2017S0412-1 03/07/17
	By: Kolkhorst	S.B. No. 1566

	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 compel a school district's chief financial
	officer or chief academic officer 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 compelled by the
	board under this subsection.
	SECTION 2.  Section 11.1512, Education Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
	follows:
	(c)  A member of the board of trustees of the district, when
	acting in the member's official capacity, has an inherent right of
	access to information, documents, and records maintained by the
	district, and the district shall provide the information,
	documents, and records to the member without requiring the member
	to submit a public information request under Chapter 552,
	Government Code. The district shall provide the information,
	documents, and records to the member not later than the 20th
	business day after the date the district receives a request,
	without regard to whether the requested items are the subject of or
	relate to an item listed on an agenda for an upcoming meeting. The
	district may withhold or redact information, a document, or a
	record requested by a member of the board to the extent that the
	item is excepted from disclosure or is confidential under Chapter
	552, Government Code, or other law. This subsection does not
	require the district to provide information, documents, and records
	that are not subject to disclosure under the Family Educational
	Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g).
	(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.  Section 11.1513, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
	(k)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), the board of
	trustees may employ or dismiss a chief financial officer, a chief
	academic officer, or a person holding an equivalent position.
	SECTION 4.  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 is responsible for overseeing
	student academic achievement and 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 a secure Internet website that
	members of the board may use to review campus and district academic
	achievement data.
	(b)  The website must:
	(1)  include district information, disaggregated by
	campus, grade, 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 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 a website under this section.
	(e)  The agency may contract with a private entity as
	necessary to implement this section.
	(f)  All information and reports created or received by the
	commissioner under this section from a district are considered
	confidential under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be
	disclosed in any public or private setting.
	(g)  The commissioner may adopt rules for the implementation
	of this section.
	SECTION 5.  Section 11.157, Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 11.157.  CONTRACTS FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICES. (a)  The
	board of trustees of an independent school district may contract
	with a public or private entity for that entity to provide
	educational services for the district.
	(b)  The board of trustees by a majority vote may require a
	two-thirds vote for the renewal of a contract described by
	Subsection (a).
	SECTION 6.  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 during a calendar year must reflect
	whether each trustee has met or is delinquent in meeting the
	training required to be completed as of the date of the meeting. If
	the minutes reflect that a trustee is delinquent, the district
	shall post notice of the delinquency on the district's Internet
	website within two weeks of discovering the delinquency 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 on evaluating student
	academic performance each year. The agency shall create the
	training on evaluating student academic performance and certify a
	trustee's completion of the training. A candidate for trustee may
	complete the training 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 annually.
	(d)  A trustee or candidate for trustee may complete training
	required under Subsection (c) at a regional education service
	center.
	SECTION 7.  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 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 that the commissioner shall require a board
	to use the evaluation tool if:
	(1)  the district has received an overall performance
	rating of D or F under Section 39.054 for two of the preceding three
	school years; or
	(2)  the commissioner determines the board is
	ineffectively managing the district.
	(c)  The commissioner may adopt rules for the implementation
	of this section.
	SECTION 8.  Section 11.201(b), Education Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  The board of trustees of an independent school district
	may employ by contract a superintendent for a term not to exceed
	five years. If approved by a majority vote of the board, the board
	may specify in a superintendent's contract that the contract may be
	renewed only with a two-thirds vote of the board.
	SECTION 9.  The heading to Section 12.064, Education Code,
	is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 12.064.  PROCEDURE FOR PLACEMENT ON PROBATION, [OR]
	REVOCATION, OR RENEWAL.
	SECTION 10.  Section 12.064, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
	(c)  The board of trustees by a majority vote may require a
	two-thirds vote for the renewal of a charter under this subchapter.
	SECTION 11.  Section 39.057(a), Education Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(a)  The commissioner may authorize special accreditation
	investigations to be conducted:
	(1)  when excessive numbers of absences of students
	eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are
	determined;
	(2)  when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions
	from the required state assessment instruments are determined;
	(3)  in response to complaints submitted to the agency
	with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other
	requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;
	(4)  in response to established compliance reviews of
	the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal
	program requirements;
	(5)  when extraordinary numbers of student placements
	in disciplinary alternative education programs, other than
	placements under Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined;
	(6)  in response to an allegation involving a conflict
	between members of the board of trustees or between the board and
	the district administration if it appears that the conflict
	involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the
	administration clearly defined by this code;
	(7)  when excessive numbers of students in special
	education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, are assessed
	through assessment instruments developed or adopted under Section
	39.023(b);
	(8)  in response to an allegation regarding or an
	analysis using a statistical method result indicating a possible
	violation of an assessment instrument security procedure
	established under Section 39.0301, including for the purpose of
	investigating or auditing a school district under that section;
	(9)  when a significant pattern of decreased academic
	performance has developed as a result of the promotion in the
	preceding two school years of students who did not perform
	satisfactorily as determined by the commissioner under Section
	39.0241(a) on assessment instruments administered under Section
	39.023(a), (c), or (l);
	(10)  when excessive numbers of students eligible to
	enroll fail to complete an Algebra II course or any other advanced
	course as determined by the commissioner;
	(11)  when resource allocation practices as evaluated
	under Section 39.0821 indicate a potential for significant
	improvement in resource allocation;
	(12)  when a disproportionate number of students of a
	particular demographic group is graduating with a particular
	endorsement under Section 28.025(c-1);
	(13)  when an excessive number of students is
	graduating with a particular endorsement under Section
	28.025(c-1);
	(14)  in response to a complaint submitted to the
	agency with respect to alleged inaccurate data that is reported
	through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
	or through other reports required by state or federal law or rule or
	court order and that is used by the agency to make a determination
	relating to public school accountability, including accreditation,
	under this chapter; [or]
	(15)  when the commissioner determines the board is
	ineffectively managing the district; or
	(16)  as the commissioner otherwise determines
	necessary.
	SECTION 12.  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 13.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.