| (a) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the
following words and terms shall have the following meanings, unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Acceptable and unacceptable ratings--the terms
acceptable and unacceptable ratings have the meanings assigned in
Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.0543. The accountability rating
is for the year in which the performance occurs, not the year in which
the preliminary or final rating is issued.
(2) Campus--this term has the meaning assigned in §97.1051(3)
of this title (relating to Definitions).
(3) County-district-campus number (CDCN)--the 9-digit
number assigned to instructional campuses.
(4) Facility--a facility includes a building, a group
of buildings, portable buildings, or any combination thereof that
the commissioner of education determines would comprise a campus.
(b) Campus closure. A campus may be closed by:
(1) the commissioner as described in TEC, §39A.111,
and §97.1065 of this title (relating to Commissioner Determinations
for Decisions Preceding Alternative Management, Campus Closure, or
Board of Managers) if it is assigned an unacceptable performance rating
for five consecutive school years, regardless of whether the school
district closes or orders the closure of the campus before the fifth
consecutive unacceptable accountability rating is issued; or
(2) the school district, subject to the provisions
in this section.
(c) Repurposing. A campus is considered to be repurposed
if:
(1) a CDCN assigned to a campus is closed;
(2) the school district operates a new campus in the
same facility as the closed campus; and
(3) the new campus meets the criteria in TEC, §39A.113.
The campus must:
(A) serve a majority of grade levels not served at
the original campus.
(i) The school district must have a grade level plan
approved by Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff.
(ii) The campus may repurpose starting with one or
more grade spans (elementary, middle school, and/or high school).
(I) If the campus repurposes with only one grade span,
the campus must repurpose with the lowest grade level or levels to
be served and include no more than three elementary grade levels,
including prekindergarten-Grade 5; one middle school grade level,
including Grades 6-8; or one high school grade level, including Grades
9-12.
(II) If the campus repurposes with more than one grade
span (elementary, middle school, and/or high school), the campus may
repurpose starting with the lowest grade level in each grade span.
(iii) The campus may not add more than one grade level
per school year;
(B) serve a majority of students who did not attend
that campus the previous year; and
(C) offer a distinctly different academic program as
described in subsection (d) of this section.
(d) Distinctly different academic program. For purposes
of this section, a distinctly different academic program must meet
the conditions in paragraphs (1)-(4) of this subsection. Notwithstanding
the requirements in this subsection, the campus will be considered
to operate a distinctly different education program if the campus
is operated under contract as described in TEC, §39A.113(a)(1)(B),
and the contract meets the requirements described in §97.1075(d)
of this title (relating to Contracting to Partner to Operate a Campus
under Texas Education Code, §11.174).
(1) The principal and all assistant principals must
not have previously served at the campus, unless they are in their
first year of assignment at the campus and have demonstrated improvement
in academic outcomes at the campus.
(2) A teacher employed at the campus under the closed
CDCN must apply for a position to continue at the campus and must
have demonstrated instructional effectiveness in the previous school
year.
(3) The school district must ensure that the campus
will be open enrollment and will accept students from outside of the
campus's geographic boundary and provide a lottery to students outside
the geographic boundary if the campus is oversubscribed.
(4) The school district must demonstrate that the academic
experience of the students at the new campus will differ significantly
from the academic experience that was previously offered at the campus,
including, but not limited to, a description of the new plans to:
(A) implement high-quality instructional materials
that are aligned to instructional planning calendars and interim and
formative assessments;
(B) create a positive school culture;
(C) recruit, select, assign, induct, and retain a full
staff of highly qualified educators;
(D) evaluate and develop instructional staff; and
(E) serve special populations and at-risk students.
(e) Repurposing after commissioner closure.
(1) If a school district is subject to TEC, §39A.111,
the commissioner shall order either:
(A) the closure of the campus that received a fifth
consecutive unacceptable rating with closure taking effect on a date
determined by the commissioner; or
(B) the appointment of a board of managers to govern
the school district as provided by TEC, §39A.202, which takes
effect immediately upon appointment. If the commissioner appoints
a board of managers, the campus that received a fifth consecutive
unacceptable rating may, at the commissioner's discretion:
(i) continue to operate; and
(ii) receive a new CDCN, subject to the provisions
in this subsection relating to repurposing after commissioner closure.
(2) If the commissioner assigns a new CDCN to a campus,
that assignment takes effect no later than September 1 of the school
year following the assignment.
(3) The commissioner will determine the effective date
of the campus closure ordered under §97.1065 of this title. If
the closed campus would receive a campus rating for any year following
the year for which a rating was issued that made the school district
subject to TEC, §39A.111, the campus may be assigned a label
of Not Rated.
(4) A school district may repurpose a facility that
housed a campus that was closed by order of the commissioner under
TEC, §39A.111, and receive a new CDCN if one of the following
requirements is met.
(A) The campus and school district meet the following
criteria:
(i) the campus meets the criteria in TEC, §39A.113(a)(1)(A),
subsection (c)(3) of this section, or subsection (d) of this section;
and
(ii) the school district meets the following criteria
by June 30 of the year in which the operation of the campus with a
new CDCN will begin:
(I) the district completes initial training in a TEA-approved
governance framework supporting continuous improvement and engages
in ongoing implementation for at least the duration of the school
year in which the new campus number is open;
(II) the district develops and implements a plan to
ensure that the students who attended the closed campus do not attend
the repurposed campus, unless the campus is to be operated under contract
as described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph. The plan must
ensure that students who attended the closed campus:
(-a-) are assigned to a campus whose most recent performance
rating is an A, B, or C or have access to nearby school choices that
are higher performing than the closed campus. For purposes of this
subsection, a higher performing campus is a campus whose most recent
performance rating is an A, B, or C; and
(-b-) must be allowed to attend the new campus until
the student would have stopped attending the closed campus by reason
of matriculation to another campus or graduation; and
(III) the district timely submits all information required
by the commissioner to make a determination under this subsection.
Failure to submit information by June 30 may result in non-approval
of the new CDCN.
(B) The campus is operated under contract with a non-profit
entity as described in TEC, §39A.113(a)(1)(B), and the contract:
(i) meets the requirements described in §97.1075(d)
of this title; and
(ii) has a term of at least three years. If the contract
is terminated prior to the end of the contract term, the commissioner
may order closure of the campus or appoint a board of managers as
described in TEC, §39A.111.
(f) Repurposing after school district closure.
(1) A school district may repurpose a facility that
housed a closed campus and receive a new CDCN if the district meets
the criteria in this subsection.
Cont'd... |
