| 2 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 5 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 5 | 7 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 6 | 8 | | relating to the review of school districts by the Sunset Advisory |
|---|
| 7 | 9 | | Commission. |
|---|
| 8 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 9 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 325, Government Code, is amended by |
|---|
| 10 | 12 | | adding Section 325.026 to read as follows: |
|---|
| 11 | 13 | | Sec. 325.026. REVIEW OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. (a) In this |
|---|
| 12 | 14 | | section, "education service center region" means a geographic |
|---|
| 13 | 15 | | region served by a regional education service center under Chapter |
|---|
| 14 | 16 | | 8, Education Code. |
|---|
| 15 | 17 | | (b) The commission shall review the operations and conduct a |
|---|
| 16 | 18 | | forensic audit of certain independent school districts or |
|---|
| 17 | 19 | | consolidated school districts. The commission shall review two |
|---|
| 18 | 20 | | school districts each review cycle. The school districts |
|---|
| 19 | 21 | | identified for review by the commission under this section are |
|---|
| 20 | 22 | | subject to the requirements of this chapter as if they were a state |
|---|
| 21 | 23 | | agency but may not be abolished. |
|---|
| 22 | 24 | | (c) Not later than October 31 of each odd-numbered year, the |
|---|
| 23 | 25 | | commission shall select an education service center region from |
|---|
| 24 | 26 | | which the school districts to be reviewed will be selected. The |
|---|
| 25 | 27 | | commission shall review the school district within the selected |
|---|
| 26 | 28 | | region that has the lowest instructional spending per student and |
|---|
| 27 | 29 | | the school district within the selected region that has the highest |
|---|
| 28 | 30 | | instructional spending per student according to the most recent |
|---|
| 29 | 31 | | information reported to the Texas Education Agency. |
|---|
| 30 | 32 | | (d) The commission shall prepare a report identifying areas |
|---|
| 31 | 33 | | of each district's operations that do not effectively or |
|---|
| 32 | 34 | | efficiently use the district's funds and that detract from |
|---|
| 33 | 35 | | instructional spending and make recommendations to address its |
|---|
| 34 | 36 | | findings. The commission's review may also include recommendations |
|---|
| 35 | 37 | | related to the district's governance, management, operating |
|---|
| 36 | 38 | | structure, and compliance with legislative requirements. |
|---|
| 37 | 39 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
|---|