89R5534 BCH-D
By: Hughes S.B. No. 813
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of grievance boards with concurrent
jurisdiction over certain appeals involving the administration of
public education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 8, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. GRIEVANCE BOARDS
Sec. 8.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "grievance
board" means a grievance board established under this subchapter by
the executive director of a regional education service center.
Sec. 8.202. ESTABLISHMENT. The executive director of each
regional education service center shall establish and operate a
grievance board. A grievance board shall exercise jurisdiction
only within the regional boundaries of the center, as established
by the commissioner under Section 8.001(c).
Sec. 8.203. COMPOSITION. A grievance board is composed of
five members appointed by the executive director of each regional
education service center as follows:
(1) one member who is a school administrator employed
by a school district served by the center;
(2) two members who are classroom teachers employed by
a school district served by the center; and
(3) two members who are parents of students attending
public schools located in a school district served by the center.
Sec. 8.204. DUTIES AND POWERS. (a) A person may appeal in
writing to a grievance board established under this subchapter a
grievance over which the board has jurisdiction in the same manner
in which an appeal is made to the commissioner under Section 7.057,
as provided by Subsection (b).
(b) A grievance board has concurrent jurisdiction with the
commissioner regarding a grievance that may be appealed under
Section 7.057 if:
(1) the person aggrieved resides within the regional
boundaries of the regional education service center;
(2) the grievance involves:
(A) an action or decision of the board of
trustees of a school district served by the regional education
service center;
(B) the school laws of this state; or
(C) a provision of a written employment contract
between a school district served by the regional education service
center and a school district employee, if the violation causes or
would cause monetary harm to the employee; and
(3) the person aggrieved appeals to the grievance
board not later than the 60th day after the person exhausts the
person's options under the grievance procedure established by the
board of trustees of a school district under Section 26.011.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d) and subject to
Subsection (e), a grievance board shall hold a hearing and issue a
decision without cost to the parties involved not later than the
60th day after the date an appeal is filed with the grievance board.
(d) Subject to Subsection (e), in an appeal involving the
actions or decisions of the board of trustees of a school district,
a grievance board shall, not later than the 90th day after the date
the appeal is filed, hold a hearing and issue a decision based on a
review of the record developed at the district level under a
substantial evidence standard of review.
(e) The parties to an appeal to a grievance board may agree
in writing to extend, by not more than 30 days, the period for a
hearing and decision under Subsection (c) or (d), as applicable.
(f) A grievance board may issue a decision only by the
majority vote of its members.
(g) A person is not required to appeal to a grievance board
before:
(1) appealing to the commissioner under Section 7.057;
or
(2) pursuing a remedy under a law:
(A) outside of Title 1 or this title to which
Title 1 or this title makes reference; or
(B) with which Title 1 or this title requires
compliance.
(h) A person may file an appeal either with a grievance
board established under this subchapter or with the commissioner
under Section 7.057, but may not file an appeal with respect to the
same grievance with both a grievance board and the commissioner.
Sec. 8.205. HEARINGS. In conducting a hearing under this
subchapter, each member of a grievance board has the same authority
relating to discovery and conduct of a hearing as a hearing examiner
has under Subchapter F, Chapter 21.
Sec. 8.206. OFFICERS. A grievance board shall elect from
among its members by a majority vote the chair of the board. The
chair serves a term of one year.
Sec. 8.207. TERM OF OFFICE. The board members serve
staggered terms of two years, with the terms of two members expiring
on January 1 of each even-numbered year and the terms of three
members expiring on January 1 of each odd-numbered year.
Sec. 8.208. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBER. (a) It is
a ground for removal from a grievance board that a member:
(1) commits malfeasance of office;
(2) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
term;
(3) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled board meetings that the member is eligible to attend
during a calendar year, unless the absence is excused by majority
vote of the board;
(4) does not have at the time of appointment the
qualifications required by Section 8.203; or
(5) does not maintain during service on the board the
qualifications required by Section 8.203.
(b) The validity of an action of a grievance board is not
affected by the fact that it was taken when a ground for removal of a
board member existed.
Sec. 8.209. COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT. A member of a
grievance board is not entitled to compensation from the regional
educational service center but is entitled to reimbursement with
center funds for necessary expenses incurred in performing duties
as a board member.
Sec. 8.210. JUDICIAL REVIEW. (a) A person aggrieved by a
board's decision may appeal to a district court with jurisdiction
over the county in which the regional education service center that
established the grievance board is located.
(b) If the aggrieved party is a school district, the appeal
may be filed in a district court with jurisdiction over the county
in which the school district is located.
(c) An appeal under this section must be made by serving the
board's chair with citation issued and served in the manner
provided by law for civil suits. The petition must state the action
or decision from which the appeal is taken. At trial, the court
shall determine all issues of law and fact, except as provided by
Section 33.081(g).
SECTION 2. (a) Not later than January 1, 2026, each
executive director of a regional education service center shall:
(1) provide for the establishment and operation of a
grievance board, as required by Section 8.202, Education Code, as
added by this Act; and
(2) appoint the members of the center's grievance
board, as required by Section 8.203, Education Code, as added by
this Act.
(b) A grievance board established under Subchapter F,
Chapter 8, Education Code, as added by this Act, may not take action
until a majority of the members of the board have taken office.
SECTION 3. This Act applies only to an appeal brought on or
after the effective date of this Act. An appeal brought before the
effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect on the
date the appeal was brought, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.