Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB794 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R1772 JES-F
2	2	By: Pacheco H.B. No. 794
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the applicability of educator certification
8	8	requirements and certain educator rights to charter schools.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 12.056(b), Education Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(b) A campus or program for which a charter is granted under
13	13	this subchapter is subject to:
14	14	(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
15	15	offense; and
16	16	(2) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
17	17	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
18	18	title, relating to:
19	19	(A) the Public Education Information Management
20	20	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
21	21	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
22	22	(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
23	23	Chapter 22;
24	24	(C) high school graduation under Section 28.025;
25	25	(D) special education programs under Subchapter
26	26	A, Chapter 29;
27	27	(E) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
28	28	Chapter 29;
29	29	(F) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E,
30	30	Chapter 29;
31	31	(G) extracurricular activities under Section
32	32	33.081;
33	33	(H) health and safety under Chapter 38;
34	34	(I) public school accountability under
35	35	Subchapters B, C, D, F, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A; [and]
36	36	(J) the duty to discharge or refuse to hire
37	37	certain employees or applicants for employment under Section
38	38	12.1059; and
39	39	(K) educator certification under Chapter 21 and
40	40	educator rights under Sections 21.407, 21.408, and 22.001.
41	41	SECTION 2. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
42	42	Chapters 262 (H.B. 1597), 464 (S.B. 11), 467 (H.B. 4170), and 943
43	43	(H.B. 3), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, is
44	44	reenacted and amended to read as follows:
45	45	(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
46	46	(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
47	47	offense;
48	48	(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
49	49	and
50	50	(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
51	51	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
52	52	title, relating to:
53	53	(A) the Public Education Information Management
54	54	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
55	55	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
56	56	(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
57	57	Chapter 22;
58	58	(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
59	59	instruction programs under Section 28.006;
60	60	(D) accelerated instruction under Section
61	61	28.0211;
62	62	(E) high school graduation requirements under
63	63	Section 28.025;
64	64	(F) special education programs under Subchapter
65	65	A, Chapter 29;
66	66	(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
67	67	Chapter 29;
68	68	(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
69	69	or E-1, Chapter 29;
70	70	(I) extracurricular activities under Section
71	71	33.081;
72	72	(J) discipline management practices or behavior
73	73	management techniques under Section 37.0021;
74	74	(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
75	75	(L) public school accountability under
76	76	Subchapters B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter 39, and Chapter 39A;
77	77	(M) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
78	78	report an educator's misconduct;
79	79	(N) intensive programs of instruction under
80	80	Section 28.0213;
81	81	(O) the right of a school employee to report a
82	82	crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
83	83	(P) bullying prevention policies and procedures
84	84	under Section 37.0832;
85	85	(Q) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
86	86	to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
87	87	disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
88	88	(R) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
89	89	local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
90	90	harassment;
91	91	(S) a parent's right to information regarding the
92	92	provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
93	93	child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
94	94	(T) establishment of residency under Section
95	95	25.001;
96	96	(U) [(T)] school safety requirements under
97	97	Sections 37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.115,
98	98	37.207, and 37.2071;
99	99	(V) [(T)] the early childhood literacy and
100	100	mathematics proficiency plans under Section 11.185; [and]
101	101	(W) [(U)] the college, career, and military
102	102	readiness plans under Section 11.186; and
103	103	(X) educator certification under Chapter 21 and
104	104	educator rights under Sections 21.407, 21.408, and 22.001.
105	105	SECTION 3. Section 12.1059, Education Code, is amended to
106	106	read as follows:
107	107	Sec. 12.1059. REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYMENT OF CERTAIN
108	108	EMPLOYEES. A person may not be employed by or serve as a teacher,
109	109	librarian, educational aide, administrator, or school counselor
110	110	for an open-enrollment charter school unless:
111	111	(1) the person has been approved by the agency
112	112	following a review of the person's national criminal history record
113	113	information as provided by Section 22.0831 [22.0832]; and
114	114	(2) the school has confirmed that the person is not
115	115	included in the registry under Section 22.092.
116	116	SECTION 4. Section 12.111(a), Education Code, is amended to
117	117	read as follows:
118	118	(a) Each charter granted under this subchapter must:
119	119	(1) describe the educational program to be offered,
120	120	which must include the required curriculum as provided by Section
121	121	28.002;
122	122	(2) provide that continuation of the charter is
123	123	contingent on the status of the charter as determined under Section
124	124	12.1141 or 12.115 or under Chapter 39A;
125	125	(3) specify the academic, operational, and financial
126	126	performance expectations by which a school operating under the
127	127	charter will be evaluated, which must include applicable elements
128	128	of the performance frameworks adopted under Section 12.1181;
129	129	(4) specify:
130	130	(A) any basis, in addition to a basis specified
131	131	by this subchapter or Chapter 39A, on which the charter may be
132	132	revoked, renewal of the charter may be denied, or the charter may be
133	133	allowed to expire; and
134	134	(B) the standards for evaluation of a school
135	135	operating under the charter for purposes of charter renewal, denial
136	136	of renewal, expiration, revocation, or other intervention in
137	137	accordance with Section 12.1141 or 12.115 or Chapter 39A, as
138	138	applicable;
139	139	(5) prohibit discrimination in admission policy on the
140	140	basis of sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability,
141	141	academic, artistic, or athletic ability, or the district the child
142	142	would otherwise attend in accordance with this code, although the
143	143	charter may:
144	144	(A) provide for the exclusion of a student who
145	145	has a documented history of a criminal offense, a juvenile court
146	146	adjudication, or discipline problems under Subchapter A, Chapter
147	147	37; and
148	148	(B) provide for an admission policy that requires
149	149	a student to demonstrate artistic ability if the school specializes
150	150	in performing arts;
151	151	(6) specify the grade levels to be offered;
152	152	(7) describe the governing structure of the program,
153	153	including:
154	154	(A) the officer positions designated;
155	155	(B) the manner in which officers are selected and
156	156	removed from office;
157	157	(C) the manner in which members of the governing
158	158	body of the school are selected and removed from office;
159	159	(D) the manner in which vacancies on that
160	160	governing body are filled;
161	161	(E) the term for which members of that governing
162	162	body serve; and
163	163	(F) whether the terms are to be staggered;
164	164	(8) specify the powers or duties of the governing body
165	165	of the school that the governing body may delegate to an officer;
166	166	(9) specify the manner in which the school will
167	167	distribute to parents information related to the qualifications of
168	168	each professional employee of the program, including any
169	169	professional or educational degree held by each employee, a
170	170	statement of the appropriate [any] certification under Subchapter
171	171	B, Chapter 21, held by each employee, and any relevant experience of
172	172	each employee;
173	173	(10) describe the process by which the person
174	174	providing the program will adopt an annual budget;
175	175	(11) describe the manner in which an annual audit of
176	176	the financial and programmatic operations of the program is to be
177	177	conducted, including the manner in which the person providing the
178	178	program will provide information necessary for the school district
179	179	in which the program is located to participate, as required by this
180	180	code or by commissioner rule, in the Public Education Information
181	181	Management System (PEIMS);
182	182	(12) describe the facilities to be used;
183	183	(13) describe the geographical area served by the
184	184	program;
185	185	(14) specify any type of enrollment criteria to be
186	186	used;
187	187	(15) provide information, as determined by the
188	188	commissioner, relating to any management company that will provide
189	189	management services to a school operating under the charter; and
190	190	(16) specify that the governing body of an
191	191	open-enrollment charter school accepts and may not delegate
192	192	ultimate responsibility for the school, including the school's
193	193	academic performance and financial and operational viability, and
194	194	is responsible for overseeing any management company providing
195	195	management services for the school and for holding the management
196	196	company accountable for the school's performance.
197	197	SECTION 5. Section 12.120(a-1), Education Code, is amended
198	198	to read as follows:
199	199	(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), subject to Section
200	200	12.1059, an open-enrollment charter school may employ a person:
201	201	(1) as a teacher or educational aide if[:
202	202	[(A)] a school district could employ the person
203	203	as a teacher or educational aide; or
204	204	[(B) a school district could employ the person as
205	205	a teacher or educational aide if the person held the appropriate
206	206	certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, and the person
207	207	has never held a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21;
208	208	or]
209	209	(2) in a position other than a position described by
210	210	Subdivision (1) if a school district could employ the person in that
211	211	position.
212	212	SECTION 6. Section 12.129(a), Education Code, is amended to
213	213	read as follows:
214	214	(a) A [Except as provided by Subsection (b), a] person
215	215	employed as a principal or a teacher by an open-enrollment charter
216	216	school must hold the appropriate educator certification under
217	217	Subchapter B, Chapter 21 [a baccalaureate degree].
218	218	SECTION 7. Section 22.0837, Education Code, is amended to
219	219	read as follows:
220	220	Sec. 22.0837. FEE FOR NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD
221	221	INFORMATION. The agency by rule shall require a person submitting
222	222	to a national criminal history record information review under
223	223	Section [22.0832,] 22.0833[,] or 22.0836 to pay a fee for the review
224	224	in an amount not to exceed the amount of any fee imposed on an
225	225	applicant for certification under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, for a
226	226	national criminal history record information review under Section
227	227	22.0831. The agency or the department may require an entity
228	228	authorized to collect information for a national criminal history
229	229	record information review to collect the fee required under this
230	230	section and to remit the funds collected to the agency.
231	231	SECTION 8. Section 22.092(c), Education Code, is amended to
232	232	read as follows:
233	233	(c) The registry maintained under this section must list the
234	234	following persons as not eligible to be employed by public schools:
235	235	(1) [a person determined by the agency under Section
236	236	22.0832 as a person who would not be eligible for educator
237	237	certification under Subchapter B, Chapter 21;
238	238	[(2)] a person determined by the agency to be not
239	239	eligible for employment based on the person's criminal history
240	240	record information review, as provided by Section 22.0833;
241	241	(2) [(3)] a person who is not eligible for employment
242	242	based on criminal history record information received by the agency
243	243	under Section 21.058(b);
244	244	(3) [(4)] a person whose certification or permit
245	245	issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, is revoked by the State Board
246	246	for Educator Certification on a finding that the person engaged in
247	247	misconduct described by Section 21.006(b)(2)(A) or (A-1); and
248	248	(4) [(5)] a person who is determined by the
249	249	commissioner under Section 22.094 to have engaged in misconduct
250	250	described by Section 22.093(c)(1)(A) or (B).
251	251	SECTION 9. The following provisions of the Education Code
252	252	are repealed:
253	253	(1) Sections 12.129(b) and 22.0815(c); and
254	254	(2) Section 22.0832.
255	255	SECTION 10. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 12.056(b),
256	256	12.104(b), and 12.129(a), Education Code, as amended by this Act, a
257	257	person employed by a charter school on the effective date of this
258	258	Act is not required to comply with the changes in law made by this
259	259	Act until the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.
260	260	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (a) of this section,
261	261	this Act applies beginning with the 2021-2022 school year.
262	262	SECTION 11. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
263	263	over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
264	264	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
265	265	codes.
266	266	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect immediately if it
267	267	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
268	268	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
269	269	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
270	270	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.