87R1772 JES-F
By: Pacheco H.B. No. 794
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the applicability of educator certification
requirements and certain educator rights to charter schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.056(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A campus or program for which a charter is granted under
this subchapter is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense; and
(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) high school graduation under Section 28.025;
(D) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(E) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(F) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E,
Chapter 29;
(G) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(H) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(I) public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, F, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A; [and]
(J) the duty to discharge or refuse to hire
certain employees or applicants for employment under Section
12.1059; and
(K) educator certification under Chapter 21 and
educator rights under Sections 21.407, 21.408, and 22.001.
SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
Chapters 262 (H.B. 1597), 464 (S.B. 11), 467 (H.B. 4170), and 943
(H.B. 3), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is
reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
offense;
(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
and
(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
title, relating to:
(A) the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
Chapter 22;
(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
instruction programs under Section 28.006;
(D) accelerated instruction under Section
28.0211;
(E) high school graduation requirements under
Section 28.025;
(F) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29;
(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
Chapter 29;
(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
or E-1, Chapter 29;
(I) extracurricular activities under Section
33.081;
(J) discipline management practices or behavior
management techniques under Section 37.0021;
(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
(L) public school accountability under
Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
report an educator's misconduct;
(N) intensive programs of instruction under
Section 28.0213;
(O) the right of a school employee to report a
crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
(P) bullying prevention policies and procedures
under Section 37.0832;
(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
harassment;
(S) a parent's right to information regarding the
provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
(T) establishment of residency under Section
25.001;
(U) [(T)] school safety requirements under
Sections 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.115,
37.207, and 37.2071;
(V) [(T)] the early childhood literacy and
mathematics proficiency plans under Section 11.185; [and]
(W) [(U)] the college, career, and military
readiness plans under Section 11.186; and
(X) educator certification under Chapter 21 and
educator rights under Sections 21.407, 21.408, and 22.001.
SECTION 3. Section 12.1059, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 12.1059. REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYMENT OF CERTAIN
EMPLOYEES. A person may not be employed by or serve as a teacher,
librarian, educational aide, administrator, or school counselor
for an open-enrollment charter school unless:
(1) the person has been approved by the agency
following a review of the person's national criminal history record
information as provided by Section 22.0831 [22.0832]; and
(2) the school has confirmed that the person is not
included in the registry under Section 22.092.
SECTION 4. Section 12.111(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Each charter granted under this subchapter must:
(1) describe the educational program to be offered,
which must include the required curriculum as provided by Section
28.002;
(2) provide that continuation of the charter is
contingent on the status of the charter as determined under Section
12.1141 or 12.115 or under Chapter 39A;
(3) specify the academic, operational, and financial
performance expectations by which a school operating under the
charter will be evaluated, which must include applicable elements
of the performance frameworks adopted under Section 12.1181;
(4) specify:
(A) any basis, in addition to a basis specified
by this subchapter or Chapter 39A, on which the charter may be
revoked, renewal of the charter may be denied, or the charter may be
allowed to expire; and
(B) the standards for evaluation of a school
operating under the charter for purposes of charter renewal, denial
of renewal, expiration, revocation, or other intervention in
accordance with Section 12.1141 or 12.115 or Chapter 39A, as
applicable;
(5) prohibit discrimination in admission policy on the
basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability,
academic, artistic, or athletic ability, or the district the child
would otherwise attend in accordance with this code, although the
charter may:
(A) provide for the exclusion of a student who
has a documented history of a criminal offense, a juvenile court
adjudication, or discipline problems under Subchapter A, Chapter
37; and
(B) provide for an admission policy that requires
a student to demonstrate artistic ability if the school specializes
in performing arts;
(6) specify the grade levels to be offered;
(7) describe the governing structure of the program,
including:
(A) the officer positions designated;
(B) the manner in which officers are selected and
removed from office;
(C) the manner in which members of the governing
body of the school are selected and removed from office;
(D) the manner in which vacancies on that
governing body are filled;
(E) the term for which members of that governing
body serve; and
(F) whether the terms are to be staggered;
(8) specify the powers or duties of the governing body
of the school that the governing body may delegate to an officer;
(9) specify the manner in which the school will
distribute to parents information related to the qualifications of
each professional employee of the program, including any
professional or educational degree held by each employee, a
statement of the appropriate [any] certification under Subchapter
B, Chapter 21, held by each employee, and any relevant experience of
each employee;
(10) describe the process by which the person
providing the program will adopt an annual budget;
(11) describe the manner in which an annual audit of
the financial and programmatic operations of the program is to be
conducted, including the manner in which the person providing the
program will provide information necessary for the school district
in which the program is located to participate, as required by this
code or by commissioner rule, in the Public Education Information
Management System (PEIMS);
(12) describe the facilities to be used;
(13) describe the geographical area served by the
program;
(14) specify any type of enrollment criteria to be
used;
(15) provide information, as determined by the
commissioner, relating to any management company that will provide
management services to a school operating under the charter; and
(16) specify that the governing body of an
open-enrollment charter school accepts and may not delegate
ultimate responsibility for the school, including the school's
academic performance and financial and operational viability, and
is responsible for overseeing any management company providing
management services for the school and for holding the management
company accountable for the school's performance.
SECTION 5. Section 12.120(a-1), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), subject to Section
12.1059, an open-enrollment charter school may employ a person:
(1) as a teacher or educational aide if[:
[(A)] a school district could employ the person
as a teacher or educational aide; or
[(B) a school district could employ the person as
a teacher or educational aide if the person held the appropriate
certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, and the person
has never held a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21;
or]
(2) in a position other than a position described by
Subdivision (1) if a school district could employ the person in that
position.
SECTION 6. Section 12.129(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A [Except as provided by Subsection (b), a] person
employed as a principal or a teacher by an open-enrollment charter
school must hold the appropriate educator certification under
Subchapter B, Chapter 21 [a baccalaureate degree].
SECTION 7. Section 22.0837, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 22.0837. FEE FOR NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD
INFORMATION. The agency by rule shall require a person submitting
to a national criminal history record information review under
Section [22.0832,] 22.0833[,] or 22.0836 to pay a fee for the review
in an amount not to exceed the amount of any fee imposed on an
applicant for certification under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, for a
national criminal history record information review under Section
22.0831. The agency or the department may require an entity
authorized to collect information for a national criminal history
record information review to collect the fee required under this
section and to remit the funds collected to the agency.
SECTION 8. Section 22.092(c), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The registry maintained under this section must list the
following persons as not eligible to be employed by public schools:
(1) [a person determined by the agency under Section
22.0832 as a person who would not be eligible for educator
certification under Subchapter B, Chapter 21;
[(2)] a person determined by the agency to be not
eligible for employment based on the person's criminal history
record information review, as provided by Section 22.0833;
(2) [(3)] a person who is not eligible for employment
based on criminal history record information received by the agency
under Section 21.058(b);
(3) [(4)] a person whose certification or permit
issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, is revoked by the State Board
for Educator Certification on a finding that the person engaged in
misconduct described by Section 21.006(b)(2)(A) or (A-1); and
(4) [(5)] a person who is determined by the
commissioner under Section 22.094 to have engaged in misconduct
described by Section 22.093(c)(1)(A) or (B).
SECTION 9. The following provisions of the Education Code
are repealed:
(1) Sections 12.129(b) and 22.0815(c); and
(2) Section 22.0832.
SECTION 10. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 12.056(b),
12.104(b), and 12.129(a), Education Code, as amended by this Act, a
person employed by a charter school on the effective date of this
Act is not required to comply with the changes in law made by this
Act until the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (a) of this section,
this Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 school year.
SECTION 11. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 12. 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.