Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB877 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	89R8198 MEW-D
2	2	By: Parker S.B. No. 877
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the creation of the office of inspector general at the
10	10	Texas Education Agency to investigate the administration of public
11	11	education.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Chapter 7, Education Code, is amended by adding
14	14	Subchapter E to read as follows:
15	15	SUBCHAPTER E. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
16	16	Sec. 7.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
17	17	(1) "Fraud" means an intentional deception or
18	18	misrepresentation made by a person with the knowledge that the
19	19	deception could result in some unauthorized benefit to that person
20	20	or some other person. The term includes any act that constitutes
21	21	fraud under applicable federal or state law.
22	22	(2) "Local education agency" includes a school
23	23	district or county system described by Subchapter G, Chapter 11.
24	24	(3) "Office" means the office of inspector general
25	25	established under this subchapter.
26	26	Sec. 7.152. OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL. (a) The office of
27	27	inspector general is established as a division within the agency.
28	28	(b) The commissioner shall appoint an inspector general to
29	29	serve as director of the office. The inspector general serves until
30	30	removed by the commissioner.
31	31	(c) The agency shall provide staff and administrative
32	32	resources and support services as necessary to ensure
33	33	investigations and reviews authorized by this subchapter are
34	34	conducted expeditiously.
35	35	Sec. 7.153. GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES. (a) The office is
36	36	responsible for the investigation, prevention, and detection of
37	37	wrongdoing and of fraud, waste, and abuse in the administration of
38	38	public education by school districts, open-enrollment charter
39	39	schools, regional education service centers, and other local
40	40	education agencies in this state.
41	41	(b) The office may investigate allegations of fraud, waste,
42	42	and abuse and violations of this code or other law.
43	43	(c) The office may:
44	44	(1) conduct civil and administrative investigations
45	45	and initiate reviews of a school district, an open-enrollment
46	46	charter school, a regional education service center, or another
47	47	local education agency as considered appropriate by the inspector
48	48	general;
49	49	(2) receive and investigate complaints from any source
50	50	on its own initiative;
51	51	(3) conduct special investigations authorized by the
52	52	commissioner under Section 39.003(a); and
53	53	(4) make findings of fact that a school district, an
54	54	open-enrollment charter school, a regional education service
55	55	center, or another local education agency or an employee or agent of
56	56	the entity committed an act of wrongdoing, fraud, waste, or abuse in
57	57	the administration of public education and take appropriate action
58	58	as determined by the commissioner, regardless of any time
59	59	requirement relating to the action under Chapter 8, 12, or 39A.
60	60	(d) The commissioner may order the office to conduct a
61	61	forensic audit of any entity over which the office has
62	62	jurisdiction. The entity for which the audit was ordered shall pay
63	63	the costs of the audit.
64	64	(e) The office shall perform all other duties and exercise
65	65	all other powers granted to the office by this subchapter or other
66	66	law.
67	67	Sec. 7.154. GENERAL POWERS. (a) The office has all the
68	68	powers necessary or appropriate to carry out its responsibilities
69	69	and functions under this subchapter and other law.
70	70	(b) Subject to Subsection (c), in conducting an
71	71	investigation under this subchapter of the board of trustees of a
72	72	school district, the governing body of an open-enrollment charter
73	73	school, the board of directors of a regional education service
74	74	center, another local education agency, or the executive leadership
75	75	of any of those entities, the office may:
76	76	(1) attend any meeting or proceeding of the school
77	77	district, open-enrollment charter school, regional education
78	78	service center, or other local education agency, including a
79	79	meeting or proceeding that is closed to the public, except for a
80	80	private consultation of the entity with its attorney permitted
81	81	under Section 551.071, Government Code; and
82	82	(2) inspect the records, documents, and files of the
83	83	school district, open-enrollment charter school, regional
84	84	education service center, or other local education agency,
85	85	including any record, document, or file that is not subject to
86	86	public disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, or other law.
87	87	(c) The office's authority under Subsection (b) applies
88	88	only to a meeting, a proceeding, or information that is relevant to
89	89	the discovery of relevant information regarding an allegation of
90	90	wrongdoing or a violation of this code or other law or of fraud,
91	91	waste, or abuse in the administration of public education by a
92	92	person or entity described by Subsection (b). The office may not
93	93	inspect a record, document, or file that is a privileged
94	94	communication between an individual and the individual's attorney.
95	95	(d) The inspection or disclosure of a record, document, or
96	96	file for purposes of an investigation under this subchapter is not a
97	97	voluntary disclosure under Section 552.007, Government Code. A
98	98	record, document, or file made available to the office for purposes
99	99	of an investigation under this subchapter is not subject to public
100	100	disclosure by the office.
101	101	Sec. 7.155. SUBPOENAS. (a) The inspector general may issue
102	102	a subpoena to compel the attendance of a relevant witness at a
103	103	hearing or deposition under this subchapter or to compel the
104	104	production, for inspection or copying, of books, papers, records,
105	105	documents, or other relevant materials, including electronic data,
106	106	in connection with an investigation, review, hearing, or deposition
107	107	conducted under this subchapter.
108	108	(b) A subpoena may be served personally or by certified
109	109	mail. If a person fails to comply with a subpoena, the inspector
110	110	general, acting through the attorney general, may file suit to
111	111	enforce the subpoena in a district court in this state.
112	112	(c) On finding that good cause exists for issuing the
113	113	subpoena, the court shall order the person to comply with the
114	114	subpoena. The court may hold in contempt a person who fails to obey
115	115	the court order.
116	116	Sec. 7.156. COOPERATION WITH OTHER ENTITIES. The office
117	117	may refer matters for further civil and administrative action to
118	118	appropriate administrative agencies, including the attorney
119	119	general.
120	120	SECTION 2. Section 39.003(a), Education Code, is amended to
121	121	read as follows:
122	122	(a) The commissioner may authorize special investigations
123	123	to be conducted:
124	124	(1) when excessive numbers of absences of students
125	125	eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are
126	126	determined;
127	127	(2) when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions
128	128	from the required state assessment instruments are determined;
129	129	(3) in response to complaints submitted to the agency
130	130	with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other
131	131	requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;
132	132	(4) in response to established compliance reviews of
133	133	the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal
134	134	program requirements;
135	135	(5) when extraordinary numbers of student placements
136	136	in disciplinary alternative education programs, other than
137	137	placements under Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined;
138	138	(6) in response to an allegation involving a conflict
139	139	between members of the board of trustees or between the board and
140	140	the district administration if it appears that the conflict
141	141	involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the
142	142	administration clearly defined by this code;
143	143	(7) when excessive numbers of students in special
144	144	education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, are assessed
145	145	through assessment instruments developed or adopted under Section
146	146	39.023(b);
147	147	(8) in response to an allegation regarding or an
148	148	analysis using a statistical method result indicating a possible
149	149	violation of an assessment instrument security procedure
150	150	established under Section 39.0301, including for the purpose of
151	151	investigating or auditing a school district under that section;
152	152	(9) when a significant pattern of decreased academic
153	153	performance has developed as a result of the promotion in the
154	154	preceding two school years of students who did not perform
155	155	satisfactorily as determined by the commissioner under Section
156	156	39.0241(a) on assessment instruments administered under Section
157	157	39.023(a), (c), or (l);
158	158	(10) when excessive numbers of students eligible to
159	159	enroll fail to complete an Algebra II course or any other advanced
160	160	course as determined by the commissioner;
161	161	(11) when resource allocation practices as evaluated
162	162	under Section 39.0821 indicate a potential for significant
163	163	improvement in resource allocation;
164	164	(12) when a disproportionate number of students of a
165	165	particular demographic group is graduating with a particular
166	166	endorsement under Section 28.025(c-1);
167	167	(13) when an excessive number of students is
168	168	graduating with a particular endorsement under Section
169	169	28.025(c-1);
170	170	(14) in response to a complaint submitted to the
171	171	agency with respect to alleged inaccurate data that is reported
172	172	through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
173	173	or through other reports required by state or federal law or rule or
174	174	court order and that is used by the agency to make a determination
175	175	relating to public school accountability, including accreditation,
176	176	under this chapter;
177	177	(15) when 10 percent or more of the students
178	178	graduating in a particular school year from a particular high
179	179	school campus are awarded a diploma based on the determination of an
180	180	individual graduation committee under Section 28.0258;
181	181	(16) when a school district for any reason fails to
182	182	produce, at the request of the agency, evidence or an investigation
183	183	report relating to an educator who is under investigation by the
184	184	State Board for Educator Certification; [or]
185	185	(17) by the office of inspector general for the
186	186	purpose of investigating allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse in
187	187	the administration of public education; or
188	188	(18) as the commissioner otherwise determines
189	189	necessary.
190	190	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
191	191	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
192	192	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
193	193	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
194	194	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.