By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1566
(King of Hemphill)
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 require a school district's chief business
official or curriculum director 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 required by the board
under this subsection.
SECTION 2. Section 11.1512, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c-1) and (g) to read as follows:
(c-1) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a
district shall provide a member of the board of trustees with
information, documents, and records requested under Subsection (c)
not later than the 20th business day after the date the district
receives the request. The district may take a reasonable
additional period of time, not to exceed the 30th business day after
the date the district receives the request, to respond to a request
if compliance by the 20th business day would be unduly burdensome
given the amount, age, or location of the requested information.
The district shall inform the trustee of the reason for the delay in
providing the requested information and the date by which the
information will be provided.
(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. 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 shall provide oversight
regarding student academic achievement and strategic leadership
for 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 an Internet website that members
of the board may use to review campus and district academic
achievement data. The website must also be made available to
campuses in a similar manner that access is provided to the board.
(b) The Internet website must:
(1) include district information, disaggregated by
campus, grade, sex, race, 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 at least once 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 an Internet website under this
section.
(e) Confidential information received by the commissioner
under this section from a district remains confidential. The
commissioner shall design the Internet website to ensure that:
(1) public information is made available to the
public; and
(2) information submitted by districts noted as
confidential is not made available to the public.
(f) A request for public information under this section
shall be submitted to the district that provides the agency with the
information. The agency may not release information submitted by a
district that is noted as confidential information.
(g) The agency may contract with a private entity as
necessary to implement this section.
(h) The commissioner may adopt rules for the implementation
of this section.
SECTION 4. 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 before an election of trustees [during
a calendar year] must reflect whether each trustee has met or is
deficient [delinquent] in meeting the training required for the
trustee [to be completed] as of the first anniversary of the date of
the trustee's election or appointment [date of the meeting]. If the
minutes reflect that a trustee is deficient, the district shall
post the minutes on the district's Internet website within 10
business days of the meeting 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 every two years on
evaluating student academic performance. The training must be
research-based and designed to support the oversight role of the
board of trustees under Section 11.1515. A candidate for trustee
may complete the training up to one year 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 by the second
anniversary of the completion of the trustee's previous training.
(d) A trustee or candidate for trustee may complete training
required under Subsection (c) at a regional education service
center or through another authorized provider. A provider must
certify the completion of the training by a trustee or candidate.
SECTION 5. 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 research-based
and 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 as required by Section 39.102(a).
SECTION 6. 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 7. Section 39.107(b-1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b-1) A campus turnaround plan must include:
(1) a detailed description of the academic programs to
be offered at the campus, including instructional methods, length
of school day and school year, academic credit and promotion
criteria, and programs to serve special student populations;
(2) the term of the charter, if a district charter is
to be granted for the campus under Section 12.0522;
(3) written comments from the campus-level committee
established under Section 11.251, if applicable, parents, and
teachers at the campus; [and]
(4) a detailed description of the budget, staffing,
and financial resources required to implement the plan, including
any supplemental resources to be provided by the district or other
identified sources; and
(5) a detailed description for developing and
supporting the oversight of academic achievement and student
performance by the board of trustees under Section 11.1515.
SECTION 8. A person serving on the board of trustees of a
school district on the effective date of this Act must complete the
training required by Section 11.159(c), Education Code, as added by
this Act, not later than September 1, 2018.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.