| (a) Action required. The commissioner of education
shall order:
(1) alternative management or closure of a campus or
appoint a board of managers to govern the district if the campus turnaround
plan is not approved as outlined in §97.1064 of this title (relating
to Campus Turnaround Plan); and
(2) closure of a campus or appoint a board of managers
to govern the district if the campus is assigned an unacceptable performance
rating under the state academic accountability system for three consecutive
school years after the campus is ordered to submit a campus turnaround
plan as outlined in §97.1064 of this title.
(b) Review. An action ordered under subsection (a)
of this section is subject to the applicable review procedures provided
in Chapter 157 of this title (relating to Hearings and Appeals).
(c) Other actions permitted. In combination with action
under this section, the commissioner may impose on the district or
campus any other sanction under Texas Education Code (TEC), Chapter
39 or 39A, or this subchapter, singly or in combination, to the extent
the commissioner determines is reasonably required to achieve the
purposes specified in §97.1053 of this title (relating to Purpose).
In particular, the commissioner may assign a monitor, conservator,
management team, or board of managers in order to ensure and oversee
district-level support to low-performing campuses and the implementation
of the updated targeted improvement plan and the campus turnaround
plan.
(d) Petition allowed. In accordance with TEC, §39A.112,
for a campus subject to an order of closure or appointment of a board
of managers to govern the district under subsection (a) of this section,
if a written petition, signed by the parents of a majority of the
students enrolled at the campus and specifying the action requested
under subsection (a) of this section, is presented to the commissioner
in accordance with this section and related procedures adopted by
the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the commissioner shall, except as
otherwise authorized by this section, order the specific action requested.
If the board of trustees of the school district in which the campus
is located presents to the commissioner, in accordance with this
section and related procedures adopted by the TEA, a written request
that the commissioner order a specific action under subsection (a)
of this section other than the action requested by the parents in
a valid petition, along with a written explanation of the basis for
the board's request, the commissioner may order the action requested
by the board of trustees.
(1) A written petition under this subsection must be:
(A) finalized and submitted to the district superintendent
no later than October 15 for purposes of validation;
(B) certified by the superintendent as a valid petition
in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection; and
(C) if determined to be a valid petition, submitted
by the district superintendent to the commissioner no later than December
1.
(2) Only a written petition determined to be valid
in accordance with this section and TEA procedures may be submitted
to the commissioner. At a minimum, the following criteria must be
met for a petition to be determined valid.
(A) The petition must include all information required
by the TEA as reflected in TEA model forms and related procedures
and must be submitted to the district superintendent in accordance
with the deadline established in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection.
(B) The petition must clearly state the sanction action
under subsection (a)(2) of this section being requested by the parents.
(C) In accordance with this subparagraph, the parent(s)
of more than 50% of the students enrolled at the campus must provide
the handwritten or typed name and an original signature on the petition.
(i) For the purposes of the petition, a parent means
the parent who is indicated on the student registration form at the
campus.
(ii) A student will be considered enrolled at the campus
for the purposes of the petition if the student is enrolled and in
membership at the campus on a TEA-determined enrollment snapshot date,
as reflected in TEA procedures.
(iii) For the purposes of determining whether parents
of more than 50% of the students enrolled at the campus have signed
the petition, only one parent signature per enrolled student can
be counted by the district in its calculation assuring validity of
the petition.
(iv) A signature is valid if the person signed the
petition on or after the date on which a preliminary rating indicating
four or more consecutive years of unacceptable performance at the
campus was issued.
(3) If the board of trustees of the school district
requests that the TEA consider a specific action under subsection
(a) of this section other than the action requested by the parents
in a valid petition and submitted to the TEA in accordance with this
subsection, the board must submit a written request to the commissioner
and include a written explanation of the basis for the board's request
for an action other than the one reflected in a valid parent petition.
Any written request must be:
(A) approved by a majority of the board members in
an action taken in a public meeting conducted in compliance with the
Texas Open Meetings Act; and
(B) submitted to the commissioner no later than December
15 in accordance with procedures established by the TEA.
(4) If a valid parent petition under paragraph (1)
of this subsection or board of trustees submission under paragraph
(3) of this subsection requests that the commissioner order campus
closure, the district must submit, no later than January 30, a comprehensive
plan for campus closure that meets the requirements of the TEC, §39A.113,
and §97.1066 of this title (relating to Campus Closure).
(5) Following the submission to the TEA of a valid
petition and any subsequent board request under this section, the
commissioner will order, no later than February 15, a sanction in
compliance with the TEC, §39A.111, and this section. The sanction
shall be implemented for the current year or, if necessary, for the
subsequent school year regardless of the state academic accountability
rating assigned to the campus in that school year.
(6) Notwithstanding this subsection, in the case of
a charter school granted under the TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapter D or
E, the commissioner shall retain authority under the TEC and Chapter
100, Subchapter AA, Division 2, of this title (relating to Commissioner
Action and Intervention) to take any adverse action allowed by statute
and rule and to approve or disapprove any proposed change in campus
or charter structure resulting from a petition or board request under
this subsection.
(e) Targeted technical assistance. In addition to the
grounds specified in TEC, §39A.114, if the commissioner determines
that the basis for the unsatisfactory performance of a campus for
more than two consecutive school years is limited to a specific condition
that may be remedied with targeted technical assistance, the commissioner
may require the district to contract for the appropriate technical
assistance, including, but not limited to, the district's regional
education service center and/or an institution of higher education.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §97.1065 adopted to be effective January 6, 2008, 33 TexReg 150; amended to be effective July 28, 2010, 35 TexReg 6523; amended to be effective July 17, 2012, 37 TexReg 5268; amended to be effective February 5, 2015, 40 TexReg 437; amended to be effective November 17, 2016, 41 TexReg 9012; amended to be effective January 28, 2018, 43 TexReg 452 |
