(a) The commissioner of education shall appoint a monitor,
conservator, management team, or board of managers whenever such action
is required, as determined by this section. Action under any other
section of this subchapter is not a prerequisite to acting under this
section.
(b) The commissioner may appoint a monitor under Texas
Education Code (TEC), §39A.002, when:
(1) the district has an accreditation rating of Accredited-Warned
or Accredited-Probation;
(2) a monitor is needed to ensure district-level support
to low-performing campuses and the implementation of the updated targeted
improvement plan; or
(3) all of the following exist:
(A) the deficiencies identified under §97.1059
of this title (relating to Standards for All Accreditation Sanction
Determinations) require a monitor to participate in and report to
the commissioner on the activities of the district's board of trustees
and superintendent;
(B) the deficiencies identified under §97.1059
of this title are not of such severity or duration as to require direct
Texas Education Agency (TEA) oversight of district operations;
(C) the district has been responsive to and generally
compliant with previous commissioner sanctions and TEA interventions;
and
(D) stronger intervention is not required to prevent
substantial or imminent harm to the welfare of the district's students
or to the public interest.
(c) The commissioner may appoint a conservator or management
team under TEC, §§39A.002, 39A.003, and 39A.102, when:
(1) the district has an accreditation rating of Accredited-Probation;
(2) a conservator or management team is needed to ensure
and oversee district-level support to low-performing campuses and
the implementation of the updated targeted improvement plan;
(3) the nature or duration of the deficiencies require
that the TEA directly oversee the operations of the district in the
area(s) of deficiency;
(4) the district has not been responsive to or compliant
with TEA intervention requirements; or
(5) such intervention is needed to prevent substantial
or imminent harm to the welfare of the district's students or to the
public interest.
(d) The decision whether to appoint a conservator or
management team under subsection (c) of this section may be based
on logistical concerns, including the competencies required and the
volume of work involved. The addition of a conservator to form a management
team or the addition of additional members to the management team
is not a new sanction and does not entitle the district to an additional
review.
(e) The commissioner may appoint a board of managers
under TEC, §§39A.004, 39A.006, 39A.102, 39A.107, 39A.111,
39A.256, or 12.116(d)(1), as applicable, when:
(1) sanctions under subsection (b) or (c) of this section
have been ineffective to achieve the purposes identified in §97.1057
of this title (relating to Interventions and Sanctions; Lowered Rating
or Accreditation Status);
(2) the commissioner has initiated proceedings to close
or annex the district;
(3) the commissioner has initiated proceedings to close
a campus, and such intervention is needed to cease operations of the
campus;
(4) such intervention is needed to prevent substantial
or imminent harm to the welfare of the district's students or to the
public interest;
(5) a board of managers is needed to ensure and oversee
district-level support to low-performing campuses and the implementation
of the updated targeted improvement plan;
(6) the district has a campus that is subject to TEC, §39A.111,
and the commissioner does not order the closure of the campus;
(7) deficiencies identified in a special investigation
warrant the appointment of a board of managers; or
(8) a failure in governance results in an inability
to carry out the powers and duties of the board of trustees as outlined
in TEC, §11.151 and §11.1511.
(f) The superintendent, upon appointment, immediately
assumes all powers, duties, rights, and responsibilities of the superintendent
of the district to which the superintendent is appointed.
(g) Not later than the second anniversary date of the
appointment of the board of managers, the commissioner shall notify
the board of managers and the board of trustees of the date on which
the appointment of the board of managers will expire.
(h) A board of managers shall, during the period of
the appointment, order the election of members of the board of trustees
of the district in accordance with applicable provisions of law. Except
as provided by this subsection, the members of the board of trustees
do not assume any powers or duties after the election until the appointment
of the board of managers expires.
(1) An individual elected to the board of trustees
at an election ordered under this subsection assumes and may exercise
all powers and duties of that office at the first official board meeting
where the replacement of the member of the board of managers with
the elected board of trustees member occurs and after satisfying all
legal and procedural prerequisites to take office.
(2) Any member of the board of trustees elected during
the appointment of the board of managers who has not yet assumed the
powers and duties of a member of the board of trustees will not be
considered for purposes of constitution of a quorum.
(3) A board of managers shall order elections for trustees
with three-year terms to be held annually in accordance with TEC, §11.059(b).
Following each of the last three years of the period of appointment,
one-third of the members of the board of managers shall be replaced
by the number of members of the school district board of trustees
who were elected at an election ordered under this paragraph that
constitutes, as closely as possible, one-third of the membership of
the board of trustees.
(4) A board of managers shall order elections for trustees
with four-year terms to be held biennially in accordance with TEC, §11.059(c).
Following each of the last three years of the period of appointment,
one-third of the members of the board of managers shall be replaced
by the number of members of the school district board of trustees
who were elected at an election ordered under this paragraph that
constitutes, as closely as possible, one-third of the membership of
the board of trustees.
(5) Upon the appointment of a board of managers to
a school district, the commissioner will designate the sequence in
which the board of managers' member groups and eligible board of trustees'
member groups, the number of which constitutes, as closely as possible,
one-third of the membership of the board of trustees, will be replaced
by an equal number of elected board of trustees members. The commissioner
may modify the composition or number of members constituting those
groups at any time during the period of the appointment.
(6) The commissioner may at any time remove and/or
replace a member of the board of managers and may expand or reduce
the number of the board of manager members at any time during the
appointment of the board of managers.
(7) On the expiration of the appointment of the board
of managers, the board of trustees assumes all of the powers and duties
assigned to a board of trustees of the school district.
(8) The commissioner may designate the sequence in
which an eligible trustee of the board of trustees will replace a
member of the board of managers. If the commissioner makes such designation,
a trustee replacing a manager would complete the remainder of his
or her elected term upon placement to the transitioning board. In
the absence of a designation by the commissioner, the trustees elected
in an election following each of the last three years of the board
of managers' appointment, as determined by the commissioner, shall
replace the designated members of the board of managers, except as
follows.
(A) In the event that the number of trustees elected
in the first election exceeds one-third of the total board of trustees
membership, the board of managers shall determine by lot which of
those trustees shall be selected to initially replace members of the
board of managers and assume positions on the board.
(B) Any remaining trustees elected at the first election
ordered under this paragraph shall replace an equivalent number of
members of the board of managers and assume positions on the board
in the following year, together with any trustees elected in the second
election ordered by the board of managers under this paragraph.
Cont'd... |