Bill Text: TX SB520 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relating to state interventions and sanctions against public school campuses with unacceptable performance and the establishment of the Texas Opportunity School District for educating students at certain low-performing campuses.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-18 - Referred to Education [SB520 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-SB520-Introduced.html

---

By: West S.B. No. 520

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state interventions and sanctions against public school
campuses with unacceptable performance and the establishment of the
Texas Opportunity School District for educating students at certain
low-performing campuses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the Low
Performing Campus Intervention Act.
SECTION 2. Chapter 11, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter I to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I. TEXAS OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Sec. 11.401. TEXAS OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
ESTABLISHED. (a) The Texas Opportunity School District is
established as a school district under this code and an
intermediate educational unit under 34 C.F.R. Section 222.50 for
the purpose of educating students attending a campus removed from
the jurisdiction of a school district under Section 39.1071.
(b) In this subchapter, "prior system" means the school
district from which a campus that is transferred to the
jurisdiction of the opportunity school district was removed.
(c) The commissioner shall select the superintendent of the
opportunity school district and employ central administrative
staff, who may be employees of the agency. The superintendent shall
report to the commissioner under a written contract for services.
(d) The opportunity school district does not have authority
to impose taxes but has authority to seek and expend federal funding
and grant funding and to otherwise seek, obtain, and expend funding
with the same authority as an independent school district.
(e) The opportunity school district may provide for the
supervision, management, and operation of each campus placed under
the district's jurisdiction and receive, control, and expend the
local, state, and federal funding attributable to that campus, with
all the same power and authority as the prior system, subject to the
requirements of this subchapter and Section 39.1071, and with any
other power or authority otherwise granted by law.
(f) The opportunity school district is entitled to the same
level of services provided to other school districts by regional
education service centers, and to participate in any state program
available to school districts, including a purchasing program.
(g) The opportunity school district may not contract with a
private entity for providing educational services to the students
attending a campus transferred to the district, other than an
eligible entity, as defined by Section 12.101, that holds a charter
granted under Chapter 12 and has:
(1) operated one or more open-enrollment charter
schools in this state for three or more consecutive years;
(2) achieved a district rating of exemplary or
recognized under Subchapter G, Chapter 39, or the equivalent under
subsequent laws or rules regarding accountability ratings for three
of the preceding five years;
(3) documented success in whole school interventions
that increased the educational and performance levels of students
in campuses that received unacceptable performance ratings under
Section 39.054; and
(4) demonstrated success in educating populations of
students similar to the populations of students enrolled at the
campus transferred to the district.
(h) The opportunity school district may employ such staff as
the superintendent deems necessary.
Sec. 11.402. CAMPUSES ELIGIBLE FOR TRANSFER. A campus is
eligible for transfer to the jurisdiction of the opportunity school
district only if the school district from which the campus is to be
transferred has at least 20,000 students enrolled in the district
at the time the campus is to be transferred.
Sec. 11.403. APPLICABILITY OF LAWS, RULES, AND ORDINANCES
TO OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) Except as expressly provided
by law, the opportunity school district is subject to federal and
state laws and rules and municipal zoning ordinances governing
school districts.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) and as expressly
provided by other law, the opportunity school district is subject
to a provision of this title to the extent and in the manner that the
provision applies to an open-enrollment charter school under
Subchapter D, Chapter 12.
(c) A teacher employed by the opportunity school district
must be certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, and may only teach
a subject in which the teacher is certified.
(d) The performance of a campus under the jurisdiction of
the opportunity school district may not be used for purposes of
determining the prior system's performance rating under Section
39.054.
(e) With respect to the operation of the opportunity school
district, any requirement in Chapter 551 or 552, Government Code,
or another law that concerns open meetings or the availability of
information that applies to a school district, the board of
trustees of a school district, or public school students applies to
the opportunity school district, the superintendent of the
district, or students attending the district.
Sec. 11.404. IMMUNITY. The opportunity school district is
immune from liability to the same extent as any other school
district, and the district's employees and volunteers are immune
from liability to the same extent as other school district
employees and volunteers.
Sec. 11.405. MEMBERSHIP IN TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF
TEXAS BY OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES. (a) An employee
of the opportunity school district who qualifies for membership in
the Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall be covered under the
system to the same extent a qualified employee of any other school
district is covered.
(b) For each employee of the opportunity school district
covered under the system, the district is responsible for making
any contribution that otherwise would be the legal responsibility
of the district, and the state is responsible for making
contributions to the same extent it would be legally responsible if
the employee were that of another school district.
Sec. 11.406. FUNDING OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN OPPORTUNITY
SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) The opportunity school district is entitled
to receive for the education of students transferred to the
district funding under Chapter 42 equal to the amount of funding per
student in weighted average daily attendance to which the prior
system would be entitled under Chapter 42 if the prior system were a
school district without a tier one local share for purposes of
Section 42.253.
(b) In determining funding for the opportunity school
district under Subsection (a), adjustments under Sections 42.102,
42.103, 42.104, and 42.105 are based on the actual adjustment for
the prior system. In addition to the funding provided by Subsection
(a), the opportunity school district is entitled to receive
enrichment funding under Section 42.302 based on the actual amount
for the prior system.
(c) In determining funding for the opportunity school
district under Subsection (a), the commissioner shall apply the
same adjustment factor provided under Section 42.101 to calculate
the regular program allotment as for the prior system. This
subsection expires September 1, 2017.
(d) The opportunity school district is entitled to funds
that are available to other school districts from the agency or the
commissioner in the form of grants or other discretionary funding.
The district is entitled to a pro rata share of all revenue to the
prior system from the agency or the commissioner in the form of
grants or other discretionary funding.
(e) The opportunity school district is entitled to share in
the available school fund apportionment and other privileges in the
same manner as the prior system. The district shall report its
student attendance and receive funding in the same manner as any
other district.
(f) For purposes of calculating the amount of the prior
system's obligations and entitlements under Chapters 41 and 42,
students transferred to the opportunity school district who would
otherwise have attended the prior system are not counted in
calculating the average daily attendance of the prior system.
(f-1) For purposes of calculating the prior system's
allotments under Chapter 46, students transferred to the
opportunity school district who would otherwise have attended the
prior system are counted in calculating the average daily
attendance of the prior system.
(g) The commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
implement this section.
Sec. 11.407. FACILITIES SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN
OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. (a) The opportunity school district
is entitled to use any school building and all facilities and
property otherwise part of the campus and recognized as part of the
facilities or assets of the campus before the campus was placed in
the district. The district is entitled to access to such additional
facilities as were typically available to the campus, its students,
and faculty and staff before the campus was placed in the district.
Such use may not be restricted, except that the opportunity school
district is responsible for and obligated to provide for routine
maintenance and repair such that the facilities and property are
maintained in as good an order as when the right of use was acquired
by the district.
(b) If a dispute arises between the opportunity school
district and the prior system regarding the maintenance and repair
of facilities, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee
shall determine each entity's responsibilities concerning the
maintenance and repair. A determination under this subsection
regarding each entity's responsibilities is final and may not be
appealed.
Sec. 11.408. OTHER SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN
OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. The opportunity school district may
require the prior system to provide school support or student
support services for a campus transferred from the prior system's
jurisdiction, including student transportation, school food
service, or student assessment for special education eligibility
that are compliant with all laws and rules governing such services.
The opportunity school district shall reimburse the actual cost of
such services to the prior system. If a dispute arises between the
opportunity school district and the prior system regarding the
actual cost of services to be reimbursed, the commissioner or the
commissioner's designee shall determine the cost to be reimbursed.
A determination under this subsection regarding the cost of
services to be reimbursed is final and may not be appealed.
Sec. 11.409. EXPENDITURES FOR SUPPORT OF STUDENTS ENROLLED
IN OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Funds received by the opportunity
school district under Section 11.406 shall be used for the
operation and administration of campuses transferred from prior
systems to the district.
Sec. 11.410. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF CAMPUSES. (a) The
commissioner may transfer to the jurisdiction of the opportunity
school district not more than:
(1) five campuses during the state fiscal biennium
beginning September 1, 2015; and
(2) five campuses during the state fiscal biennium
beginning September 1, 2017.
(b) The opportunity school district may not contain more
than 10 campuses at any time.
Sec. 11.411. APPLICATION OF SUNSET ACT; REPORT. (a) The
Texas Opportunity School District is subject to Chapter 325,
Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence
as provided by that chapter, the opportunity school district is
abolished and this subchapter expires September 1, 2027.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2026, the Sunset Advisory
Commission shall evaluate the opportunity school district and
submit a report on that evaluation and the commission's
recommendations in relation to the opportunity school district to
the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and the presiding officer of each legislative
standing committee with primary jurisdiction over primary and
secondary education.
SECTION 3. Subsection (f), Section 39.106, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
if the commissioner determines that a campus for which an
intervention is ordered under Subsection (a) is not fully
implementing the campus intervention team's recommendations or
targeted improvement plan or updated plan, the commissioner may
order the reconstitution of the campus as provided by Section
39.107 or the removal of the campus to the opportunity school
district established by Subchapter I, Chapter 11.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 39.107, Education Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39.107. RECONSTITUTION, REMOVAL, REPURPOSING,
ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT, AND CLOSURE.
SECTION 5. Section 39.107, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding Subsections (a-2),
(a-3), (a-4), and (k-1) to read as follows:
(a) After a campus has been identified as unacceptable for
two consecutive school years, the commissioner shall determine
whether the district has instituted meaningful change, including
reconstituting the staff or leadership at the campus. If the
commissioner determines that the campus has instituted meaningful
change, the commissioner may reevaluate the campus under this
subsection following the conclusion of the subsequent school year.
If the commissioner determines that the campus has not instituted
meaningful change, the commissioner shall, based on the
commissioner's determination of the best remedy for the campus:
(1) order the reconstitution of the campus under this
section;
(2) subject to Sections 11.402 and 11.410, order the
removal of the campus to the opportunity school district as
provided by Section 39.1071;
(3) approve a plan by the board of trustees for the
district to operate the campus in the manner provided for the
operation of an open-enrollment charter school under Subchapter D,
Chapter 12, with all applicable exemptions from application of laws
that apply to school districts but not to open-enrollment charter
schools, for a period not to exceed two school years, after the
expiration of which the commissioner shall remove the campus to the
opportunity school district if the campus is identified as
unacceptable during the final year of its operation in accordance
with this subdivision; or
(4) require the district to contract for appropriate
technical assistance, if the commissioner determines the basis for
the campus being identified as unacceptable is limited to a
specific condition the campus may overcome with appropriate
technical assistance.
(a-1) In making a determination regarding action to be taken
under this section, the commissioner shall seek and give
considerable weight to recommendations from parents of students
enrolled at the campus and members of the community who reside in
the attendance zone of the campus.
(a-2) In reconstituting a campus, a campus intervention
team, with the involvement and advice of the school community
partnership team, if applicable, shall assist the campus in:
(1) developing an updated targeted improvement plan;
(2) submitting the updated targeted improvement plan
to the board of trustees of the school district for approval and
presenting the plan in a public hearing as provided by Section
39.106(e-1);
(3) obtaining approval of the updated plan from the
commissioner; and
(4) executing the plan on approval by the
commissioner.
(a-3) The campus intervention team or a school community
partnership team shall develop information regarding campus
performance and available options for improving campus performance
that may be provided to interested parties on request.
(a-4) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the commissioner may
refrain from taking action otherwise required under that subsection
against a campus based on campus performance for the 2014-2015
school year and preceding school years. If the commissioner takes
action, the commissioner may not order the reconstitution of the
campus and may only take other actions authorized by law. This
subsection expires September 1, 2018.
(k-1) A managing entity may not assume management of a
campus under this section if a member of the entity's management and
leadership team provided any input to the commissioner regarding
the commissioner's determination under Subsection (a).
SECTION 6. Subchapter E, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.1071 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.1071. REMOVAL OF CAMPUS TO OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL
DISTRICT. (a) In this section, "prior system" has the meaning
assigned by Section 11.401(b).
(b) As provided by Section 39.107, the commissioner may
order the removal of a campus to the opportunity school district
established by Subchapter I, Chapter 11.
(c) The students assigned to attend the campus or the
students who would have been eligible to attend the campus if the
campus had remained in the prior system may choose to attend the
campus under the jurisdiction of the opportunity school district or
may exercise an option, made available by the prior system, to
attend another campus remaining under the jurisdiction of the prior
system.
(d) Students who were eligible to attend a campus under the
prior system or who would have been eligible to attend the campus if
the campus had remained in the prior system may attend that campus
at the opportunity school district. Other students eligible to
attend a campus of the prior system other than the campus
transferred to the opportunity school district may choose to attend
the campus transferred to the opportunity school district if the
campus has the ability to enroll more students.
(e) Effective on a date determined by the commissioner after
consulting with the superintendent of the opportunity school
district, a campus subject to this section shall be removed from the
jurisdiction of the school district and transferred to the
jurisdiction of the opportunity school district. On that date, the
school district from which the campus was removed becomes the prior
system.
(f) The removed campus shall be reorganized and reformed, as
necessary, and operated by the opportunity school district.
(g) The superintendent of the opportunity school district
shall decide which educators may be retained at that campus in the
superintendent's sole discretion. If the opportunity school
district does not retain an educator, that educator may be assigned
to another position by the prior system.
(h) A certified teacher with regular and direct
responsibility for providing classroom instruction to students who
is employed at the removed campus by the prior system shall be given
priority consideration for employment in a comparable position by
the opportunity school district's superintendent. A person
employed by the prior system at a removed campus may choose to
remain in the employ of the prior system, and in that case, the
prior system shall retain and reassign the person consistent with
the prior system's contractual obligations or policies regarding
the retention and reassignment of employees.
(i) For the purposes of any benefit or right requiring
continuous service or based on years of service, the prior system
shall grant a leave of absence to a person employed by the
opportunity school district who was employed at a campus when the
campus was removed under this section. The prior system shall
consider the period during which the opportunity school district
operates the campus to be service time with the prior system if the
employee returns to the prior system's employment, but the prior
system is not required to provide benefits during such leave.
(j) The benefits and privileges of any person employed in a
campus by the opportunity school district who was not employed by
the prior system at the time the campus was removed to the
opportunity school district shall be those determined by the
opportunity school district at the time of such employment in
compliance with applicable law.
(k) The opportunity school district shall retain
jurisdiction over any campus removed to the district until the
commissioner, on the recommendation of the opportunity school
district's superintendent, enters into an agreement with the prior
system for return of the campus to the prior system.
(l) When a campus in the opportunity school district
achieves an acceptable level of performance under this chapter, the
commissioner shall direct the opportunity school district to seek
agreement for the return of the campus to the prior system. An
agreement between the commissioner and the prior system for the
return of the campus shall include:
(1) details for the operation of the campus by the
prior system, including provisions for the continuation of the
programs that have provided the basis for the academic achievement
by the students;
(2) provisions for the employment status of all
persons employed by the opportunity school district who were not
employed by the prior system at the time the campus was removed to
the opportunity school district; and
(3) provisions for the means and timetable for the
campus's transition and return to the prior system.
(m) If a campus has been operating under arrangements
established by the opportunity school district for three years, or
two years if the commissioner determines that the campus has not
made meaningful progress during those two years, and the campus has
failed during that period of three or two years, as applicable, to
achieve an acceptable level of performance under this chapter, the
commissioner shall return the campus to the prior system or, in
accordance with Subsection (n), close the campus.
(n) For purposes of this subsection, "parent" has the
meaning assigned by Section 12.051. If the commissioner is
presented, in the time and manner specified by commissioner rule, a
written petition signed by the parents of a majority of the students
enrolled at a campus to which Subsection (m) applies specifying
that the parents prefer the commissioner to close the campus, the
commissioner shall close the campus. For purposes of this
subsection, the signature of only one parent of a student is
required.
(o) On request, the commissioner and the superintendent of
the opportunity school district shall provide information
concerning the new operations and performance of a campus to the
prior system.
(p) A campus operated by the opportunity school district may
change its name only on agreement of the prior system and the
opportunity school district. A diploma issued to a student who
graduates from high school at a campus operated by the opportunity
school district must bear the name of the prior system.
(q) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
this section.
SECTION 7. Section 39.108, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.108. ANNUAL REVIEW. (a) The commissioner shall
review annually the performance of a district or campus subject to
this subchapter to determine the appropriate actions to be
implemented under this subchapter. The commissioner must review at
least annually the performance of a district for which the
accreditation status or rating has been lowered due to insufficient
student performance and may not raise the accreditation status or
rating until the district has demonstrated improved student
performance. If the review reveals a lack of improvement, the
commissioner shall increase the level of state intervention and
sanction unless the commissioner finds good cause for maintaining
the current status.
(b) The review required by Subsection (a) shall form the
basis of the reporting required by Section 39.332(b)(24).
SECTION 8. Subsection (b), Section 39.332, Education Code,
is amended by adding Subdivision (24) to read as follows:
(24) The report must contain a listing and description
of the status of each campus under the jurisdiction of the
opportunity school district and a summary of the reforms
implemented and progress of the campus.
SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2015-2016
school year.
SECTION 10. 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, 2015.