| (a) Amendments in writing. Subject to the requirements
of this section, the terms of an open-enrollment charter may be revised
with the consent of the charter holder by written amendment approved
by the commissioner of education in writing.
(b) Types of amendments. An amendment includes any
change to the terms of an open-enrollment charter, including the following:
maximum enrollment, grade levels, geographic boundaries, approved
campus(es), approved sites, relocation of campus, charter holder name,
charter school (district) name, charter campus name, charter holder
governance, articles of incorporation, corporate bylaws, management
company, admission policy, or the educational program of the school.
An amendment must be approved by the commissioner under this subsection.
Expanding prior to receiving the commissioner's approval will have
financial consequences as outlined in §100.1041(d)(1) of this
title (relating to State Funding).
(1) Charter amendment request. Prior to implementation,
the charter holder shall file a request, in the form prescribed, with
the Texas Education Agency (TEA) division responsible for charter
schools. As applicable, the request shall set forth the text and page
references, or a photocopy, of the current open-enrollment charter
language to be changed, and the text proposed as the new open-enrollment
charter language. The request must be attached to a written resolution
adopted by the governing body of the charter holder and signed by
a majority of the members indicating approval of the requested amendment.
(2) Timeline. All non-expansion amendments may be filed
with the commissioner at any time throughout the year. Expansion amendment
requests must be received no earlier than the first day of January
and no later than the first day of March, not to exceed 18 months
preceding the effective date of the expansion.
(3) Relevant information considered. As directed by
the commissioner, a charter holder requesting an amendment shall submit
current information required by the prescribed amendment form, as
well as any other information requested by the commissioner. In considering
the amendment request, the commissioner may consider any relevant
information concerning the charter holder, including its performance
on the Charter School Performance Frameworks (CSPF) adopted by rule
in §100.1010 of this title (relating to Performance Frameworks);
student and other performance; compliance, staff, financial, and organizational
data; and other information.
(4) Best interest of students. The commissioner may
approve an amendment only if the charter holder meets all applicable
requirements, and only if the commissioner determines that the amendment
is in the best interest of students. The commissioner may consider
the performance of all charters operated by the same charter holder
in the decision to finally grant or deny an amendment.
(5) Conditional approval. The commissioner may grant
the amendment without condition, or may require compliance with such
conditions and/or requirements as may be in the best interest of students.
(6) Relocation amendment. An amendment to relocate
an existing campus or site is not an expansion amendment subject to
paragraphs (9)(A) and (10)(D) of this subsection. An amendment to
relocate solely permits a charter holder to relocate an existing campus
or site to an alternate address while serving the same students and
grade levels without a significant disruption to the delivery of the
educational services. The alternate address of the relocation shall
not be in excess of 25 miles from the existing campus address.
(7) Ineligibility. The commissioner will not consider
any amendment that is submitted by a charter holder that has been
notified by the commissioner of the commissioner's intent to allow
the expiration of the charter or intent to revoke the charter. This
subsection does not limit the commissioner's authority to accept the
surrender of a charter.
(8) Amendment determination. The commissioner's decision
on an amendment request shall be final and may not be appealed. The
same amendment request may not be submitted prior to the first anniversary
of the submission of the original amendment request.
(9) Expansion amendment standards. An expansion amendment
is an amendment that permits a charter school to increase its maximum
allowable enrollment, extend the grade levels it serves, change its
geographic boundaries, or add a campus or site.
(A) In addition to the requirements of this subsection,
the commissioner may approve an expansion amendment only if:
(i) the expansion will be effective no earlier than
the start of the fourth full school year at the affected charter school.
This restriction does not apply if the affected charter school has
a rating of "academically acceptable" as defined by §100.1001(26)
of this title (relating to Definitions) as its most recent rating
and is operated by a charter holder that operates multiple charter
campuses and all of that charter holder's most recent campus ratings
are "academically acceptable" as defined by §100.1001(26)
of this title;
(ii) the amendment request under paragraph (1) of this
subsection is received no earlier than the first day of January and
no later than the first day of March, not to exceed 18 months preceding
the effective date of the expansion;
(iii) the most recent district rating for the charter
school is "academically acceptable" and the most recent
campus rating for at least 90% of the campuses operated under the
charter school is "academically acceptable" as defined by §100.1001(26)
of this title;
(iv) the most recent district financial accountability
rating for the charter school in the Financial Integrity Rating System
of Texas (FIRST) for Charter Schools is "satisfactory" as
defined by §100.1001(27) of this title;
(v) the charter school has an accreditation status
of Accredited;
(vi) the most recent designation for the charter school
under the CSPF is "Tier 1" or "Tier 2" as defined
by §100.1010 of this title;
(vii) before voting to request an expansion amendment,
the charter holder governing board has considered a business plan,
has determined by majority vote of the board that the growth proposed
is financially prudent relative to the financial and operational strength
of the charter school, and includes such a statement in the board
resolution. Upon request by the TEA, the business plan must be filed
within ten business days. The business plan must be comprised of the
following components:
(I) a statement discussing the need for the expansion;
(II) a statement discussing the current and projected
financial condition of the charter holder and charter school;
(III) an unaudited statement of financial position
for the current fiscal year;
(IV) an unaudited statement of financial activities
for the current fiscal year;
(V) an unaudited statement of cash flows for the current
fiscal year;
(VI) a pro forma budget that includes the costs of
operating the charter school, including the implementation of the
expansion amendment;
(VII) a statement or schedule that identifies the assumptions
used to calculate the charter school's estimated Foundation School
Program revenues;
(VIII) a statement discussing the use of debt instruments
to finance part or all of the charter school's incremental costs;
(IX) a statement discussing the incremental cost of
acquiring additional facilities, furniture, and equipment to accommodate
the anticipated increase in student enrollment;
(X) a statement discussing the incremental cost of
additional on-site personnel and identifying the additional number
of full-time equivalents that will be employed; and
(XI) the required statement that the growth proposed
is financially prudent relative to the financial and operational strength
of the charter school;
(viii) the charter holder submits a signed statement
attesting that within the last three years there have been no instances
of nepotism, conflicts of interest, or revelations in criminal history
checks that deemed any board member or employee ineligible to serve
or submits, for the last three years of operation, copies of documents
required by §100.1035 of this title (relating to Compliance Records
on Nepotism, Conflicts of Interest, and Restrictions on Serving),
including documents such as affidavits identifying a board member's
substantial interest in a business entity or in real property, documentation
of a board member's abstention from voting in the case of potential
conflicts of interest, affidavits or other documents identifying other
family members within the third degree of affinity or consanguinity
who serve as board members and/or employees, and affidavits or other
documentation that board members or employees whose criminal history
checks deemed them ineligible to serve were removed from service;
(ix) the commissioner determines that the amendment
is in the best interest of students; and
(x) the charter holder meets all other requirements
applicable to expansion amendment requests and other amendments.
(B) Notice of the approval or disapproval of expansion
amendments will be made by the commissioner within 60 days of the
date the charter holder submits a completed expansion amendment request.
The commissioner may provide notice electronically. The commissioner
shall specify the earliest effective date for implementation of the
expansion. In addition, the commissioner may require compliance with
such conditions and/or requirements that may be in the best interest
of students.
(10) Expansion amendments.
(A) Maximum enrollment. In addition to the requirements
of paragraph (9)(A) of this subsection, the commissioner may approve
an expansion amendment request seeking to increase maximum allowable
enrollment not more than once each calendar year.
(B) Grade span. In addition to the requirements of
paragraph (9)(A) of this subsection, the commissioner may approve
an expansion amendment request seeking to extend the grade levels
it serves only if it is accompanied by appropriate educational plans
for the additional grade levels in accordance with Chapter 74, Subchapter
A, of this title (relating to Required Curriculum), and such plan
has been reviewed and approved by the charter governing board.
(C) Geographic boundary. In addition to the requirements
of paragraph (9)(A) of this subsection, the commissioner may approve
an expansion amendment request seeking to expand the geographic boundaries
of the charter school only if it is accompanied by evidence of notification,
electronic or otherwise, to the relevant district(s).
(D) Additional campus. In addition to the requirements
of paragraph (9)(A) of this subsection, the commissioner may approve
an expansion amendment request seeking to add a new campus only if
it meets the following criteria:
(i) the charter holder has operated at least one charter
school campus in Texas for a minimum of three consecutive years;
(ii) the charter school under which the proposed new
campus will be assigned currently has at least 50% of the student
population in grades assessed under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter B.
For charter schools serving students in prekindergarten, the charter
school may include the students in prekindergarten to count toward
the 50% requirement if the charter school can demonstrate acceptable
performance on a commissioner-approved prekindergarten assessment
or monitoring tool as determined under §102.1003 of this title
(relating to High-Quality Prekindergarten Program) and the addition
of the prekindergarten students meets the 50% threshold; and
(iii) the charter holder has provided evidence, via
certified mail documented by return receipt, that each school district
affected by the expansion was sent a notice to the district's central
office of the proposed location and, if available, the address of
any new campuses or sites, including proposed grade levels to be served
and projected maximum enrollment.
(E) Additional site. In addition to the requirements
of paragraph (9)(A) of this subsection, the commissioner may approve
an expansion amendment request seeking to add a new site under an
existing campus only if it meets the following criteria:
(i) the charter school campus under which the proposed
new site will be assigned currently has at least 50% of the student
population in grades assessed under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter B.
For charter school campuses serving students in prekindergarten, the
charter school may include the students in prekindergarten to count
toward the 50% requirement if the charter school can demonstrate acceptable
performance on a commissioner-approved prekindergarten assessment
or monitoring tool as determined under §102.1003 of this title
and the addition of the prekindergarten students meets the 50% threshold;
and
(ii) the site will be located within 25 miles of the
campus with which it is associated.
(11) Expedited expansion. An expedited expansion amendment
allows for the establishment of a new charter campus under TEC, §12.101(b-4).
(A) In order to submit an expedited expansion amendment,
the charter school must meet the following requirements.
(i) The charter school must have an accreditation status
of Accredited and meet the following criteria:
Cont'd... |
