88R8566 ANG-F
By: Hinojosa H.B. No. 2824
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring an open-enrollment charter school to conduct
an efficiency audit before applying for designation as a charter
district or for the guarantee of certain bonds.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.135, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 12.135. DESIGNATION AS CHARTER DISTRICT FOR PURPOSES
OF BOND GUARANTEE. (a) On the application of the charter holder,
the commissioner may grant designation as a charter district to an
open-enrollment charter school that meets financial standards
adopted by the commissioner and that has conducted an efficiency
audit in accordance with Section 12.1351. The financial standards
must require an open-enrollment charter school to have an
investment grade credit rating as specified by Section 45.0541.
(b) Subject to Section 12.1351, a [A] charter district may
apply for bonds issued under Chapter 53 for the open-enrollment
charter school, including refunding and refinanced bonds, to be
guaranteed by the permanent school fund as provided by Chapter 45.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 12.1351 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.1351. EFFICIENCY AUDIT. (a) In this section,
"efficiency audit" means an investigation of the operations of an
open-enrollment charter school to examine fiscal management,
efficiency, and utilization of resources.
(b) The governing body of an open-enrollment charter school
must conduct an efficiency audit and hold an open meeting to discuss
the results of the efficiency audit before applying for:
(1) designation as a charter district under Section
12.135(a); or
(2) a bond to be guaranteed under Section 12.135(b),
if the application is submitted one year or more after the school is
designated as a charter district.
(c) An open-enrollment charter school shall pay the costs
associated with an efficiency audit under this section.
(d) The governing body of an open-enrollment charter school
must select an auditor to conduct an efficiency audit under this
section not later than the last day of the fourth month before the
date on which the school submits an application described by
Subsection (b).
(e) The governing body of the open-enrollment charter
school may select for purposes of Subsection (d) the auditor that
conducts the school's annual audit under Section 44.008 and include
the efficiency audit as part of the school's annual audit.
(f) An auditor selected by the governing body of an
open-enrollment charter school shall:
(1) follow the guidelines established by the
Legislative Budget Board under Section 11.184;
(2) maintain independence from the school; and
(3) complete the efficiency audit not later than the
last day of the third month after the date on which the auditor was
selected.
(g) An open-enrollment charter school shall provide all
documents, records, and personnel requested by the auditor as
needed to conduct the audit in an efficient manner.
(h) Not later than the 30th day before the date the
open-enrollment charter school submits an application described by
Subsection (b), the school shall post the results of the efficiency
audit on the school's Internet website.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.