82S10424 CAS-D
	By: Dutton	H.B. No. 70

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to a financial exigency of a school district.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 44, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 44.011 to read as follows:
	Sec. 44.011.  FINANCIAL EXIGENCY. (a) In this section,
	"financial exigency" means substantial and recurring financial
	deficits in the total operating budget of a school district that
	have occurred and are reasonably projected to continue to occur,
	placing the district at serious risk of insolvency. The term does
	not include:
	(1)  the expectation of short-term deficits in the
	operating budget of a district; or
	(2)  the elimination of or reduction in a district
	academic program for academic reasons.
	(b)  This section applies only if, in response to a financial
	exigency as determined by the board of trustees of a school
	district, the district proposes to terminate contracts of and
	discharge classroom teachers. A district shall consider
	termination of contracts and discharge of classroom teachers to be
	an exceptional action. The board of trustees of a district must
	comply with this section before the board may terminate contracts
	of and discharge classroom teachers on the basis of a financial
	exigency.
	(c)  The board of trustees of a school district that proposes
	to terminate contracts of and discharge classroom teachers on the
	basis of a financial exigency must prepare and submit to the
	commissioner a report specifying the precise nature and extent of
	the district's financial problems. The report must include:
	(1)  a description of each measure the district has
	taken to address the financial problems;
	(2)  whether reduction or elimination of any academic
	program redundancies is recommended in addressing the financial
	problems;
	(3)  each reason for proposing termination of contracts
	and discharge of classroom teachers; and
	(4)  the number of classroom teachers whom the district
	is proposing to discharge.
	(d)  Not later than the 10th day after the date the board of
	trustees of a school district submits a report to the commissioner
	under Subsection (c), a financial exigency committee shall be
	established to review all documentation relevant in determining
	whether a district financial exigency exists. The committee shall
	be composed of five members, none of whom may be employed by the
	district. Two members of the committee shall be appointed by the
	board of trustees, two members shall be appointed by the
	commissioner, and one member shall be appointed to serve as
	presiding officer by the other members of the committee.
	(e)  In performing its duties under this section, the
	financial exigency committee may consult with any person and may
	consider oral or written submissions concerning the school
	district's financial condition and district academic program
	redundancies.
	(f)  The financial exigency committee shall prepare and
	submit to the commissioner and the board of trustees of the school
	district, in the time and manner required by commissioner rule, a
	report that includes:
	(1)  an analysis of the nature and extent of the
	district's financial problems;
	(2)  a determination of whether a district financial
	exigency exists;
	(3)  a description of the potential impact on the
	district's academic programs of the district's proposals under
	Subsection (c);
	(4)  a determination of whether district enrollment
	projections are consistent with the reduction in the number of
	classroom teachers proposed under Subsection (c);
	(5)  a determination of whether the district has
	proposed making any necessary reductions among district employees
	in a manner that best maintains the academic viability of the
	district; and
	(6)  a determination of whether the district has
	exhausted all reasonable means, other than termination of contracts
	and discharge of classroom teachers, to alleviate the district's
	financial problems, including:
	(A)  applying rigorous economies in all areas of
	the district's present and projected expenditures;
	(B)  using all reasonable means of increasing the
	district's income; and
	(C)  reducing the number of classroom teachers by
	voluntary retirement, resignation, or reduction in workload or by
	other voluntary means.
	(g)  If the financial exigency committee determines that a
	school district financial exigency does not exist, the district may
	not terminate a contract of and discharge a classroom teacher for
	budgetary reasons. If the committee determines that a district
	financial exigency does exist and that the district has exhausted
	all other reasonable means to alleviate the district's financial
	problems, the committee may recommend a reduction in the number of
	classroom teachers or in the district's budgetary allocations for
	classroom teacher salaries or benefits. If the committee
	recommends a reduction in the number of classroom teachers that is
	different from the number proposed under Subsection (c), the
	committee shall explain the reasons for the difference in the
	report under Subsection (f).
	(h)  If the financial exigency committee determines a school
	district financial exigency exists and no other satisfactory
	provision can be made for the continued employment of all district
	classroom teachers, the board of trustees of the district shall
	prepare a plan for the reduction in the number of classroom
	teachers. The plan must be structured in a manner that allows the
	district to continue to operate to the greatest extent practicable
	in accordance with the district's mission and may include a
	reduction in or elimination of one or more academic programs. The
	district may terminate contracts of and discharge classroom
	teachers only to the extent necessary to alleviate the financial
	exigency. The number of classroom teachers discharged may not
	exceed the number recommended by the financial exigency committee
	under Subsection (g).
	(i)  The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary for the
	administration of this section.
	SECTION 2.  This Act applies beginning with the 2011-2012
	school year.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
	legislative session.