| as defined in §100.1001(26) of this title shall
not be considered the highest or second highest academic performance
rating for purposes of this section; or
(II) is currently evaluated under the alternative education
accountability (AEA) procedures and received the highest or second
highest AEA district rating for five of the last five ratings with:
(-a-) in the most recent applicable state accountability
ratings, all rated campuses under the charter receiving an "academically
acceptable" or higher rating, as defined by §100.1001(26)
of this title; and
(-b-) if evaluated using AEA procedures, the district-level
assessment data corresponding to the most recent accountability ratings
demonstrate that at least 35% of the students in each of the following
student groups (if evaluated) met the standard as reported by the
sum of all grades tested on the standard accountability indicator
in each subject area assessed: African American, Hispanic, white,
special education, economically disadvantaged, limited English proficient,
and at risk;
(iii) no charter campus has been identified for federal
interventions in the most current report;
(iv) the charter school is not under any sanction imposed
by TEA authorized under TEC, Chapter 39; Chapter 97, Subchapter EE,
of this title (relating to Accreditation Status, Standards, and Sanctions);
or federal requirements;
(v) the charter holder completes an application approved
by the commissioner;
(vi) the new charter school campus that receives the
new school designation will serve at least 100 students in its third
year of operation;
(vii) the amendment complies with all requirements
of this paragraph; and
(viii) the commissioner determines that the designation
is in the best interest of students.
(B) In addition to the requirements of subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph, the commissioner may approve a new school designation
only if the campus with the proposed designation:
(i) satisfies each element of the definition of a public
charter school as set forth in federal law;
(ii) is not merely an extension of an existing charter
school;
(iii) is separate and distinct from the existing charter
school campus(es) established under the open-enrollment charter school
with a new facility and county-district-campus number; and
(iv) is governed, in the school's amended contract,
by a separate written performance agreement that meets the requirements
of federal law and TEC, §12.111(a)(3) and (4).
(C) In making the findings required by subparagraph
(B)(i) and (iii) of this paragraph, the commissioner shall consider:
(i) the terms of the open-enrollment charter school
as a whole, as modified by the new school designation; and
(ii) whether the campus with the proposed designation
shall be established and recognized as a separate school under Texas
law.
(D) In making the findings required by subparagraph
(B)(ii) and (iii) of this paragraph, the commissioner shall consider
whether the campus with the proposed designation and the existing
charter school campus(es) have separate sites, employees, student
populations, and governing bodies and whether their day-to-day operations
are carried out by different officers. The presence or absence of
any one of these elements, by itself, does not determine whether the
campus with the proposed designation will be found to be separate
or part of an existing school. However, the presence or absence of
several elements will inform the commissioner's decision.
(E) In making the finding required by subparagraph
(B)(iv) of this paragraph, the commissioner shall consider:
(i) whether the campus with the proposed designation
and the existing charter school campus(es) have distinctly different
requirements in their respective written performance agreements; and
(ii) the extent to which the performance agreement
for the campus with the proposed designation imposes higher standards
than those imposed by TEC, §12.104(b)(2)(L).
(F) Failure to meet any standard or requirement outlined
in this paragraph or agreed to in a performance agreement under subparagraph
(B)(iv) of this paragraph shall mean the immediate termination of
any federal charter school program grant and/or any waiver exempting
a charter from some of the expansion amendment requirements that may
have been granted to a charter holder as a result of the new school
designation.
(13) High-quality campus designation. A high-quality
campus designation is a separate designation and must be paired with
an expansion amendment. If approved by the commissioner, this designation
permits a charter holder to establish an additional charter school
campus under an existing open-enrollment charter school pursuant to
federal non-regulatory guidance. Charter holders of charter schools
that receive high-quality campus designation from the commissioner
will be eligible to participate in the charter school program competitive
grant process when federal funding for the Texas charter school program
is available.
(A) The commissioner may approve a high-quality campus
designation for a charter only if:
(i) the charter holder meets all requirements applicable
to an expansion amendment set forth in this section and has operated
at least one charter school campus in Texas for a minimum of five
consecutive years;
(ii) the charter school has been evaluated under the
accountability rating system established in §97.1001 of this
title, currently has at least 50% of the student population in grades
assessed by the state accountability system, has an accreditation
status of Accredited, is currently evaluated under the standard accountability
procedures, currently has the highest or second highest district rating,
and received the highest or second highest rating in the previous
two ratings with all of the campuses operated under the charter also
receiving the highest or second highest rating as defined by §100.1001(26)
of this title in the most recent state accountability ratings;
(iii) no charter campus has been identified for federal
interventions in the most current report;
(iv) the charter school is not under any sanction imposed
by TEA authorized under TEC, Chapter 39; Chapter 97, Subchapter EE,
of this title; or federal requirements;
(v) the charter holder completes an application approved
by the commissioner;
(vi) the new charter school campus that receives the
high-quality campus designation will serve at least 100 students in
its third year of operation;
(vii) the amendment complies with all requirements
of this paragraph; and
(viii) the commissioner determines that the designation
is in the best interest of students.
(B) In addition to the requirements of subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph, the commissioner may approve a high-quality
campus designation only if the campus with the proposed designation:
(i) satisfies each element of the definition of a public
charter school as set forth in federal law;
(ii) is separate and distinct from the existing charter
school campus(es) established under the open-enrollment charter school
with a separate facility and county-district-campus number; and
(iii) is governed, in the school's amended contract,
by a separate written performance agreement that meets the requirements
of federal law and TEC, §12.111(a)(3) and (4).
(C) In making the findings required by subparagraph
(B)(i) and (iii) of this paragraph, the commissioner shall consider:
(i) the terms of the open-enrollment charter school
as a whole, as modified by the high-quality campus designation; and
(ii) whether the campus with the proposed designation
shall be established and recognized as a separate school under Texas
law.
(D) In making the findings required by subparagraph
(B)(ii) of this paragraph, the commissioner shall consider whether
the campus with the proposed designation and the existing charter
school campus(es) have separate sites, employees, student populations,
and governing bodies and whether their day-to-day operations are carried
out by different officers. The presence or absence of any one of these
elements, by itself, does not determine whether the campus with the
proposed designation will be found to be separate or part of an existing
school. However, the presence or absence of several elements will
inform the commissioner's decision.
(E) In making the finding required by subparagraph
(B)(iii) of this paragraph, the commissioner shall consider:
(i) whether the campus with the proposed designation
and the existing charter school campus(es) have distinctly different
requirements in their respective written performance agreements;
Cont'd... |
