85R8484 MK-D
By: Lozano H.B. No. 1553
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to permitting a school district that has failed to satisfy
performance standards to partner with an institution of higher
education to improve district performance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.102(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If a school district does not satisfy the accreditation
criteria under Section 39.052, the academic performance standards
under Section 39.053 or 39.054, or any financial accountability
standard as determined by commissioner rule, or if considered
appropriate by the commissioner on the basis of a special
accreditation investigation under Section 39.057, the commissioner
shall take any of the following actions to the extent the
commissioner determines necessary:
(1) issue public notice of the deficiency to the board
of trustees;
(2) order a hearing conducted by the board of trustees
of the district for the purpose of notifying the public of the
insufficient performance, the improvements in performance expected
by the agency, and the interventions and sanctions that may be
imposed under this section if the performance does not improve;
(3) order the preparation of a student achievement
improvement plan that addresses each academic achievement
indicator under Section 39.053(c) for which the district's
performance is insufficient, the submission of the plan to the
commissioner for approval, and implementation of the plan;
(4) order a hearing to be held before the commissioner
or the commissioner's designee at which the president of the board
of trustees of the district and the superintendent shall appear and
explain the district's low performance, lack of improvement, and
plans for improvement;
(5) arrange a monitoring review of the district;
(6) appoint an agency monitor to participate in and
report to the agency on the activities of the board of trustees or
the superintendent;
(7) appoint a conservator to oversee the operations of
the district;
(8) appoint a management team to direct the operations
of the district in areas of insufficient performance or require the
district to obtain certain services under a contract with another
person;
(9) authorize the district to enter into a memorandum
of understanding with an institution of higher education that
provides for the assistance of the institution of higher education
in improving the district's performance;
(10) if a district has a current accreditation status
of accredited-warned or accredited-probation, fails to satisfy any
standard under Section 39.054(e), or fails to satisfy financial
accountability standards as determined by commissioner rule,
appoint a board of managers to exercise the powers and duties of the
board of trustees;
(11) [(10)] if for two consecutive school years,
including the current school year, a district has received an
accreditation status of accredited-warned or accredited-probation,
has failed to satisfy any standard under Section 39.054(e), or has
failed to satisfy financial accountability standards as determined
by commissioner rule, revoke the district's accreditation and:
(A) order closure of the district and annex the
district to one or more adjoining districts under Section 13.054;
or
(B) in the case of a home-rule school district or
open-enrollment charter school, order closure of all programs
operated under the district's or school's charter; or
(12) [(11)] if a district has failed to satisfy any
standard under Section 39.054(e) due to the district's dropout
rates, impose sanctions designed to improve high school completion
rates, including:
(A) ordering the development of a dropout
prevention plan for approval by the commissioner;
(B) restructuring the district or appropriate
school campuses to improve identification of and service to
students who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by
Section 29.081;
(C) ordering lower student-to-counselor ratios
on school campuses with high dropout rates; and
(D) ordering the use of any other intervention
strategy effective in reducing dropout rates, including mentor
programs and flexible class scheduling.
SECTION 2. Section 39.111(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) A conservator or management team, if directed by the
commissioner, shall prepare a plan for the implementation of action
under Section 39.102(a)(10) or (11) [39.102(a)(9) or (10)]. The
conservator or management team:
(1) may direct an action to be taken by the principal
of a campus, the superintendent of the district, or the board of
trustees of the district;
(2) may approve or disapprove any action of the
principal of a campus, the superintendent of the district, or the
board of trustees of the district;
(3) may not take any action concerning a district
election, including ordering or canceling an election or altering
the date of or the polling places for an election;
(4) may not change the number of or method of selecting
the board of trustees;
(5) may not set a tax rate for the district; and
(6) may not adopt a budget for the district that
provides for spending a different amount, exclusive of required
debt service, from that previously adopted by the board of
trustees.
SECTION 3. This Act applies beginning with the 2017-2018
school year.
SECTION 4. 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, 2017.