By: Kolkhorst	S.B. No. 1566
	(In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2017; March 21, 2017, read
	first time and referred to Committee on Education; April 18, 2017,
	reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
	following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 0; April 18, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1566	By:  Taylor of Collin

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to certain powers and duties of the board of trustees of an
	independent school district and the governing body of an
	open-enrollment charter school.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 11.1511, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
	(d)  The board may require a school district's chief business
	official or curriculum director or a person holding an equivalent
	position to appear at an executive session of the board or to
	testify at a public hearing held by the board. A superintendent may
	not interfere with an appearance or testimony required by the board
	under this subsection.
	SECTION 2.  Section 11.1512, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (c-1) and (g) to read as follows:
	(c-1)  Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a
	district shall provide a member of the board of trustees with
	information, documents, and records requested under Subsection (c)
	not later than the 20th business day after the date the district
	receives the request. The district may take a reasonable
	additional period of time, not to exceed the 30th business day after
	the date the district receives the request, to respond to a request
	if compliance by the 20th business day would be unduly burdensome
	given the amount, age, or location of the requested information.
	The district shall inform the trustee of the reason for the delay in
	providing the requested information and the date by which the
	information will be provided.
	(g)  A district shall create a policy on visits to a district
	campus or other facility by a member of the board of trustees of the
	district.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Sections 11.1515 and 11.1516 to read as follows:
	Sec. 11.1515.  OVERSIGHT OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. The board
	of trustees of an independent school district or the governing body
	of an open-enrollment charter school shall provide oversight
	regarding student academic achievement and strategic leadership
	for maximizing student performance.
	Sec. 11.1516.  DISTRICT DATA ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
	(a)  On request by the board of trustees of an independent school
	district, the agency shall create an Internet website that members
	of the board may use to review campus and district academic
	achievement data.  The website must also be made available to
	campuses in a similar manner that access is provided to the board.
	(b)  The Internet website must:
	(1)  include district information, disaggregated by
	campus, grade, sex, race, academic quarter or semester, as
	applicable, and school year, regarding the following:
	(A)  student academic achievement and growth;
	(B)  teacher and student attendance; and
	(C)  student discipline records; and
	(2)  be updated at least once each quarter of the school
	year.
	(c)  The commissioner shall provide information that permits
	a board member to compare the district's academic performance with
	the academic performance of other districts of similar size and
	racial and economic demographics.
	(d)  A district must provide requested information to the
	commissioner for the creation of an Internet website under this
	section.
	(e)  Confidential information received by the commissioner
	under this section from a district remains confidential. The
	commissioner shall design the Internet website to ensure that:
	(1)  public information is made available to the
	public; and
	(2)  information submitted by districts noted as
	confidential is not made available to the public.
	(f)  A request for public information under this section
	shall be submitted to the district that provides the agency with the
	information. The agency may not release information submitted by a
	district that is noted as confidential information.
	(g)  The agency may contract with a private entity as
	necessary to implement this section.
	(h)  The commissioner may adopt rules for the implementation
	of this section.
	SECTION 4.  Section 11.159, Education Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read
	as follows:
	(b)  A trustee must complete any training required by the
	State Board of Education. The minutes of the last regular meeting
	of the board of trustees held before an election of trustees [during
	a calendar year] must reflect whether each trustee has met or is
	deficient [delinquent] in meeting the training required for the
	trustee [to be completed] as of the first anniversary of the date of
	the trustee's election or appointment [date of the meeting].  If the
	minutes reflect that a trustee is deficient, the district shall
	post the minutes on the district's Internet website within 10
	business days of the meeting and maintain the posting until the
	trustee meets the requirements.
	(c)  The State Board of Education shall require a trustee to
	complete at least three hours of training every two years on
	evaluating student academic performance. The training must be
	research-based and designed to support the oversight role of the
	board of trustees under Section 11.1515.  A candidate for trustee
	may complete the training up to one year before the candidate is
	elected. A new trustee shall complete the training within 120 days
	after the date of the trustee's election or appointment. A
	returning trustee shall complete the training by the second
	anniversary of the completion of the trustee's previous training.
	(d)  A trustee or candidate for trustee may complete training
	required under Subsection (c) at a regional education service
	center or through another authorized provider.  A provider must
	certify the completion of the training by a trustee or candidate.
	SECTION 5.  Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 11.182 to read as follows:
	Sec. 11.182.  BOARD IMPROVEMENT AND EVALUATION TOOL.
	(a)  The commissioner shall develop a board of trustees improvement
	and evaluation tool. The evaluation tool must be research-based
	and designed to assist a school district in improving board
	oversight and academic achievement.
	(b)  A board of trustees may determine whether to use the
	evaluation tool, except as required by Section 39.102(a).
	SECTION 6.  Section 39.102(a), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  If a school district does not satisfy the accreditation
	criteria under Section 39.052, the academic performance standards
	under Section 39.053 or 39.054, or any financial accountability
	standard as determined by commissioner rule, or if considered
	appropriate by the commissioner on the basis of a special
	accreditation investigation under Section 39.057, the commissioner
	shall take any of the following actions to the extent the
	commissioner determines necessary:
	(1)  issue public notice of the deficiency to the board
	of trustees;
	(2)  order a hearing conducted by the board of trustees
	of the district for the purpose of notifying the public of the
	insufficient performance, the improvements in performance expected
	by the agency, and the interventions and sanctions that may be
	imposed under this section if the performance does not improve;
	(3)  order the preparation of a student achievement
	improvement plan that addresses each academic achievement
	indicator under Section 39.053(c) for which the district's
	performance is insufficient, the submission of the plan to the
	commissioner for approval, and implementation of the plan;
	(4)  order a hearing to be held before the commissioner
	or the commissioner's designee at which the president of the board
	of trustees of the district and the superintendent shall appear and
	explain the district's low performance, lack of improvement, and
	plans for improvement;
	(5)  arrange a monitoring review of the district;
	(6)  appoint an agency monitor to participate in and
	report to the agency on the activities of the board of trustees or
	the superintendent;
	(7)  appoint a conservator to oversee the operations of
	the district;
	(8)  appoint a management team to direct the operations
	of the district in areas of insufficient performance or require the
	district to obtain certain services under a contract with another
	person;
	(9)  if a district has a current accreditation status
	of accredited-warned or accredited-probation, fails to satisfy any
	standard under Section 39.054(e), or fails to satisfy financial
	accountability standards as determined by commissioner rule,
	appoint a board of managers to exercise the powers and duties of the
	board of trustees;
	(10)  if for two consecutive school years, including
	the current school year, a district has received an accreditation
	status of accredited-warned or accredited-probation, has failed to
	satisfy any standard under Section 39.054(e), or has failed to
	satisfy financial accountability standards as determined by
	commissioner rule, revoke the district's accreditation and:
	(A)  order closure of the district and annex the
	district to one or more adjoining districts under Section 13.054;
	or
	(B)  in the case of a home-rule school district or
	open-enrollment charter school, order closure of all programs
	operated under the district's or school's charter; [or]
	(11)  if a district has failed to satisfy any standard
	under Section 39.054(e) due to the district's dropout rates, impose
	sanctions designed to improve high school completion rates,
	including:
	(A)  ordering the development of a dropout
	prevention plan for approval by the commissioner;
	(B)  restructuring the district or appropriate
	school campuses to improve identification of and service to
	students who are at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by
	Section 29.081;
	(C)  ordering lower student-to-counselor ratios
	on school campuses with high dropout rates; and
	(D)  ordering the use of any other intervention
	strategy effective in reducing dropout rates, including mentor
	programs and flexible class scheduling; or
	(12)  order the use of the board improvement and
	evaluation tool as provided by Section 11.182.
	SECTION 7.  Section 39.107(b-1), Education Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(b-1)  A campus turnaround plan must include:
	(1)  a detailed description of the academic programs to
	be offered at the campus, including instructional methods, length
	of school day and school year, academic credit and promotion
	criteria, and programs to serve special student populations;
	(2)  the term of the charter, if a district charter is
	to be granted for the campus under Section 12.0522;
	(3)  written comments from the campus-level committee
	established under Section 11.251, if applicable, parents, and
	teachers at the campus; [and]
	(4)  a detailed description of the budget, staffing,
	and financial resources required to implement the plan, including
	any supplemental resources to be provided by the district or other
	identified sources; and
	(5)  a detailed description for developing and
	supporting the oversight of academic achievement and student
	performance by the board of trustees under Section 11.1515.
	SECTION 8.  A person serving on the board of trustees of a
	school district on the effective date of this Act must complete the
	training required by Section 11.159(c), Education Code, as added by
	this Act, not later than September 1, 2018.
	SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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