Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB472 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hughes, Middleton S.B. No. 472
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed January 17, 2023; February 17, 2023,
3	3	read first time and referred to Committee on Education;
4	4	April 24, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5	5	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 2; April 24, 2023,
6	6	sent to printer.)
7	7	Click here to see the committee vote
8	8	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 472 By: Bettencourt
9	9
10	10
11	11	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
12	12	AN ACT
13	13	relating to the applicability of certain laws to open-enrollment
14	14	charter schools.
15	15	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	16	SECTION 1. Section 12.104(b), Education Code, as amended by
17	17	Chapters 542 (S.B. 168), 887 (S.B. 1697), 915 (H.B. 3607), 974 (S.B.
18	18	2081), and 1046 (S.B. 1365), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular
19	19	Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
20	20	(b) An open-enrollment charter school is subject to:
21	21	(1) a provision of this title establishing a criminal
22	22	offense;
23	23	(2) the provisions in Chapter 554, Government Code;
24	24	and
25	25	(3) a prohibition, restriction, or requirement, as
26	26	applicable, imposed by this title or a rule adopted under this
27	27	title, relating to:
28	28	(A) the Public Education Information Management
29	29	System (PEIMS) to the extent necessary to monitor compliance with
30	30	this subchapter as determined by the commissioner;
31	31	(B) criminal history records under Subchapter C,
32	32	Chapter 22;
33	33	(C) reading instruments and accelerated reading
34	34	instruction programs under Section 28.006;
35	35	(D) accelerated instruction under Section
36	36	28.0211;
37	37	(E) high school graduation requirements under
38	38	Section 28.025;
39	39	(F) special education programs under Subchapter
40	40	A, Chapter 29;
41	41	(G) bilingual education under Subchapter B,
42	42	Chapter 29;
43	43	(H) prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E
44	44	or E-1, Chapter 29, except class size limits for prekindergarten
45	45	classes imposed under Section 25.112, which do not apply;
46	46	(I) extracurricular activities under Section
47	47	33.081;
48	48	(J) discipline management practices or behavior
49	49	management techniques under Section 37.0021;
50	50	(K) health and safety under Chapter 38;
51	51	(L) the provisions of Subchapter A, Chapter 39;
52	52	(M) public school accountability and special
53	53	investigations under Subchapters A, B, C, D, F, G, and J, Chapter
54	54	39, and Chapter 39A;
55	55	(N) the requirement under Section 21.006 to
56	56	report an educator's misconduct;
57	57	(O) intensive programs of instruction under
58	58	Section 28.0213;
59	59	(P) the right of a school employee to report a
60	60	crime, as provided by Section 37.148;
61	61	(Q) bullying prevention policies and procedures
62	62	under Section 37.0832;
63	63	(R) the right of a school under Section 37.0052
64	64	to place a student who has engaged in certain bullying behavior in a
65	65	disciplinary alternative education program or to expel the student;
66	66	(S) the right under Section 37.0151 to report to
67	67	local law enforcement certain conduct constituting assault or
68	68	harassment;
69	69	(T) a parent's right to information regarding the
70	70	provision of assistance for learning difficulties to the parent's
71	71	child as provided by Sections 26.004(b)(11) and 26.0081(c) and (d);
72	72	(U) establishment of residency under Section
73	73	25.001;
74	74	(V) school safety requirements under Sections
75	75	37.108, 37.1081, 37.1082, 37.109, 37.113, 37.114, 37.1141, 37.115,
76	76	37.207, and 37.2071;
77	77	(W) the early childhood literacy and mathematics
78	78	proficiency plans under Section 11.185;
79	79	(X) the college, career, and military readiness
80	80	plans under Section 11.186; [and]
81	81	(Y) [(X)] parental options to retain a student
82	82	under Section 28.02124; and
83	83	(Z) establishing a local school health advisory
84	84	council in which members are appointed by the governing body of the
85	85	school and health education instruction complies with Section
86	86	28.004.
87	87	SECTION 2. Section 12.1058, Education Code, is amended by
88	88	amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d), (d-1), (d-2),
89	89	(d-3), and (d-4) to read as follows:
90	90	(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) or (b), an
91	91	open-enrollment charter school operated by a tax exempt entity as
92	92	described by Section 12.101(a)(3) is not considered to be a
93	93	political subdivision, local government, or local governmental
94	94	entity unless:
95	95	(1) a [the applicable] statute specifically states
96	96	that the statute applies to an open-enrollment charter school; or
97	97	(2) a provision in this chapter states that a specific
98	98	statute applies to an open-enrollment charter school.
99	99	(d) A political subdivision shall consider an
100	100	open-enrollment charter school a school district for purposes of
101	101	zoning, project permitting, platting and replatting processes,
102	102	business licensing, franchises, utility services, signage,
103	103	subdivision regulation, property development projects, the
104	104	requirements for posting bonds or securities, contract
105	105	requirements, land development standards as provided by Section
106	106	212.902, Local Government Code, tree and vegetation regulations,
107	107	regulations of architectural features of a structure, construction
108	108	of fences, landscaping, garbage disposal, noise levels, fees or
109	109	other assessments, and construction or site development work. An
110	110	open-enrollment charter school does not have the power of eminent
111	111	domain.
112	112	(d-1) A political subdivision may not take any action that
113	113	prohibits an open-enrollment charter school from operating a public
114	114	school campus, educational support facility, athletic facility, or
115	115	administrative office within the political subdivision's
116	116	jurisdiction or on any specific property located within the
117	117	jurisdiction of the political subdivision that it could not take
118	118	against a school district. A political subdivision shall grant
119	119	approval in the same manner and follow the same timelines as if the
120	120	charter school were a school district located in that political
121	121	subdivision's jurisdiction.
122	122	(d-2) This section applies to both owned and leased property
123	123	of the open-enrollment charter school under Section 12.128.
124	124	(d-3) Except as provided by this section, this section does
125	125	not affect the authority granted by state law to a political
126	126	subdivision to regulate an open-enrollment charter school
127	127	regarding health and safety ordinances.
128	128	(d-4) In this section, "political subdivision" does not
129	129	include a school district.
130	130	SECTION 3. Section 212.902, Local Government Code, is
131	131	amended to read as follows:
132	132	Sec. 212.902. SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER
133	133	SCHOOL LAND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. (a) This section applies to an
134	134	agreement [agreements] between a school district or
135	135	open-enrollment charter school [districts] and a [any]
136	136	municipality which has annexed territory for limited purposes.
137	137	(b) On request by a school district or open-enrollment
138	138	charter school, a municipality shall enter an agreement with the
139	139	board of trustees of the school district or the governing body of
140	140	the open-enrollment charter school to establish review fees, review
141	141	periods, and land development standards ordinances and to provide
142	142	alternative water pollution control methodologies for school
143	143	buildings constructed by the school district or open-enrollment
144	144	charter school. The agreement shall include a provision exempting
145	145	the district or charter school from all land development ordinances
146	146	in cases where the district or charter school is adding temporary
147	147	classroom buildings on an existing school campus.
148	148	(c) If the municipality and the school district or
149	149	open-enrollment charter school do not reach an agreement on or
150	150	before the 120th day after the date on which the municipality
151	151	receives the district's or charter school's request for an
152	152	agreement, proposed agreements by the [school] district or charter
153	153	school and the municipality shall be submitted to an independent
154	154	arbitrator appointed by the presiding district judge whose
155	155	jurisdiction includes the [school] district or charter school. The
156	156	arbitrator shall, after a hearing at which both the [school]
157	157	district or charter school and the municipality make presentations
158	158	on their proposed agreements, prepare an agreement resolving any
159	159	differences between the proposals. The agreement prepared by the
160	160	arbitrator will be final and binding upon both the [school]
161	161	district or charter school and the municipality. The cost of the
162	162	arbitration proceeding shall be borne equally by the [school]
163	163	district or charter school and the municipality.
164	164	(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
165	165	that requests an agreement under this section, at the time the
166	166	district or charter school [it] makes the request, shall send a copy
167	167	of the request to the commissioner of education. At the end of the
168	168	120-day period, the requesting district or charter school shall
169	169	report to the commissioner the status or result of negotiations
170	170	with the municipality. A municipality may send a separate status
171	171	report to the commissioner. The district or charter school shall
172	172	send to the commissioner a copy of each agreement between the
173	173	district or charter school and a municipality under this section.
174	174	(e) In this section:
175	175	(1) [,] "Land [land] development standards" includes
176	176	impervious cover limitations, building setbacks, floor to area
177	177	ratios, building heights and coverage, water quality controls,
178	178	landscaping, development setbacks, compatibility standards,
179	179	traffic analyses, including traffic impact analyses, parking
180	180	requirements, signage requirements, and driveway cuts, if
181	181	applicable.
182	182	(2) "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
183	183	granted a charter under Subchapter C, D, or E, Chapter 12, Education
184	184	Code.
185	185	(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
186	186	applicability of or waive fees for fire, safety, health, or
187	187	building code ordinances of the municipality prior to or during
188	188	construction of school buildings, nor shall any agreement waive any
189	189	fee or modify any ordinance of a municipality for an
190	190	administration, service, or athletic facility proposed for
191	191	construction by a school district or open-enrollment charter
192	192	school.
193	193	SECTION 4. Section 552.053(b), Local Government Code, is
194	194	amended to read as follows:
195	195	(b) The following may be exempt:
196	196	(1) this state;
197	197	(2) a county;
198	198	(3) a municipality; or
199	199	(4) [a] school districts and open-enrollment charter
200	200	schools [district].
201	201	SECTION 5. Section 12.103(c), Education Code, is repealed.
202	202	SECTION 6. An exemption granted to a school district under
203	203	Section 552.053(b)(4), Local Government Code, as that subdivision
204	204	existed before the effective date of this Act, automatically
205	205	extends to all open-enrollment charter schools located in the
206	206	municipality after the effective date of this Act unless the
207	207	municipality repeals the exemption before the effective date of
208	208	this Act.
209	209	SECTION 7. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
210	210	over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023,
211	211	relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
212	212	codes.
213	213	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
214	214	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
215	215	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
216	216	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
217	217	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
218	218	* * * * *