2017S0412-1 03/07/17
By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1566
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain powers and duties of the board of trustees of an
independent school district and the governing body of an
open-enrollment charter school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.1511, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) The board may compel a school district's chief financial
officer or chief academic officer or a person holding an equivalent
position to appear at an executive session of the board or to
testify at a public hearing held by the board. A superintendent may
not interfere with an appearance or testimony compelled by the
board under this subsection.
SECTION 2. Section 11.1512, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
follows:
(c) A member of the board of trustees of the district, when
acting in the member's official capacity, has an inherent right of
access to information, documents, and records maintained by the
district, and the district shall provide the information,
documents, and records to the member without requiring the member
to submit a public information request under Chapter 552,
Government Code. The district shall provide the information,
documents, and records to the member not later than the 20th
business day after the date the district receives a request,
without regard to whether the requested items are the subject of or
relate to an item listed on an agenda for an upcoming meeting. The
district may withhold or redact information, a document, or a
record requested by a member of the board to the extent that the
item is excepted from disclosure or is confidential under Chapter
552, Government Code, or other law. This subsection does not
require the district to provide information, documents, and records
that are not subject to disclosure under the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
(g) A district shall create a policy on visits to a district
campus or other facility by a member of the board of trustees of the
district.
SECTION 3. Section 11.1513, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
(k) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), the board of
trustees may employ or dismiss a chief financial officer, a chief
academic officer, or a person holding an equivalent position.
SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 11.1515 and 11.1516 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.1515. OVERSIGHT OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. The board
of trustees of an independent school district or the governing body
of an open-enrollment charter school is responsible for overseeing
student academic achievement and maximizing student performance.
Sec. 11.1516. DISTRICT DATA ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
(a) On request by the board of trustees of an independent school
district, the agency shall create a secure Internet website that
members of the board may use to review campus and district academic
achievement data.
(b) The website must:
(1) include district information, disaggregated by
campus, grade, academic quarter or semester, as applicable, and
school year, regarding the following:
(A) student academic achievement and growth;
(B) teacher and student attendance; and
(C) student discipline records; and
(2) be updated each quarter of the school year.
(c) The commissioner shall provide information that permits
a board member to compare the district's academic performance with
the academic performance of other districts of similar size and
racial and economic demographics.
(d) A district must provide requested information to the
commissioner for the creation of a website under this section.
(e) The agency may contract with a private entity as
necessary to implement this section.
(f) All information and reports created or received by the
commissioner under this section from a district are considered
confidential under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be
disclosed in any public or private setting.
(g) The commissioner may adopt rules for the implementation
of this section.
SECTION 5. Section 11.157, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 11.157. CONTRACTS FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICES. (a) The
board of trustees of an independent school district may contract
with a public or private entity for that entity to provide
educational services for the district.
(b) The board of trustees by a majority vote may require a
two-thirds vote for the renewal of a contract described by
Subsection (a).
SECTION 6. Section 11.159, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read
as follows:
(b) A trustee must complete any training required by the
State Board of Education. The minutes of the last regular meeting
of the board of trustees held during a calendar year must reflect
whether each trustee has met or is delinquent in meeting the
training required to be completed as of the date of the meeting. If
the minutes reflect that a trustee is delinquent, the district
shall post notice of the delinquency on the district's Internet
website within two weeks of discovering the delinquency and
maintain the posting until the trustee meets the requirements.
(c) The State Board of Education shall require a trustee to
complete at least three hours of training on evaluating student
academic performance each year. The agency shall create the
training on evaluating student academic performance and certify a
trustee's completion of the training. A candidate for trustee may
complete the training before the candidate is elected. A new
trustee shall complete the training within 120 days after the date
of the trustee's election or appointment. A returning trustee
shall complete the training annually.
(d) A trustee or candidate for trustee may complete training
required under Subsection (c) at a regional education service
center.
SECTION 7. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 11.182 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.182. BOARD IMPROVEMENT AND EVALUATION TOOL.
(a) The commissioner shall develop a board of trustees improvement
and evaluation tool. The evaluation tool must be designed to assist
a school district in improving board oversight and academic
achievement.
(b) A board of trustees may determine whether to use the
evaluation tool, except that the commissioner shall require a board
to use the evaluation tool if:
(1) the district has received an overall performance
rating of D or F under Section 39.054 for two of the preceding three
school years; or
(2) the commissioner determines the board is
ineffectively managing the district.
(c) The commissioner may adopt rules for the implementation
of this section.
SECTION 8. Section 11.201(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The board of trustees of an independent school district
may employ by contract a superintendent for a term not to exceed
five years. If approved by a majority vote of the board, the board
may specify in a superintendent's contract that the contract may be
renewed only with a two-thirds vote of the board.
SECTION 9. The heading to Section 12.064, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 12.064. PROCEDURE FOR PLACEMENT ON PROBATION, [OR]
REVOCATION, OR RENEWAL.
SECTION 10. Section 12.064, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The board of trustees by a majority vote may require a
two-thirds vote for the renewal of a charter under this subchapter.
SECTION 11. Section 39.057(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The commissioner may authorize special accreditation
investigations to be conducted:
(1) when excessive numbers of absences of students
eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are
determined;
(2) when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions
from the required state assessment instruments are determined;
(3) in response to complaints submitted to the agency
with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other
requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;
(4) in response to established compliance reviews of
the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal
program requirements;
(5) when extraordinary numbers of student placements
in disciplinary alternative education programs, other than
placements under Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined;
(6) in response to an allegation involving a conflict
between members of the board of trustees or between the board and
the district administration if it appears that the conflict
involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the
administration clearly defined by this code;
(7) when excessive numbers of students in special
education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, are assessed
through assessment instruments developed or adopted under Section
39.023(b);
(8) in response to an allegation regarding or an
analysis using a statistical method result indicating a possible
violation of an assessment instrument security procedure
established under Section 39.0301, including for the purpose of
investigating or auditing a school district under that section;
(9) when a significant pattern of decreased academic
performance has developed as a result of the promotion in the
preceding two school years of students who did not perform
satisfactorily as determined by the commissioner under Section
39.0241(a) on assessment instruments administered under Section
39.023(a), (c), or (l);
(10) when excessive numbers of students eligible to
enroll fail to complete an Algebra II course or any other advanced
course as determined by the commissioner;
(11) when resource allocation practices as evaluated
under Section 39.0821 indicate a potential for significant
improvement in resource allocation;
(12) when a disproportionate number of students of a
particular demographic group is graduating with a particular
endorsement under Section 28.025(c-1);
(13) when an excessive number of students is
graduating with a particular endorsement under Section
28.025(c-1);
(14) in response to a complaint submitted to the
agency with respect to alleged inaccurate data that is reported
through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
or through other reports required by state or federal law or rule or
court order and that is used by the agency to make a determination
relating to public school accountability, including accreditation,
under this chapter; [or]
(15) when the commissioner determines the board is
ineffectively managing the district; or
(16) as the commissioner otherwise determines
necessary.
SECTION 12. 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) 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;
(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]
(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; or
(12) order the use of the board improvement and
evaluation tool as provided by Section 11.182.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.