Bill Text: TX SB28 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to the approval of open-enrollment charter schools and the applicability of certain state and local laws to open-enrollment charter schools.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 11-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-05-11 - Failed to receive affirmative vote in comm. [SB28 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-SB28-Engrossed.html

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By: Bettencourt, et al. S.B. No. 28

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the approval of open-enrollment charter schools and the
applicability of certain state and local laws to open-enrollment
charter schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.101(b-0), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b-0) The commissioner shall notify the State Board of
Education of each charter the commissioner proposes to grant under
this subchapter. Unless, before the 90th day after the date on
which the board receives the notice from the commissioner, 9 [a
majority of the] members of the board present and voting vote
against the grant of that charter, the commissioner's proposal to
grant the charter takes effect. The board may not deliberate or
vote on any grant of a charter that is not proposed by the
commissioner. For each charter the commissioner proposes to grant,
the board is limited to consideration of the following:
(1) the staffing proposed under the charter for:
(A) special education programs under Subchapter
A, Chapter 29; and
(B) bilingual education and special language
programs under Subchapter B, Chapter 29;
(2) the alignment of proposed curriculum with the
essential knowledge and skills adopted under Subchapter A, Chapter
28;
(3) any prior issues involving the applicant related
to open-enrollment charter school or campus operations, student
performance and academic accountability, or fiscal management that
led to the closure of an open-enrollment charter school, the
suspension of the authority of an open-enrollment charter school to
operate, or the revocation of a charter;
(4) any issues involving the applicant related to:
(A) a violation or potential violation of
applicable state or local conflict-of-interest requirements; or
(B) a violation or potential violation of Chapter
573, Government Code, involving prohibited nepotism between an
individual serving the eligible entity and:
(i) an individual proposed to serve on the
governing body of an open-enrollment charter school to be operated
under the charter; or
(ii) an individual proposed to serve at the
management company for an open-enrollment charter school to be
operated under the charter;
(5) any issues involving lack of transparency or
truthfulness in the application for the charter; and
(6) evidence that:
(A) the recruitment policies of the
open-enrollment charter school or campus encourage special
education students to apply and the admission and enrollment of
special education students at the school or campus is not limited;
(B) the proposed leadership of the
open-enrollment charter school or campus has a record of prior
performance that demonstrates improvement in school and campus
operations, academic and fiscal management, and student
performance;
(C) the proposed budget of the open-enrollment
charter school or campus includes sufficient funding to support the
academic programs, support services, and staffing included in the
application; and
(D) the fiduciary responsibilities and decisions
of the open-enrollment charter school or campus are executed by the
governing body of the charter school.
SECTION 2. Section 12.1058, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d), (d-1), (d-2),
and (d-3) to read as follows:
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) or (b), an
open-enrollment charter school operated by a tax exempt entity as
described by Section 12.101(a)(3) is not considered to be a
political subdivision, local government, or local governmental
entity unless:
(1) a [the applicable] statute specifically states
that the statute applies to an open-enrollment charter school; or
(2) a provision in this chapter states that a specific
statute applies to an open-enrollment charter school.
(d) Except as provided by Section 12.103(c), a political
subdivision shall consider an open-enrollment charter school a
school district for purposes of zoning, project permitting,
platting and replatting processes, business licensing, franchises,
utility services, eminent domain, signage, subdivision regulation,
property development projects, the requirements for posting bonds
or securities, contract requirements, land development standards
as provided by Section 212.902, Local Government Code, tree and
vegetation regulations, regulations of architectural features of a
structure, construction of fences, landscaping, garbage disposal,
noise levels, fees or other assessments, and construction or site
development work. An open-enrollment charter school does not have
the power of eminent domain.
(d-1) A political subdivision may not take any action that
prohibits an open-enrollment charter school from operating a public
school campus, educational support facility, athletic facility, or
administrative office within the political subdivision's
jurisdiction or on any specific property located within the
jurisdiction of the political subdivision that it could not take
against a school district. A political subdivision shall grant
approval in the same manner and follow the same timelines as if the
charter school were a school district located in that political
subdivision's jurisdiction.
(d-2) This section applies to both owned and leased property
of the open-enrollment charter school under Section 12.128.
(d-3) Except as provided by this section, this section does
not affect the authority granted by state law to a political
subdivision to regulate an open-enrollment charter school
regarding health and safety ordinances.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 12.1102 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.1102. APPEAL OF APPLICATION SELECTION
DETERMINATION. (a) This section applies only if the charter
application selection process includes:
(1) scoring criteria and procedures for use of the
criteria by an external application review panel selected by the
commissioner; and
(2) selection criteria that include the minimum score
necessary for an applicant to be eligible for selection.
(b) The State Board of Education shall adopt procedures for
the appeal of an application selection determination made based on
the submission of an application under a process described by
Subsection (a).
(c) The procedures adopted under this section must provide
for an applicant who scores within 10 percentage points of the
minimum score necessary for an applicant to be eligible for
selection to appeal to the State Board of Education a score
determined by the external application review panel.
(d) The determination of the State Board of Education in an
appeal under the procedures adopted under this section is final.
(e) If the charter applicant prevails in an appeal to the
State Board of Education, the commissioner shall consider the
applicant's application.
SECTION 4. Section 554.001(2), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(2) "Local governmental entity" means:
(A) a political subdivision of the state,
including a[:
[(A)] county,[;
[(B)] municipality,[;
[(C) public] school district,[;] or
[(D)] special-purpose district authority; or
(B) an open-enrollment charter school.
SECTION 5. Section 212.902, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 212.902. SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER
SCHOOL LAND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. (a) This section applies to an
agreement [agreements] between a school district or
open-enrollment charter school [districts] and a [any]
municipality which has annexed territory for limited purposes.
(b) On request by a school district or open-enrollment
charter school, a municipality shall enter an agreement with the
board of trustees of the school district or the governing body of
the open-enrollment charter school to establish review fees, review
periods, and land development standards ordinances and to provide
alternative water pollution control methodologies for school
buildings constructed by the school district or open-enrollment
charter school. The agreement shall include a provision exempting
the district or charter school from all land development ordinances
in cases where the district or charter school is adding temporary
classroom buildings on an existing school campus.
(c) If the municipality and the school district or
open-enrollment charter school do not reach an agreement on or
before the 120th day after the date on which the municipality
receives the district's or charter school's request for an
agreement, proposed agreements by the [school] district or charter
school and the municipality shall be submitted to an independent
arbitrator appointed by the presiding district judge whose
jurisdiction includes the [school] district or charter school. The
arbitrator shall, after a hearing at which both the [school]
district or charter school and the municipality make presentations
on their proposed agreements, prepare an agreement resolving any
differences between the proposals. The agreement prepared by the
arbitrator will be final and binding upon both the [school]
district or charter school and the municipality. The cost of the
arbitration proceeding shall be borne equally by the [school]
district or charter school and the municipality.
(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that requests an agreement under this section, at the time the
district or charter school [it] makes the request, shall send a copy
of the request to the commissioner of education. At the end of the
120-day period, the requesting district or charter school shall
report to the commissioner the status or result of negotiations
with the municipality. A municipality may send a separate status
report to the commissioner. The district or charter school shall
send to the commissioner a copy of each agreement between the
district or charter school and a municipality under this section.
(e) In this section:
(1) [,] "Land [land] development standards" includes
impervious cover limitations, building setbacks, floor to area
ratios, building heights and coverage, water quality controls,
landscaping, development setbacks, compatibility standards,
traffic analyses including traffic impact analyses, vehicle
queuing, parking requirements, signage requirements, and driveway
cuts, if applicable.
(2) "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
granted a charter under Subchapter C, D, or E, Chapter 12, Education
Code.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
applicability of or waive fees for fire, safety, health, or
building code ordinances of the municipality prior to or during
construction of school buildings, nor shall any agreement waive any
fee or modify any ordinance of a municipality for an
administration, service, or athletic facility proposed for
construction by a school district or open-enrollment charter
school.
SECTION 6. Chapter 250, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 250.012 to read as follows:
Sec. 250.012. REGULATION OF OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER
SCHOOLS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Local governmental entity" means a political
subdivision of the state, including a:
(A) municipality;
(B) county; and
(C) special purpose district.
(2) "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
granted a charter under Subchapter D or E, Chapter 12, Education
Code.
(b) A local governmental entity may not enact or enforce an
ordinance, order, regulation, resolution, rule, or policy or take
action that prohibits an open-enrollment charter school from
operating a public school campus, educational support facility, or
administrative office in the local governmental entity's
jurisdiction or on any specific property in the jurisdiction of the
local governmental entity.
(c) The commissioner of education has exclusive
jurisdiction over the establishment and location of an
open-enrollment charter school campus as provided by Subchapter D,
Chapter 12, Education Code.
(d) This section applies to property purchased or leased
with state funds received by an open-enrollment charter school
under Section 12.128, Education Code.
(e) This section does not affect the authority granted by
state law to a local governmental entity to regulate an
open-enrollment charter school.
SECTION 7. Section 395.022(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A school district and an open-enrollment charter school
are [is] not required to pay impact fees imposed under this chapter
unless the board of trustees of the district or the governing body
of the charter school consents to the payment of the fees by
entering a contract with the political subdivision that imposes the
fees. The contract may contain terms the board of trustees or
governing body considers advisable to provide for the payment of
the fees. This section applies only to an open-enrollment charter
school campus constructed on land that:
(1) is owned by the charter holder or the charter
holder's parent nonprofit entity; and
(2) does not include any other uses.
SECTION 8. Section 552.053, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and
(b-2) to read as follows:
(b) The following may be exempt:
(1) this state;
(2) a county;
(3) a municipality; or
(4) [a] school districts and open-enrollment charter
schools [district].
(b-1) For purposes of an exemption granted under Subsection
(b)(4), the exemption must be granted to both school districts and
open-enrollment charter schools.
(b-2) For purposes of this section, "open-enrollment
charter school" means a school granted a charter under Subchapter D
or E, Chapter 12, Education Code.
SECTION 9. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the State Board of Education shall adopt procedures for
the appeal of an application selection determination as provided by
Section 12.1102, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 10. An exemption granted to a school district under
Section 552.053(b)(4), Local Government Code, as that section
existed before the effective date of this Act, automatically
extends to all open-enrollment charter schools located in the
municipality after the effective date of this Act unless the
municipality repeals the exemption before the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 11. 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 September 1, 2021.