Criteria for discretionary renewal. The following criteria
shall be considered by the commissioner of education during the discretionary
renewal process. The commissioner may non-renew a charter contract
based on any of the following:
(1) Academic:
(A) assignment of an "academically unacceptable" rating
as defined in §100.1001(26) of this title (relating to Definitions);
(B) failure to meet academic performance standards
for students not measured in the accountability system;
(C) academic performance of subpopulations; and
(D) failure to meet program requirements for special
populations, including, but not limited to, special education, bilingual/English
as a second language, and career and technical education;
(2) Financial:
(A) failure to use state funds for purposes for which
a school district may use local funds under Texas Education Code (TEC), §45.105(e);
(B) failure to hold state funds in trust for the benefit
of the students of the charter school;
(C) failure to satisfy generally acceptable accounting
standards of fiscal management;
(D) failure to resolve a lien, levy, or other garnishment
within 30 days;
(E) existence of a Foundation School Program (FSP)
allotment subject to a warrant hold and that warrant has not been
removed within 30 days;
(F) failure to timely file annual financial report
required under TEC, §44.008;
(G) existence of an annual financial report containing
adverse, qualified, or disclaimed opinion(s);
(H) assignment of a lower than satisfactory financial
performance rating as defined in §100.1001(27) of this title;
(I) submission of attendance accounting data resulting
in an overallocation from the FSP;
(J) existence of the following interested transactions:
(i) failure to comply with Local Government Code, Chapter
171;
(ii) failure to record and report on the governance
reporting forms all financial transactions between charter school
and non-charter activities of charter holder; and
(iii) failure to timely and accurately record and report
on the governance reporting forms all financial transactions required
in the governance reporting form;
(K) failure to post all financial information, including
the salary of the chief executive officer (CEO), annual financial
statement, most current annual financial report, and approved budget,
on the charter school's website;
(L) payment of salaries of the CEO and/or other administrative
position(s) that exceed reasonable fair market value for the services
provided. Fair market value shall be based on size of school, individual's
education, prior salary history, job duties actually performed, and
what a typical person with similar skills, experience, and job duties
would earn;
(M) renting or purchasing property for amounts in excess
of fair market value;
(N) loss of eligibility to participate in the child
nutrition program for more than 30 days;
(O) charter holder being imminently insolvent as defined
by this chapter;
(P) failure to conduct fiscal mismanagement, including,
but not limited to, the loss of financial records or a material non-compliance
with State Board of Education or commissioner accounting requirements
and failure to comply with the Financial Accountability System Resource
Guide adopted under §109.41 of this title (relating to Financial
Accountability System Resource Guide); and
(Q) failure to comply with applicable purchasing requirements,
including Local Government Code, Chapter 271, if applicable; and
(3) Operational:
(A) Governance:
(i) failure to timely file accurate and complete governance
reporting forms;
(ii) non-compliance with required charter board training;
(iii) failure to timely and accurately report board
training in the annual financial report;
(iv) failure to maintain verification of criminal history
check/fingerprinting;
(v) failure to maintain verification of compliance
with reporting requirements of the Secretary of State, the Family
Code, Open Meetings and Public Information Act, government and local
records, applicability of public purchasing and contracting, and conflicts
of interest and nepotism;
(vi) allowing a person with a criminal record to be
employed or serve as a volunteer, officer, or board member in violation
of TEC, Chapter 12 and Chapter 22;
(vii) failure of an employee or officer of the charter
school to report child abuse or neglect as required by the Family
Code, Chapter 261;
(viii) failure to disclose and report all conflict
of interest and nepotistic relationships to the Texas Education Agency
(TEA) in the applicable minutes of the charter holder's corporate
records;
(ix) failure to submit to the Secretary of State a
listing of all current members of the charter holder, the articles
of incorporation, the by-laws, assumed name, and any other matter
of the corporate business required to be reported to the Secretary
of State; and
(x) failure to maintain the 501(c)(3) status of the
charter holder at all times;
(B) Complaints: failure to timely respond to and correct
any complaints as directed by the TEA;
(C) Property and campus operations (campuses of charter
holders that provide instructional services within residential detention,
treatment, or adjudication facilities are not subject to clauses (ii)
and (iii) of this subparagraph):
(i) operation of any sites that do not meet the definition
of a site according to §100.1001(3)(D) of this title and that
do not serve a minimum of 100 students as reflected in the Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) fall snapshot;
(ii) failure to operate a campus at which at least
50 percent of students are in tested grades;
(iii) failure of the charter holder to serve a minimum
of 100 students, as reflected in the PEIMS fall snapshot, unless a
lower number is declared and approved in the charter contract or approved
by the commissioner;
(iv) failure to document and fully disclose any step
transactions in the purchase or sale of property; and
(v) failure to ensure that all charter holder buildings
used for educational purposes have a valid certificate of occupancy
for educating children;
(D) Activity fees and volunteer requirements:
(i) requiring any activity fees or any compulsory fees
that are not authorized by TEC, §11.158, or other law; and
(ii) requiring any parental involvement, donation,
or volunteerism as a condition of enrollment or continued enrollment;
(E) Management contracts:
(i) charter holder board allowing any entity to exercise
control or ultimate responsibility for the school, including the academic
performance, financial accountability, or operational viability;
(ii) charter holder board not retaining or exercising
ultimate responsibility for the management of the charter school without
regard to execution of a management contract with a charter management
organization (CMO);
(iii) failure to timely file a current copy of the
executed management contract, including any and all amendments, with
the TEA;
(iv) failure of the board of directors of the charter
holder to ensure that both the charter holder and CMO are compliant
with all the rules applicable to charter schools, including, but not
limited to:
(I) financial accounting;
(II) record retention;
(III) health, safety, and welfare of students;
(IV) educational program accountability;
(V) Texas Open Meetings Act;
(VI) Texas Public Information Act; and
(VII) policies, procedures, and legal requirements
found in state and federal laws/guidelines and the charter contract;
and
(v) failure to comply with requirements in §100.1153
of this title (relating to Substantial Interest in Management Company;
Restrictions on Serving) prohibiting a board member from having a
substantial interest in the CMO; and
(F) Charter school performance framework: failure to
satisfy applicable performance framework measures as prescribed in
the Charter School Performance Framework Manual established under
TEC, §12.1181.
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