| (iii) has authority over the entire campus budget,
which includes all of the federal, state, and local funds due the
campus as described in clause (i) of this subparagraph.
(B) The criteria described in this subparagraph apply
to application packages relating to partnerships between a district
and an organization authorized under TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapters
D and E.
(i) Each applicant must demonstrate evidence of the
district's adoption and implementation of the TEA model authorizing
policy or a similar policy approved by TEA.
(I) For application packages submitted for benefits
that begin in the 2021-2022 school year, districts not using the TEA
model policy must have the local authorizing policy approved prior
to the application review.
(II) TEA will release the authorizing policy approval
timeline and process annually.
(III) TEA approval of local authorizing policies expires
if the district changes the authorizing policy or if related sections
of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) or TEC change.
(ii) Each applicant must submit a performance contract
that demonstrates that the applicant and proposed operating partner
meet the requirements to contract to partner to operate, as outlined
in §97.1075 of this title (relating to Contracting to Partner
to Operate a Campus under Texas Education Code, §11.174).
(C) The criteria described in this subparagraph apply
to application packages relating to partnerships between a district
and any other type of partner except for operating partners described
in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph. Each applicant must demonstrate:
(i) evidence of district capacity to authorize and
oversee district charter campuses authorized under TEC, Chapter 12,
Subchapter C, which must include:
(I) at least one district employee, employed prior
to the district evaluation of the partnership, and fully dedicated
to overseeing the authorizing and ongoing monitoring of in-district
charter schools; and
(II) for benefits that begin in the 2021-2022 school
year, evidence that the district employee has completed a TEA training
program on authorizing and partnerships no later than one year from
the date of benefits approval;
(ii) evidence of the district's adoption and implementation
of a high-quality district charter authorizing process as required
by TEC, §12.058, which must include the following:
(I) the district's adoption and implementation of the
TEA model authorizing policy or a similar policy approved by TEA prior
to or as part of the application review. The following provisions
apply.
(-a-) For application packages submitted for benefits
that begin in the 2021-2022 school year, districts not using the TEA
model policy must have the local authorizing policy approved prior
to the application review.
(-b-) TEA will release the authorizing policy approval
timeline and process annually.
(-c-) TEA approval of local authorizing policies expires
if the district changes the authorizing policy or if related sections
of the TAC or TEC change;
(II) evidence of the district's adoption and implementation
of the TEA model campus charter application or similar application
and scoring rubric or a similar application and scoring rubric approved
by TEA. The following provisions apply.
(-a-) For application packages submitted for benefits
that begin in the 2021-2022 school year, districts not using the TEA
model campus application and scoring rubric must have the local campus
application approved prior to the application review.
(-b-) TEA will release the local campus application
and scoring rubric approval timeline and process annually.
(-c-) TEA approval of a local campus application and
scoring rubric expires if the district changes the authorizing policy
or if related sections of the TAC or TEC change; and
(III) evidence that, at a minimum, the district:
(-a-) required the proposed operating partner to complete
the application without assistance from the district or a district
assigned vendor;
(-b-) employed a review panel to read the application
from the operating partner and that the review panel identified strengths
and weaknesses of the application;
(-c-) reviewed any operating and academic performance
history of the proposed operator; and
(-d-) conducted a capacity interview with the board
and proposed staff of the partner organization;
(iii) evidence of the capacity of the operating partner
to manage the campus or campuses, including evidence that:
(I) the board of the operating partner includes at
least three people and that their membership on the board pre-dates
the submission of their application to the district;
(II) the operating partner has staff that will be fully
dedicated to the management of the campus or campuses and that the
level of staffing is reasonable given the number of campuses to be
managed;
(III) the staff of the operating partner dedicated
to the management of the campus or campuses has experience managing
schools or academic programs;
(IV) the operating partner is provided with a reasonable
per pupil amount or percentage of the revenue generated by attendance
at the campus from the district to the operating partner of all federal,
state, and local funds due the campus, to be paid to the operating
partner for managing the campus or campuses each year; and
(V) the governing board of the operating partner will
participate in board governance training provided by TEA or a vendor
recommended by TEA within one year of approval of benefits;
(iv) evidence of a clear and coherent academic model
or program to be implemented by the partner organization, including
evidence that:
(I) the partner can clearly describe a consistent school
vision for the campus or all campuses, including its culture, curriculum,
assessment program, instructional strategies, talent recruitment and
management strategies, and professional development activities or
programs;
(II) the partner can clearly provide evidence that
the aforementioned strategies and programs can be effective with the
student population served in the campus or campuses; and
(III) the partner can clearly describe the management
routines and practices to be implemented by the operating partner
in managing the staff and academic programs as the campus or campuses;
(v) evidence that the applicant and proposed operating
partner meet the requirements to contract to partner to operate, as
outlined in §97.1075 of this title;
(vi) an assurance that the governing body of the operating
partner shall remain independent of the independent school district.
This may include the following:
(I) an assurance that the governing body of the operating
partner is not and shall not be comprised of any members of the independent
school district's board of trustees, the superintendent, or staff
responsible for granting the contract to partner to operate or overseeing
the performance contract;
(II) an assurance that the majority of the governing
body of the operating partner is not and shall not be comprised of
district staff;
(III) an assurance that no member of the governing
body of the operating partner will be related within the first degree
of affinity or consanguinity with any members of the independent school
district's board of trustees, the superintendent, or staff responsible
for granting the charter or contract to partner to operate or overseeing
the performance contract;
(IV) an assurance that all members of the governing
body of the operating partner have passed and will continually pass
the district's conflict of interest checks;
(V) an assurance that the district has not appointed
a majority of the members of the governing board of the operating
partner; and
(vii) an assurance that the school district will provide
a list of the board members of the governing body and a description
of their respective backgrounds upon approval and annually thereafter.
(D) The criteria described in this subparagraph apply
to a campus whose last preliminary or final overall performance rating
was unacceptable. In addition to the criteria described in subparagraphs
(A)-(C) of this paragraph, as applicable, each applicant must demonstrate
evidence that the operating partner has the capacity necessary to
successfully turn around campuses.
(i) For partnership benefits applied to district charter
campuses authorized under TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapter C, that are
approved for the 2020-2021 or 2021-2022 school year, evidence must
be provided that the operating partner has staff in leadership positions
with at least three years of experience managing campuses to academic
success.
Cont'd... |
