By: West S.B. No. 2266
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an application for a charter for an open-enrollment
charter school and to the expansion of an open-enrollment charter
school.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.101(b-4), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b-4) Notwithstanding Section 12.114, approval of the
commissioner under that section is not required for establishment
of a new open-enrollment charter school campus if the requirements
of this subsection are satisfied. A charter holder having an
accreditation status of accredited and at least 50 percent of its
student population in grades assessed under Subchapter B, Chapter
39, or at least 50 percent of the students in the grades assessed
having been enrolled in the school for at least three school years
may establish one or more new campuses under an existing charter
held by the charter holder if:
(1) the charter holder is currently evaluated under
the standard accountability procedures for evaluation under
Chapter 39 and received a district rating in the highest or second
highest performance rating category under Subchapter C, Chapter 39,
for three of the last five years with at least 75 percent of the
campuses rated under the charter also receiving a rating in the
highest or second highest performance rating category and with no
campus with a rating in the lowest performance rating category in
the most recent ratings;
(2) the charter holder provides written notice to the
commissioner of the establishment of any campus under this
subsection in the time, manner, and form provided by rule of the
commissioner; and
(3) not later than the 60th day after the date the
charter holder provides written notice under Subdivision (2), the
commissioner does not provide written notice to the charter holder
that the commissioner has determined that:
(A) the charter holder does not satisfy the
requirements of this section; or
(B) the proposed campus will be located in the
attendance zone of a school district campus described by Section
12.110(d)(3).
SECTION 2. Section 12.110, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read
as follows:
(d) The commissioner shall approve or deny an application
based on:
(1) documented evidence collected through the
application review process;
(2) merit; [and]
(3) whether the geographical area to be served by the
proposed open-enrollment charter school includes the attendance
zone of a school district campus:
(A) that:
(i) received an overall performance rating
of B for the preceding school year;
(ii) did not have significant student
academic achievement differentials among students from different
racial and ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds for the
preceding school year, as determined by the commissioner; and
(iii) is not at full enrollment capacity;
or
(B) for which a charter has been granted under
Subchapter C to replicate successful educational programs, as
determined by the commissioner, within the preceding five years;
and
(4) other criteria as adopted by the commissioner,
which must include:
(A) criteria relating to the capability of the
applicant to carry out the responsibilities provided by the charter
and the likelihood that the applicant will operate a school of high
quality;
(B) criteria relating to improving student
performance and encouraging innovative programs; and
(C) a statement from any school district whose
enrollment is likely to be affected by the open-enrollment charter
school, including information relating to any financial difficulty
that a loss in enrollment may have on the district.
(f) The commissioner may reject an application on the basis
that the application proposes an open-enrollment charter school
campus to be located in the attendance zone of a school district
campus described by Subsection (d)(3)(A) and for which enrollment
is open to any eligible student residing in the district only if
each campus in the district for which enrollment is open to any
eligible student residing in the district received an overall
performance rating of A for the preceding school year.
(g) In approving an application that proposes an
open-enrollment charter school to serve a geographical area that
includes an entire county, the commissioner may require that the
school and each campus of the school be located outside of the
attendance zone of a school district campus described by Subsection
(d)(3).
SECTION 3. Section 12.114, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) In determining whether to approve an expansion
amendment that would expand the geographical area served by
an open-enrollment charter school, the commissioner may consider
the factors described by Section 12.110(d)(3).
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an application for a charter for an open-enrollment charter school,
notice of the establishment of an open-enrollment charter school
campus, or a request for approval of an expansion amendment
submitted on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 5. 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.