89R508 MEW-D
By: Shaheen H.B. No. 1025
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appointment of an inspector general for education,
the creation of a division of inspector general for education in the
State Board of Education to investigate public education, and the
authority of the commissioner of education to conduct special
investigations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7.102(c), Education Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (35) to read as follows:
(35) The board shall appoint an inspector general for
education in accordance with Subchapter E.
SECTION 2. Chapter 7, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR EDUCATION
Sec. 7.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Abuse" has the meaning assigned by Section
261.001, Family Code.
(2) "Division" means the division of inspector general
for education established under this subchapter.
(3) "Fraud" means an intentional deception or
misrepresentation made by a person with the knowledge that the
deception or misrepresentation could result in some unauthorized
benefit to that person or some other person. The term includes any
act that constitutes fraud under applicable federal or state law.
(4) "Local education agency" includes a school
district or county system described by Subchapter G, Chapter 11.
Sec. 7.152. DIVISION OF INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR EDUCATION.
(a) The division of inspector general for education is established
as a division within the board.
(b) The board shall, by majority vote, appoint an inspector
general to serve as director of the division. The inspector general
serves until removed by the board.
(c) From money appropriated for that purpose, the inspector
general may employ staff and pay for administrative resources,
support services, and operating expenses as necessary to ensure
investigations and reviews authorized by this subchapter are
conducted expeditiously.
Sec. 7.153. GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES. (a) The division is
responsible for:
(1) the investigation, prevention, and detection of
wrongdoing and fraud, waste, and abuse in public education by
school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, regional
education service centers, and other local education agencies in
this state; and
(2) the investigation of violations of state or
federal law by school districts, open-enrollment charter schools,
regional education service centers, and other local education
agencies in this state, including violations by employees,
representatives, and contractors of those entities, of:
(A) parental rights under Chapter 26 or other
state law;
(B) school safety and security requirements
under Sections 37.108, 37.1081, and 37.109; or
(C) any other provision of this code.
(b) The division may investigate:
(1) allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse;
(2) alleged violations of:
(A) the requirement to report educator
misconduct under Section 21.006;
(B) the required transfer of a student in
accordance with Section 25.0342;
(C) parental rights under Chapter 26 of this code
or Chapter 151, Family Code;
(D) requirements and prohibitions under Section
28.0022;
(E) discipline and law and order under Chapter
37, including school safety and security requirements under
Sections 37.108, 37.1081, and 37.109;
(F) any other provision of this code;
(G) the reporting requirement under Section
261.101, Family Code;
(H) the code of ethics and standard practices for
educators adopted by State Board for Educator Certification rule;
(I) a student's right of due process in
administrative investigations; or
(J) the free speech clause of the First Amendment
to the United States Constitution or Section 8, Article I, Texas
Constitution;
(3) alleged incidents of misconduct that may
constitute an offense under Section 15.032, 20A.02(a)(7) or (8),
25.04, 43.23, or 43.24, Penal Code;
(4) complaints submitted to the division with respect
to alleged violations of civil rights or other requirements imposed
on the state by federal law or court order;
(5) a determination of extraordinary numbers of
student placements in disciplinary alternative education programs,
other than placements under Sections 37.006 and 37.007;
(6) decisions concerning discretionary student
placements in disciplinary alternative education programs; and
(7) allegations involving a conflict between the board
of trustees of a school district and the district administration if
it appears that the conflict involves a violation of a role or duty
of the board members or the administration clearly defined by this
code.
(c) The division shall, as necessary:
(1) conduct civil and administrative investigations,
refer criminal investigations to the appropriate local law
enforcement agency, and initiate reviews of a school district, an
open-enrollment charter school, a regional education service
center, or another local education agency as considered appropriate
by the inspector general;
(2) conduct, in coordination with the comptroller,
audits of the use of money by a school district, an open-enrollment
charter school, a regional education service center, or another
local education agency, including money used for school security,
school-based health, student mental health, capital expenditures,
the school health and related services program, and legal
representation;
(3) receive complaints from any source and investigate
those complaints on the division's own initiative;
(4) conduct investigations authorized by this
section;
(5) review public school safety and security audits
conducted under Section 37.108;
(6) investigate reports of educator or employee
misconduct under Section 21.006 or 22.093;
(7) make findings of fact that a school district, an
open-enrollment charter school, a regional education service
center, or another local education agency or an employee or agent of
one of those entities committed an act of wrongdoing, fraud, waste,
or abuse in public education or a violation or act of misconduct
described by Subsection (b) and take appropriate action as
determined by the inspector general in consultation with the board
and any appropriate law enforcement agencies, regardless of any
time requirement relating to the action under Chapter 8, 12, or 39A;
and
(8) notwithstanding Subdivision (7), on a finding of a
violation described by Subsection (b), including a requirement
relating to a school district's or open-enrollment charter school's
multihazard emergency operations plan, by an entity described by
that subdivision, prescribe binding corrective or disciplinary
action, including timelines for those actions, to be taken.
(d) The division shall perform all other duties and exercise
all other powers granted to the division by this subchapter or other
law.
Sec. 7.154. GENERAL POWERS. (a) The division has all the
powers necessary or appropriate to carry out its responsibilities
and functions under this subchapter and other law.
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), in conducting an
investigation under this subchapter of the board of trustees of a
school district, the governing body of an open-enrollment charter
school, the board of directors of a regional education service
center or another local education agency, or the executive
leadership of any of those entities, the division may:
(1) attend any meeting or proceeding of the school
district, open-enrollment charter school, regional education
service center, or other local education agency, including a
meeting or proceeding that is closed to the public, except for a
private consultation of the entity with its attorney permitted
under Section 551.071, Government Code; and
(2) inspect the records, documents, and files of the
school district, open-enrollment charter school, regional
education service center, or other local education agency,
including any record, document, or file that is not subject to
public disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, or other law.
(c) The division's authority under Subsection (b) applies
only to a meeting, a proceeding, or information that is relevant to
the discovery of relevant information regarding an allegation of
wrongdoing or a violation described by Section 7.153 or of fraud,
waste, or abuse in public education by a person or entity described
by Subsection (b). Except as provided by Subsection (e), the
division may not inspect a record, document, or file that is a
privileged communication between an individual and the
individual's attorney.
(d) The inspection or disclosure of a record, document, or
file for purposes of an investigation under this subchapter is not a
voluntary disclosure under Section 552.007, Government Code. A
record, document, or file made available to the division for
purposes of an investigation under this subchapter is not subject
to public disclosure by the division.
(e) The division may, for purposes of conducting an
investigation under this subchapter, access:
(1) any information under the agency's control,
including information contained in the Public Education
Information Management System (PEIMS) and information relating to
school disciplinary records, educator misconduct reports, and
school safety requirements; and
(2) any information under the control of an entity
described by Subsection (b), including, to the extent permitted by
law, communications with an attorney paid for using public money.
Sec. 7.155. SUBPOENAS. (a) The inspector general may issue
a subpoena to compel the attendance of a relevant witness at a
hearing or deposition under this subchapter or to compel the
production, for inspection or copying, of books, papers, records,
documents, or other relevant materials, including electronic data,
in connection with an investigation, review, hearing, or deposition
conducted under this subchapter.
(b) A subpoena may be served personally or by certified
mail. If a person fails to comply with a subpoena, the inspector
general, acting through the attorney general, may file suit to
enforce the subpoena in a district court in this state.
(c) On finding that good cause exists for issuing the
subpoena, the court shall order the person to comply with the
subpoena. The court may hold in contempt a person who fails to obey
the court order.
Sec. 7.156. COOPERATION WITH OTHER ENTITIES. The division
may refer matters for further civil, criminal, and administrative
action to appropriate agencies, including the attorney general.
Sec. 7.157. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The inspector general shall
prepare and submit annually to the commissioner, the board, and the
presiding officer of each legislative standing committee with
primary jurisdiction over primary and secondary education a report
on the division's findings and recommendations related to all
investigations conducted by the division during the preceding year.
(b) If the inspector general conducted any audits under
Section 7.153(c)(2) during the year for which a report under
Subsection (a) is prepared, the inspector general shall include in
the report any amounts paid by a local education agency to an
attorney for legal representation.
(c) The division shall make the report publicly available on
the division's Internet website.
SECTION 3. Section 37.009, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-3) to read as
follows:
(a) Not later than the third class day after the day on which
a student is removed from class by the teacher under Section
37.002(b) or (d) or by the school principal or other appropriate
administrator under Section 37.001(a)(2) or 37.006, the campus
behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator shall
schedule a conference among the campus behavior coordinator or
other appropriate administrator, a parent or guardian of the
student, the teacher removing the student from class, if any, and
the student. At the conference, the student is entitled to written
or oral notice of the reasons for the removal, an explanation of the
basis for the removal, and an opportunity to respond to the reasons
for the removal. The student may not be returned to the regular
classroom pending the conference. Following the conference, and
whether or not each requested person is in attendance after valid
attempts to require the person's attendance, the campus behavior
coordinator, after consideration of the factors under Section
37.001(a)(4), shall order the placement of the student for a period
consistent with the student code of conduct. Before ordering the
suspension, expulsion, removal to a disciplinary alternative
education program, or placement in a juvenile justice alternative
education program of a student, the behavior coordinator must
consider whether the student acted in self-defense, the intent or
lack of intent at the time the student engaged in the conduct, the
student's disciplinary history, and whether the student has a
disability that substantially impairs the student's capacity to
appreciate the wrongfulness of the student's conduct, regardless of
whether the decision of the behavior coordinator concerns a
mandatory or discretionary action. Subject to Subsection (a-3), if
[If] school district policy allows a student to appeal to the board
of trustees or the board's designee a decision of the campus
behavior coordinator or other appropriate administrator, other
than an expulsion under Section 37.007, the decision of the board or
the board's designee is final and may not be appealed. If the
period of the placement is inconsistent with the guidelines
included in the student code of conduct under Section 37.001(a)(5),
the order must give notice of the inconsistency. The period of the
placement may not exceed one year unless, after a review, the
district determines that the student is a threat to the safety of
other students or to district employees.
(a-3) If the decision of the campus behavior coordinator or
other appropriate administrator to place a student in a
disciplinary alternative education program concerns a
discretionary action, the parent or guardian of the student may
appeal the decision to the division of inspector general
established under Subchapter E, Chapter 7.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 37.1085, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 37.1085. INTERVENTIONS [ASSIGNMENT OF CONSERVATOR]
FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH SCHOOL SAFETY AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS.
SECTION 5. Section 37.1085, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(c) Subsections (a) and (b) do [This section does] not apply
to a school district's failure to comply with Section 37.0814 or a
good cause exception claimed under that section.
(d) If the division of inspector general for education
established under Subchapter E, Chapter 7, makes a finding of fact
under Section 7.153(c)(7) that a school district, an
open-enrollment charter school, a regional education service
center, or another local education agency committed a violation of
a school safety and security requirement, the commissioner may take
control of the management, or any part of the management, of the
entity that committed the violation.
SECTION 6. Section 39.003, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
follows:
(a) The commissioner may authorize special investigations
to be conducted:
(1) when excessive numbers of absences of students
eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are
determined;
(2) when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions
from the required state assessment instruments are determined;
(3) [in response to complaints submitted to the agency
with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other
requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;
[(4)] in response to established compliance reviews of
the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal
program requirements;
[(5) when extraordinary numbers of student placements
in disciplinary alternative education programs, other than
placements under Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined;
[(6) in response to an allegation involving a conflict
between members of the board of trustees or between the board and
the district administration if it appears that the conflict
involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the
administration clearly defined by this code;]
(4) [(7)] when excessive numbers of students in
special education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, are
assessed through assessment instruments developed or adopted under
Section 39.023(b);
(5) [(8)] in response to an allegation regarding or an
analysis using a statistical method result indicating a possible
violation of an assessment instrument security procedure
established under Section 39.0301, including for the purpose of
investigating or auditing a school district under that section;
(6) [(9)] when a significant pattern of decreased
academic performance has developed as a result of the promotion in
the preceding two school years of students who did not perform
satisfactorily as determined by the commissioner under Section
39.0241(a) on assessment instruments administered under Section
39.023(a), (c), or (l);
(7) [(10)] when excessive numbers of students
eligible to enroll fail to complete an Algebra II course or any
other advanced course as determined by the commissioner;
(8) [(11)] when resource allocation practices as
evaluated under Section 39.0821 indicate a potential for
significant improvement in resource allocation;
(9) [(12)] when a disproportionate number of students
of a particular demographic group is graduating with a particular
endorsement under Section 28.025(c-1);
(10) [(13)] when an excessive number of students is
graduating with a particular endorsement under Section
28.025(c-1);
(11) [(14)] in response to a complaint submitted to
the agency with respect to alleged inaccurate data that is reported
through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
or through other reports required by state or federal law or rule or
court order and that is used by the agency to make a determination
relating to public school accountability, including accreditation,
under this chapter; or
(12) [(15)] when 10 percent or more of the students
graduating in a particular school year from a particular high
school campus are awarded a diploma based on the determination of an
individual graduation committee under Section 28.0258[;
[(16) when a school district for any reason fails to
produce, at the request of the agency, evidence or an investigation
report relating to an educator who is under investigation by the
State Board for Educator Certification; or
[(17) as the commissioner otherwise determines
necessary].
(c-1) If the commissioner does not authorize a special
investigation under Subsection (a)(5) through (12) in response to a
complaint submitted to the agency within 90 days of receiving that
complaint, the complainant may report the matter to the division of
inspector general established under Subchapter E, Chapter 7, for
investigation.
SECTION 7. Section 39.0302(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) During an agency investigation or audit of a school
district under Section 39.0301(e) or (f), a special investigation
under Section 39.003(a)(5) [39.003(a)(8)] or (11) [(14)], a
compliance review under Section 21.006(k), 22.093(l), or 22.096, or
an investigation by the State Board for Educator Certification of
an educator for an alleged violation of an assessment instrument
security procedure established under Section 39.0301(a), the
commissioner may issue a subpoena to compel the attendance of a
relevant witness or the production, for inspection or copying, of
relevant evidence that is located in this state.
SECTION 8. 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, 2025.