87R12084 MLH-D
By: Rodriguez H.B. No. 4002
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the approval for the establishment of a new
open-enrollment charter school or open-enrollment charter school
campus.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.101, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b-4) and adding Subsection (b-9) 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 the charter holder does
not satisfy the requirements of this section; and
(4) the new campus will not be located in the
attendance zone of a school district in which the number of students
enrolled at open-enrollment charter school campuses located in the
district exceeds six percent of the total number of students
residing in the district.
(b-9) The commissioner may not grant a charter for an
open-enrollment charter school that the applicant proposes to be
located in the attendance zone of a school district in which the
number of students enrolled at open-enrollment charter school
campuses located in the district exceeds six percent of the total
number of students residing in the district.
SECTION 2. Section 12.1011(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding Section 12.101(b) and except as
provided by Section 12.101(b-9), the commissioner may grant a
charter for an open-enrollment charter school to an applicant that
is:
(1) an eligible entity under Section 12.101(a)(3) that
proposes to operate the charter school program of a charter
operator that operates one or more charter schools in another state
and with which the eligible entity is affiliated and, as determined
by the commissioner in accordance with commissioner rule, has
performed at a level of performance comparable to performance under
the highest or second highest performance rating category under
Subchapter C, Chapter 39; or
(2) an entity that has operated one or more charter
schools established under this subchapter or Subchapter C or E and,
as determined by the commissioner in accordance with commissioner
rule, has performed in the highest or second highest performance
rating category under Subchapter C, Chapter 39.
SECTION 3. Section 12.114, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
follows:
(a) A revision of a charter of an open-enrollment charter
school to which Section 12.1142 does not apply may be made only with
the approval of the commissioner.
(c-1) The commissioner may not approve a request for an
expansion amendment to the charter of an open-enrollment charter
school located, or proposed under the expansion amendment for a
campus to be located, in the attendance zone of a school district in
which the number of students enrolled at open-enrollment charter
school campuses located in the district exceeds six percent of the
total number of students residing in the district.
SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 12.1142 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.1142. APPLICATION FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW
OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOL CAMPUS OR SITE. The commissioner
may not approve more than five requests submitted by a charter
holder to establish a new open-enrollment charter school campus or
site. If the commissioner has already approved five requests from a
charter holder and the charter holder submits additional requests
to establish a new open-enrollment charter school campus or site,
the commissioner must notify the State Board of Education and the
request must be approved by the State Board of Education.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an application for a charter for an open-enrollment charter school,
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 6. 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, 2021.