is
18	18	established as a school district under this code and an
19	19	intermediate educational unit under 34 C.F.R. Section 222.50 for
20	20	the purpose of educating students attending a campus removed from
21	21	the jurisdiction of a school district under Section 39.1071.
22	22	(b) In this subchapter, "prior system" means the school
23	23	district from which a campus that is transferred to the
24	24	jurisdiction of the opportunity school district was removed.
25	25	(c) The commissioner shall select the superintendent of the
26	26	opportunity school district and employ central administrative
27	27	staff, who may be employees of the agency. The superintendent shall
28	28	report to the commissioner under a written contract for services.
29	29	(d) The opportunity school district does not have authority
30	30	to impose taxes but has authority to seek and expend federal funding
31	31	and grant funding and to otherwise seek, obtain, and expend funding
32	32	with the same authority as an independent school district.
33	33	(e) The opportunity school district may provide for the
34	34	supervision, management, and operation of each campus placed under
35	35	the district's jurisdiction and receive, control, and expend the
36	36	local, state, and federal funding attributable to that campus, with
37	37	all the same power and authority as the prior system, subject to the
38	38	requirements of this subchapter and Section 39.1071, and with any
39	39	other power or authority otherwise granted by law.
40	40	(f) The opportunity school district is entitled to the same
41	41	level of services provided to other school districts by regional
42	42	education service centers, and to participate in any state program
43	43	available to school districts, including a purchasing program.
44	44	(g) The opportunity school district may not contract with a
45	45	private entity for providing educational services to the students
46	46	attending a campus transferred to the district, other than an
47	47	eligible entity, as defined by Section 12.101, that holds a charter
48	48	granted under Chapter 12 and has:
49	49	(1) operated one or more open-enrollment charter
50	50	schools in this state for three or more consecutive years;
51	51	(2) achieved a district rating of exemplary or
52	52	recognized under Subchapter G, Chapter 39, or the equivalent under
53	53	subsequent laws or rules regarding accountability ratings for three
54	54	of the preceding five years;
55	55	(3) documented success in whole school interventions
56	56	that increased the educational and performance levels of students
57	57	in campuses that received unacceptable performance ratings under
58	58	Section 39.054; and
59	59	(4) demonstrated success in educating populations of
60	60	students similar to the populations of students enrolled at the
61	61	campus transferred to the district.
62	62	(h) The opportunity school district may employ such staff as
63	63	the superintendent deems necessary.
64	64	Sec. 11.402. CAMPUSES ELIGIBLE FOR TRANSFER. A campus is
65	65	eligible for transfer to the jurisdiction of the opportunity school
66	66	district only if the school district from which the campus is to be
67	67	transferred has at least 20,000 students enrolled in the district
68	68	at the time the campus is to be transferred.
69	69	Sec. 11.403. APPLICABILITY OF LAWS, RULES, AND ORDINANCES
70	70	TO OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) Except as expressly provided
71	71	by law, the opportunity school district is subject to federal and
72	72	state laws and rules and municipal zoning ordinances governing
73	73	school districts.
74	74	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) and as expressly
75	75	provided by other law, the opportunity school district is subject
76	76	to a provision of this title to the extent and in the manner that the
77	77	provision applies to an open-enrollment charter school under
78	78	Subchapter D, Chapter 12.
79	79	(c) A teacher employed by the opportunity school district
80	80	must be certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, and may only teach
81	81	a subject in which the teacher is certified.
82	82	(d) The performance of a campus under the jurisdiction of
83	83	the opportunity school district may not be used for purposes of
84	84	determining the prior system's performance rating under Section
85	85	39.054.
86	86	(e) With respect to the operation of the opportunity school
87	87	district, any requirement in Chapter 551 or 552, Government Code,
88	88	or another law that concerns open meetings or the availability of
89	89	information that applies to a school district, the board of
90	90	trustees of a school district, or public school students applies to
91	91	the opportunity school district, the superintendent of the
92	92	district, or students attending the district.
93	93	Sec. 11.404. IMMUNITY. The opportunity school district is
94	94	immune from liability to the same extent as any other school
95	95	district, and the district's employees and volunteers are immune
96	96	from liability to the same extent as other school district
97	97	employees and volunteers.
98	98	Sec. 11.405. MEMBERSHIP IN TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF
99	99	TEXAS BY OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES. (a) An employee
100	100	of the opportunity school district who qualifies for membership in
101	101	the Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall be covered under the
102	102	system to the same extent a qualified employee of any other school
103	103	district is covered.
104	104	(b) For each employee of the opportunity school district
105	105	covered under the system, the district is responsible for making
106	106	any contribution that otherwise would be the legal responsibility
107	107	of the district, and the state is responsible for making
108	108	contributions to the same extent it would be legally responsible if
109	109	the employee were that of another school district.
110	110	Sec. 11.406. FUNDING OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN OPPORTUNITY
111	111	SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) The opportunity school district is entitled
112	112	to receive for the education of students transferred to the
113	113	district funding under Chapter 42 equal to the amount of funding per
114	114	student in weighted average daily attendance to which the prior
115	115	system would be entitled under Chapter 42 if the prior system were a
116	116	school district without a tier one local share for purposes of
117	117	Section 42.253.
118	118	(b) In determining funding for the opportunity school
119	119	district under Subsection (a), adjustments under Sections 42.102,
120	120	42.103, 42.104, and 42.105 are based on the actual adjustment for
121	121	the prior system. In addition to the funding provided by Subsection
122	122	(a), the opportunity school district is entitled to receive
123	123	enrichment funding under Section 42.302 based on the actual amount
124	124	for the prior system.
125	125	(c) In determining funding for the opportunity school
126	126	district under Subsection (a), the commissioner shall apply the
127	127	same adjustment factor provided under Section 42.101 to calculate
128	128	the regular program allotment as for the prior system. This
129	129	subsection expires September 1, 2017.
130	130	(d) The opportunity school district is entitled to funds
131	131	that are available to other school districts from the agency or the
132	132	commissioner in the form of grants or other discretionary funding.
133	133	The district is entitled to a pro rata share of all revenue to the
134	134	prior system from the agency or the commissioner in the form of
135	135	grants or other discretionary funding.
136	136	(e) The opportunity school district is entitled to share in
137	137	the available school fund apportionment and other privileges in the
138	138	same manner as the prior system. The district shall report its
139	139	student attendance and receive funding in the same manner as any
140	140	other district.
141	141	(f) For purposes of calculating the amount of the prior
142	142	system's obligations and entitlements under Chapters 41 and 42,
143	143	students transferred to the opportunity school district who would
144	144	otherwise have attended the prior system are not counted in
145	145	calculating the average daily attendance of the prior system.
146	146	(f-1) For purposes of calculating the prior system's
147	147	allotments under Chapter 46, students transferred to the
148	148	opportunity school district who would otherwise have attended the
149	149	prior system are counted in calculating the average daily
150	150	attendance of the prior system.
151	151	(g) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
152	152	implement this section.
153	153	Sec. 11.407. FACILITIES SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN
154	154	OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) The opportunity school district
155	155	is entitled to use any school building and all facilities and
156	156	property otherwise part of the campus and recognized as part of the
157	157	facilities or assets of the campus before the campus was placed in
158	158	the district. The district is entitled to access to such additional
159	159	facilities as were typically available to the campus, its students,
160	160	and faculty and staff before the campus was placed in the district.
161	161	Such use may not be restricted, except that the opportunity school
162	162	district is responsible for and obligated to provide for routine
163	163	maintenance and repair such that the facilities and property are
164	164	maintained in as good an order as when the right of use was acquired
165	165	by the district.
166	166	(b) If a dispute arises between the opportunity school
167	167	district and the prior system regarding the maintenance and repair
168	168	of facilities, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee
169	169	shall determine each entity's responsibilities concerning the
170	170	maintenance and repair. A determination under this subsection
171	171	regarding each entity's responsibilities is final and may not be
172	172	appealed.
173	173	Sec. 11.408. OTHER SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN
174	174	OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. The opportunity school district may
175	175	require the prior system to provide school support or student
176	176	support services for a campus transferred from the prior system's
177	177	jurisdiction, including student transportation, school food
178	178	service, or student assessment for special education eligibility
179	179	that are compliant with all laws and rules governing such services.
180	180	The opportunity school district shall reimburse the actual cost of
181	181	such services to the prior system. If a dispute arises between the
182	182	opportunity school district and the prior system regarding the
183	183	actual cost of services to be reimbursed, the commissioner or the
184	184	commissioner's designee shall determine the cost to be reimbursed.
185	185	A determination under this subsection regarding the cost of
186	186	services to be reimbursed is final and may not be appealed.
187	187	Sec. 11.409. EXPENDITURES FOR SUPPORT OF STUDENTS ENROLLED
188	188	IN OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Funds received by the opportunity
189	189	school district under Section 11.406 shall be used for the
190	190	operation and administration of campuses transferred from prior
191	191	systems to the district.
192	192	Sec. 11.410. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF CAMPUSES. (a) The
193	193	commissioner may transfer to the jurisdiction of the opportunity
194	194	school district not more than:
195	195	(1) five campuses during the state fiscal biennium
196	196	beginning September 1, 2015; and
197	197	(2) five campuses during the state fiscal biennium
198	198	beginning September 1, 2017.
199	199	(b) The opportunity school district may not contain more
200	200	than 10 campuses at any time.
201	201	Sec. 11.411. APPLICATION OF SUNSET ACT; REPORT. (a) The
202	202	Texas Opportunity School District is subject to Chapter 325,
203	203	Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence
204	204	as provided by that chapter, the opportunity school district is
205	205	abolished and this subchapter expires September 1, 2027.
206	206	(b) Not later than December 1, 2026, the Sunset Advisory
207	207	Commission shall evaluate the opportunity school district and
208	208	submit a report on that evaluation and the commission's
209	209	recommendations in relation to the opportunity school district to
210	210	the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
211	211	representatives, and the presiding officer of each legislative
212	212	standing committee with primary jurisdiction over primary and
213	213	secondary education.
214	214	SECTION 3. Subsection (f), Section 39.106, Education Code,
215	215	is amended to read as follows:
216	216	(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
217	217	if the commissioner determines that a campus for which an
218	218	intervention is ordered under Subsection (a) is not fully
219	219	implementing the campus intervention team's recommendations or
220	220	targeted improvement plan or updated plan, the commissioner may
221	221	order the reconstitution of the campus as provided by Section
222	222	39.107 or the removal of the campus to the opportunity school
223	223	district established by Subchapter I, Chapter 11.
224	224	SECTION 4. The heading to Section 39.107, Education Code,
225	225	is amended to read as follows:
226	226	Sec. 39.107. RECONSTITUTION, REMOVAL, REPURPOSING,
227	227	ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT, AND CLOSURE.
228	228	SECTION 5. Section 39.107, Education Code, is amended by
229	229	amending Subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding Subsections (a-2),
230	230	(a-3), (a-4), and (k-1) to read as follows:
231	231	(a) After a campus has been identified as unacceptable for
232	232	two consecutive school years, the commissioner shall determine
233	233	whether the district has instituted meaningful change, including
234	234	reconstituting the staff or leadership at the campus. If the
235	235	commissioner determines that the campus has instituted meaningful
236	236	change, the commissioner may reevaluate the campus under this
237	237	subsection following the conclusion of the subsequent school year.
238	238	If the commissioner determines that the campus has not instituted
239	239	meaningful change, the commissioner shall, based on the
240	240	commissioner's determination of the best remedy for the campus:
241	241	(1) order the reconstitution of the campus under this
242	242	section;
243	243	(2) subject to Sections 11.402 and 11.410, order the
244	244	removal of the campus to the opportunity school district as
245	245	provided by Section 39.1071;
246	246	(3) approve a plan by the board of trustees for the
247	247	district to operate the campus in the manner provided for the
248	248	operation of an open-enrollment charter school under Subchapter D,
249	249	Chapter 12, with all applicable exemptions from application of laws
250	250	that apply to school districts but not to open-enrollment charter
251	251	schools, for a period not to exceed two school years, after the
252	252	expiration of which the commissioner shall remove the campus to the
253	253	opportunity school district if the campus is identified as
254	254	unacceptable during the final year of its operation in accordance
255	255	with this subdivision; or
256	256	(4) require the district to contract for appropriate
257	257	technical assistance, if the commissioner determines the basis for
258	258	the campus being identified as unacceptable is limited to a
259	259	specific condition the campus may overcome with appropriate
260	260	technical assistance.
261	261	(a-1) In making a determination regarding action to be taken
262	262	under this section, the commissioner shall seek and give
263	263	considerable weight to recommendations from parents of students
264	264	enrolled at the campus and members of the community who reside in
265	265	the attendance zone of the campus.
266	266	(a-2) In reconstituting a campus, a campus intervention
267	267	team, with the involvement and advice of the school community
268	268	partnership team, if applicable, shall assist the campus in:
269	269	(1) developing an updated targeted improvement plan;
270	270	(2) submitting the updated targeted improvement plan
271	271	to the board of trustees of the school district for approval and
272	272	presenting the plan in a public hearing as provided by Section
273	273	39.106(e-1);
274	274	(3) obtaining approval of the updated plan from the
275	275	commissioner; and
276	276	(4) executing the plan on approval by the
277	277	commissioner.
278	278	(a-3) The campus intervention team or a school community
279	279	partnership team shall develop information regarding campus
280	280	performance and available options for improving campus performance
281	281	that may be provided to interested parties on request.
282	282	(a-4) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the commissioner may
283	283	refrain from taking action otherwise required under that subsection
284	284	against a campus based on campus performance for the 2014-2015
285	285	school year and preceding school years. If the commissioner takes
286	286	action, the commissioner may not order the reconstitution of the
287	287	campus and may only take other actions authorized by law. This
288	288	subsection expires September 1, 2018.
289	289	(k-1) A managing entity may not assume management of a
290	290	campus under this section if a member of the entity's management and
291	291	leadership team provided any input to the commissioner regarding
292	292	the commissioner's determination under Subsection (a).
293	293	SECTION 6. Subchapter E, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
294	294	amended by adding Section 39.1071 to read as follows:
295	295	Sec. 39.1071. REMOVAL OF CAMPUS TO OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL
296	296	DISTRICT. (a) In this section, "prior system" has the meaning
297	297	assigned by Section 11.401(b).
298	298	(b) As provided by Section 39.107, the commissioner may
299	299	order the removal of a campus to the opportunity school district
300	300	established by Subchapter I, Chapter 11.
301	301	(c) The students assigned to attend the campus or the
302	302	students who would have been eligible to attend the campus if the
303	303	campus had remained in the prior system may choose to attend the
304	304	campus under the jurisdiction of the opportunity school district or
305	305	may exercise an option, made available by the prior system, to
306	306	attend another campus remaining under the jurisdiction of the prior
307	307	system.
308	308	(d) Students who were eligible to attend a campus under the
309	309	prior system or who would have been eligible to attend the campus if
310	310	the campus had remained in the prior system may attend that campus
311	311	at the opportunity school district. Other students eligible to
312	312	attend a campus of the prior system other than the campus
313	313	transferred to the opportunity school district may choose to attend
314	314	the campus transferred to the opportunity school district if the
315	315	campus has the ability to enroll more students.
316	316	(e) Effective on a date determined by the commissioner after
317	317	consulting with the superintendent of the opportunity school
318	318	district, a campus subject to this section shall be removed from the
319	319	jurisdiction of the school district and transferred to the
320	320	jurisdiction of the opportunity school district. On that date, the
321	321	school district from which the campus was removed becomes the prior
322	322	system.
323	323	(f) The removed campus shall be reorganized and reformed, as
324	324	necessary, and operated by the opportunity school district.
325	325	(g) The superintendent of the opportunity school district
326	326	shall decide which educators may be retained at that campus in the
327	327	superintendent's sole discretion. If the opportunity school
328	328	district does not retain an educator, that educator may be assigned
329	329	to another position by the prior system.
330	330	(h) A certified teacher with regular and direct
331	331	responsibility for providing classroom instruction to students who
332	332	is employed at the removed campus by the prior system shall be given
333	333	priority consideration for employment in a comparable position by
334	334	the opportunity school district's superintendent. A person
335	335	employed by the prior system at a removed campus may choose to
336	336	remain in the employ of the prior system, and in that case, the
337	337	prior system shall retain and reassign the person consistent with
338	338	the prior system's contractual obligations or policies regarding
339	339	the retention and reassignment of employees.
340	340	(i) For the purposes of any benefit or right requiring
341	341	continuous service or based on years of service, the prior system
342	342	shall grant a leave of absence to a person employed by the
343	343	opportunity school district who was employed at a campus when the
344	344	campus was removed under this section. The prior system shall
345	345	consider the period during which the opportunity school district
346	346	operates the campus to be service time with the prior system if the
347	347	employee returns to the prior system's employment, but the prior
348	348	system is not required to provide benefits during such leave.
349	349	(j) The benefits and privileges of any person employed in a
350	350	campus by the opportunity school district who was not employed by
351	351	the prior system at the time the campus was removed to the
352	352	opportunity school district shall be those determined by the
353	353	opportunity school district at the time of such employment in
354	354	compliance with applicable law.
355	355	(k) The opportunity school district shall retain
356	356	jurisdiction over any campus removed to the district until the
357	357	commissioner, on the recommendation of the opportunity school
358	358	district's superintendent, enters into an agreement with the prior
359	359	system for return of the campus to the prior system.
360	360	(l) When a campus in the opportunity school district
361	361	achieves an acceptable level of performance under this chapter, the
362	362	commissioner shall direct the opportunity school district to seek
363	363	agreement for the return of the campus to the prior system. An
364	364	agreement between the commissioner and the prior system for the
365	365	return of the campus shall include:
366	366	(1) details for the operation of the campus by the
367	367	prior system, including provisions for the continuation of the
368	368	programs that have provided the basis for the academic achievement
369	369	by the students;
370	370	(2) provisions for the employment status of all
371	371	persons employed by the opportunity school district who were not
372	372	employed by the prior system at the time the campus was removed to
373	373	the opportunity school district; and
374	374	(3) provisions for the means and timetable for the
375	375	campus's transition and return to the prior system.
376	376	(m) If a campus has been operating under arrangements
377	377	established by the opportunity school district for three years, or
378	378	two years if the commissioner determines that the campus has not
379	379	made meaningful progress during those two years, and the campus has
380	380	failed during that period of three or two years, as applicable, to
381	381	achieve an acceptable level of performance under this chapter, the
382	382	commissioner shall return the campus to the prior system or, in
383	383	accordance with Subsection (n), close the campus.
384	384	(n) For purposes of this subsection, "parent" has the
385	385	meaning assigned by Section 12.051. If the commissioner is
386	386	presented, in the time and manner specified by commissioner rule, a
387	387	written petition signed by the parents of a majority of the students
388	388	enrolled at a campus to which Subsection (m) applies specifying
389	389	that the parents prefer the commissioner to close the campus, the
390	390	commissioner shall close the campus. For purposes of this
391	391	subsection, the signature of only one parent of a student is
392	392	required.
393	393	(o) On request, the commissioner and the superintendent of
394	394	the opportunity school district shall provide information
395	395	concerning the new operations and performance of a campus to the
396	396	prior system.
397	397	(p) A campus operated by the opportunity school district may
398	398	change its name only on agreement of the prior system and the
399	399	opportunity school district. A diploma issued to a student who
400	400	graduates from high school at a campus operated by the opportunity
401	401	school district must bear the name of the prior system.
402	402	(q) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
403	403	this section.
404	404	SECTION 7. Section 39.108, Education Code, is amended to
405	405	read as follows:
406	406	Sec. 39.108. ANNUAL REVIEW. (a) The commissioner shall
407	407	review annually the performance of a district or campus subject to
408	408	this subchapter to determine the appropriate actions to be
409	409	implemented under this subchapter. The commissioner must review at
410	410	least annually the performance of a district for which the
411	411	accreditation status or rating has been lowered due to insufficient
412	412	student performance and may not raise the accreditation status or
413	413	rating until the district has demonstrated improved student
414	414	performance. If the review reveals a lack of improvement, the
415	415	commissioner shall increase the level of state intervention and
416	416	sanction unless the commissioner finds good cause for maintaining
417	417	the current status.
418	418	(b) The review required by Subsection (a) shall form the
419	419	basis of the reporting required by Section 39.332(b)(24).
420	420	SECTION 8. Subsection (b), Section 39.332, Education Code,
421	421	is amended by adding Subdivision (24) to read as follows:
422	422	(24) The report must contain a listing and description
423	423	of the status of each campus under the jurisdiction of the
424	424	opportunity school district and a summary of the reforms
425	425	implemented and progress of the campus.
426	426	SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
427	427	school year.
428	428	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
429	429	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
430	430	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
431	431	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
432	432	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.