Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2266 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: West S.B. No. 2266
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to an application for a charter for an open-enrollment
7	7	charter school and to the expansion of an open-enrollment charter
8	8	school.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 12.101(b-4), Education Code, is amended
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	(b-4) Notwithstanding Section 12.114, approval of the
13	13	commissioner under that section is not required for establishment
14	14	of a new open-enrollment charter school campus if the requirements
15	15	of this subsection are satisfied. A charter holder having an
16	16	accreditation status of accredited and at least 50 percent of its
17	17	student population in grades assessed under Subchapter B, Chapter
18	18	39, or at least 50 percent of the students in the grades assessed
19	19	having been enrolled in the school for at least three school years
20	20	may establish one or more new campuses under an existing charter
21	21	held by the charter holder if:
22	22	(1) the charter holder is currently evaluated under
23	23	the standard accountability procedures for evaluation under
24	24	Chapter 39 and received a district rating in the highest or second
25	25	highest performance rating category under Subchapter C, Chapter 39,
26	26	for three of the last five years with at least 75 percent of the
27	27	campuses rated under the charter also receiving a rating in the
28	28	highest or second highest performance rating category and with no
29	29	campus with a rating in the lowest performance rating category in
30	30	the most recent ratings;
31	31	(2) the charter holder provides written notice to the
32	32	commissioner of the establishment of any campus under this
33	33	subsection in the time, manner, and form provided by rule of the
34	34	commissioner; and
35	35	(3) not later than the 60th day after the date the
36	36	charter holder provides written notice under Subdivision (2), the
37	37	commissioner does not provide written notice to the charter holder
38	38	that the commissioner has determined that:
39	39	(A) the charter holder does not satisfy the
40	40	requirements of this section; or
41	41	(B) the proposed campus will be located in the
42	42	attendance zone of a school district campus described by Section
43	43	12.110(d)(3).
44	44	SECTION 2. Section 12.110, Education Code, is amended by
45	45	amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read
46	46	as follows:
47	47	(d) The commissioner shall approve or deny an application
48	48	based on:
49	49	(1) documented evidence collected through the
50	50	application review process;
51	51	(2) merit; [and]
52	52	(3) whether the geographical area to be served by the
53	53	proposed open-enrollment charter school includes the attendance
54	54	zone of a school district campus:
55	55	(A) that:
56	56	(i) received an overall performance rating
57	57	of B for the preceding school year;
58	58	(ii) did not have significant student
59	59	academic achievement differentials among students from different
60	60	racial and ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds for the
61	61	preceding school year, as determined by the commissioner; and
62	62	(iii) is not at full enrollment capacity;
63	63	or
64	64	(B) for which a charter has been granted under
65	65	Subchapter C to replicate successful educational programs, as
66	66	determined by the commissioner, within the preceding five years;
67	67	and
68	68	(4) other criteria as adopted by the commissioner,
69	69	which must include:
70	70	(A) criteria relating to the capability of the
71	71	applicant to carry out the responsibilities provided by the charter
72	72	and the likelihood that the applicant will operate a school of high
73	73	quality;
74	74	(B) criteria relating to improving student
75	75	performance and encouraging innovative programs; and
76	76	(C) a statement from any school district whose
77	77	enrollment is likely to be affected by the open-enrollment charter
78	78	school, including information relating to any financial difficulty
79	79	that a loss in enrollment may have on the district.
80	80	(f) The commissioner may reject an application on the basis
81	81	that the application proposes an open-enrollment charter school
82	82	campus to be located in the attendance zone of a school district
83	83	campus described by Subsection (d)(3)(A) and for which enrollment
84	84	is open to any eligible student residing in the district only if
85	85	each campus in the district for which enrollment is open to any
86	86	eligible student residing in the district received an overall
87	87	performance rating of A for the preceding school year.
88	88	(g) In approving an application that proposes an
89	89	open-enrollment charter school to serve a geographical area that
90	90	includes an entire county, the commissioner may require that the
91	91	school and each campus of the school be located outside of the
92	92	attendance zone of a school district campus described by Subsection
93	93	(d)(3).
94	94	SECTION 3. Section 12.114, Education Code, is amended by
95	95	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
96	96	(e) In determining whether to approve an expansion
97	97	amendment that would expand the geographical area served by
98	98	an open-enrollment charter school, the commissioner may consider
99	99	the factors described by Section 12.110(d)(3).
100	100	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
101	101	an application for a charter for an open-enrollment charter school,
102	102	notice of the establishment of an open-enrollment charter school
103	103	campus, or a request for approval of an expansion amendment
104	104	submitted on or after the effective date of this Act.
105	105	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
106	106	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
107	107	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
108	108	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
109	109	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.