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  By: West S.B. No. 669
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to state interventions and sanctions against public school
  campuses with unacceptable performance and the establishment of the
  Texas Opportunity School District for educating students at certain
  low-performing campuses.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the
  Low-Performing Campus Intervention Act.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 11, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter I to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER I.  TEXAS OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
         Sec. 11.401.  TEXAS OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
  ESTABLISHED. (a)  The Texas Opportunity School District is
  established as a school district under this code and an
  intermediate educational unit under 34 C.F.R. Section 222.50 for
  the purpose of educating students attending a campus removed from
  the jurisdiction of a school district under Chapter 39.
         (b)  In this subchapter, "prior system" means the school
  district from which a campus that is transferred to the
  jurisdiction of the opportunity school district was removed.
         (c)  The commissioner shall select the superintendent of the
  opportunity school district.  The superintendent shall report to
  the commissioner under a written contract for services.
         (d)  The opportunity school district does not have authority
  to impose taxes but has authority to seek and expend federal funding
  and grant funding and to otherwise seek, obtain, and expend funding
  with the same authority as an independent school district.
         (e)  The opportunity school district may provide for the
  supervision, management, and operation of each campus placed under
  the district's jurisdiction and receive, control, and expend the
  local, state, and federal funding attributable to that campus, with
  all the same power and authority as the prior system, subject to the
  requirements of this subchapter and Section 39.1071, and with any
  other power or authority otherwise granted by law.
         (f)  The opportunity school district is entitled to the same
  level of services provided to other school districts by regional
  education service centers, and to participate in any state program
  available to school districts, including a purchasing program.
         (g)  The opportunity school district may not contract with a
  private entity for providing educational services to the students
  attending a campus transferred to the district, other than an
  eligible entity, as defined by Section 12.101, that has
  demonstrated success in educating populations of students similar
  to the populations of students enrolled at the campus transferred
  to the district.
         (g-1)  The opportunity school district may contract with a
  school district to provide educational services to students
  attending a campus transferred to the district.
         (h)  The opportunity school district may employ such staff as
  the superintendent deems necessary.
         Sec. 11.402.  APPLICABILITY OF LAWS, RULES, AND ORDINANCES
  TO OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT.  (a)  Except as expressly provided
  by law, the opportunity school district is subject to federal and
  state laws and rules governing public schools and to municipal
  zoning ordinances governing public schools.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c) and as expressly
  provided by other law, the opportunity school district is subject
  to a provision of this title to the extent and in the manner that the
  provision applies to an open-enrollment charter school under
  Subchapter D, Chapter 12.
         (c)  A teacher employed by the opportunity school district
  must be highly qualified, as determined by the commissioner in a
  manner consistent with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20
  U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.).
         (d)  The performance of a campus under the jurisdiction of
  the opportunity school district may not be used for purposes of
  determining the prior system's performance rating under Section
  39.054.
         (e)  With respect to the operation of the opportunity school
  district, any requirement in Chapter 551 or 552, Government Code,
  or another law that concerns open meetings or the availability of
  information that applies to a school district, the board of
  trustees of a school district, or public school students applies to
  the opportunity school district, the superintendent of the
  district, any managing entity, and students attending the district.
         Sec. 11.403.  IMMUNITY.  The opportunity school district is
  immune from liability to the same extent as any other school
  district, and the district's employees and volunteers are immune
  from liability to the same extent as other school district
  employees and volunteers.
         Sec. 11.404.  MEMBERSHIP IN TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF
  TEXAS BY OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES. (a)  An employee
  of the opportunity school district who qualifies for membership in
  the Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall be covered under the
  system to the same extent a qualified employee of any other school
  district is covered.
         (b)  For each employee of the opportunity school district
  covered under the system, the district is responsible for making
  any contribution that otherwise would be the legal responsibility
  of the prior system, and the state is responsible for making
  contributions to the same extent it would be legally responsible if
  the employee were that of another school district.
         Sec. 11.405.  FUNDING OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN OPPORTUNITY
  SCHOOL DISTRICT.  (a)  The opportunity school district is entitled
  to receive for the education of students transferred to the
  district funding under Chapter 42 equal to the amount of funding per
  student in weighted average daily attendance to which the prior
  system would be entitled under Chapter 42 if the prior system were a
  school district without a tier one local share for purposes of
  Section 42.253.
         (b)  In determining funding for the opportunity school
  district under Subsection (a), adjustments under Sections 42.102,
  42.103, 42.104, and 42.105 are based on the actual adjustment for
  the prior system.  In addition to the funding provided by Subsection
  (a), the opportunity school district is entitled to receive
  enrichment funding under Section 42.302 based on the actual amount
  for the prior system.
         (c)  In determining funding for the opportunity school
  district under Subsection (a), the commissioner shall apply the
  same adjustment factor provided under Section 42.101 to calculate
  the regular program allotment as for the prior system.  This
  subsection expires September 1, 2017.
         (d)  The opportunity school district is entitled to funds
  that are available to other school districts from the agency or the
  commissioner in the form of grants or other discretionary funding.  
  The district is entitled to a pro rata share of all revenue to the
  prior system from the agency or the commissioner in the form of
  grants or other discretionary funding.
         (e)  The opportunity school district is entitled to share in
  the available school fund apportionment and other privileges in the
  same manner as the prior system.  The district shall report its
  student attendance and receive funding in the same manner as any
  other school district.
         (f)  For purposes of calculating the amount of the prior
  system's obligations and entitlements under Chapters 41 and 42,
  students transferred to the opportunity school district who would
  otherwise have attended the prior system are not counted in
  calculating the average daily attendance of the prior system.
         (f-1)  For purposes of calculating the prior system's
  allotments under Chapter 46, students transferred to the
  opportunity school district who would otherwise have attended the
  prior system are counted in calculating the average daily
  attendance of the prior system.
         (g)  The commissioner shall adopt rules under this section.
         Sec. 11.406.  FACILITIES SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN
  OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT.  The opportunity school district is
  entitled to use any school building and all facilities and property
  otherwise part of the campus and recognized as part of the
  facilities or assets of the campus before the campus was placed in
  the district.  The district is entitled to access to such additional
  facilities as were typically available to the campus, its students,
  and faculty and staff before the campus was placed in the district.  
  Such use may not be restricted, except that the opportunity school
  district is responsible for and obligated to provide for routine
  maintenance and repair such that the facilities and property are
  maintained in as good an order as when the right of use was acquired
  by the district.
         Sec. 11.407.  OTHER SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED IN
  OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT.  The opportunity school district may
  require the prior system to provide school support or student
  support services for a campus transferred from the prior system's
  jurisdiction, including student transportation, school food
  service, or student assessment for special education eligibility
  that are compliant with all laws and regulations governing such
  services.  The opportunity school district shall reimburse the
  actual cost of such services to the prior system.  If a dispute
  arises between the opportunity school district and the prior system
  regarding the actual cost of services to be reimbursed, the
  commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall determine the
  cost to be reimbursed.
         Sec. 11.408.  EXPENDITURES FOR SUPPORT OF STUDENTS ENROLLED
  IN OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Funds received by the opportunity
  school district under Section 11.405 shall be used for the
  operation and administration of campuses transferred from prior
  systems to the district.
         Sec. 11.409.  OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT CHARTER.  (a)  The
  opportunity school district may grant a district charter under
  Section 12.0522 to a campus that has been placed in the opportunity
  school district.
         (b)  The grant of a district charter by the opportunity
  school district is not subject to the limitation imposed by Section
  12.0522(b).
         (c)  A campus granted a district charter under this section
  is eligible for funding under Section 11.405.  Any administrative
  costs related to authorizing a district charter under this section
  may be paid from funds appropriated to the opportunity school
  district, as approved by the superintendent of the opportunity
  school district.
         SECTION 3.  Section 39.106(f), Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (f)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter,
  if the commissioner determines that a campus for which an
  intervention is ordered under Subsection (a) is not fully
  implementing the campus intervention team's recommendations or
  targeted improvement plan or updated plan, the commissioner may
  order the reconstitution of the campus as provided by Section
  39.107 or the removal of the campus to the opportunity school
  district established by Subchapter I, Chapter 11.
         SECTION 4.  The heading to Section 39.107, Education Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 39.107.  RECONSTITUTION, REMOVAL, REPURPOSING,
  ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT, AND CLOSURE.
         SECTION 5.  Section 39.107, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (a-1) and adding Subsections (a-2),
  (a-3), (a-4), and (k-1) to read as follows:
         (a)  After a campus has been identified as unacceptable for
  two consecutive school years, the commissioner shall determine
  whether the district or campus has instituted meaningful change for
  the campus, including reconstituting the staff or leadership at the
  campus. If the commissioner determines that the district or campus
  has instituted meaningful change for the campus, the commissioner
  may reevaluate the campus under this subsection following the
  conclusion of the subsequent school year. If the commissioner
  determines the district or campus has not instituted meaningful
  change for the campus, the superintendent of the district may
  operate the campus with the same powers and authority granted to the
  superintendent of the opportunity school district established
  under Subchapter I, Chapter 11, to operate a campus placed in the
  jurisdiction of the opportunity school district unless the
  commissioner orders one or more of the following:
               (1)  [order the] reconstitution of the campus under
  this section;
               (2)  repurposing of the campus under this section;
               (3)  alternative management of the campus under this
  section; or
               (4)  placement of the campus in the opportunity school
  district, as provided by Section 39.1071.
         (a-1)  In making a determination regarding action to be taken
  under this section, the commissioner shall seek and give
  considerable weight to recommendations from parents of students
  enrolled at the campus and members of the community who reside in
  the attendance zone of the campus.
         (a-2)  In reconstituting a campus, a campus intervention
  team, with the involvement and advice of the school community
  partnership team, if applicable, shall assist the campus in:
               (1)  developing an updated targeted improvement plan;
               (2)  submitting the updated targeted improvement plan
  to the board of trustees of the school district for approval and
  presenting the plan in a public hearing as provided by Section
  39.106(e-1);
               (3)  obtaining approval of the updated plan from the
  commissioner; and
               (4)  executing the plan on approval by the
  commissioner.
         (a-3)  The campus intervention team or a school community
  partnership team shall develop information regarding campus
  performance and available options for improving campus performance
  that may be provided to interested parties on request.
         (a-4)  In ordering the reconstitution of a campus or as an
  alternative to reconstitution, the commissioner may order at the
  request of the school district that:
               (1)  except as expressly provided by other law, the
  reconstituted campus and its employees and students are subject to
  a provision of this title to the extent and in the same manner that
  the provision applies to an open-enrollment charter school and its
  employees and students under Subchapter D, Chapter 12; or
               (2)  the reconstituted campus, by agreement between the
  school district and the opportunity school district, be transferred
  to or operated by the opportunity school district.
         (k-1)  A managing entity may not assume management of a
  campus under this section if a member of the entity's management and
  leadership team provided any input to the commissioner regarding
  the commissioner's determination under Subsection (a).
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter E, Chapter 39, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 39.1071 to read as follows:
         Sec. 39.1071.  REMOVAL OF CAMPUS TO OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL
  DISTRICT.  (a)  In this section, "prior system" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 11.401(b).
         (b)  As provided by Section 39.107, the commissioner may
  order the removal of a campus to the opportunity school district
  established by Subchapter I, Chapter 11, if action by the
  commissioner is required under Section 39.107.
         (c)  The students assigned to attend the campus or the
  students who would have been eligible to attend the campus if the
  campus had remained in the prior system may choose to attend the
  campus under the jurisdiction of the opportunity school district or
  may exercise an option, made available by the prior system, to
  attend another campus remaining under the jurisdiction of the prior
  system.
         (d)  Effective on a date determined by the commissioner after
  consulting with the superintendent of the opportunity school
  district, a campus subject to this section shall be removed from the
  jurisdiction of the school district and transferred to the
  jurisdiction of the opportunity school district. On that date, the
  school district or charter holder from which the campus was removed
  becomes the prior system.
         (e)  The removed campus shall be reorganized and reformed, as
  necessary, and operated under the jurisdiction of the opportunity
  school district.
         (f)  The superintendent of the opportunity school district
  shall decide which educators may be retained at that campus in the
  superintendent's sole discretion.  If the opportunity school
  district does not retain an educator, that educator may be assigned
  to another position by the prior system.
         (g)  A certified teacher with regular and direct
  responsibility for providing classroom instruction to students who
  is employed at the removed campus by the prior system shall be given
  priority consideration for employment in a comparable position by
  the opportunity school district's superintendent. A person
  employed by the prior system at a removed campus may choose to
  remain in the employ of the prior system, and in that case, the
  prior system shall retain and reassign the person consistent with
  the prior system's contractual obligations or policies regarding
  the retention and reassignment of employees.  This subsection does
  not create rights or entitlements in excess of contractual rights
  and entitlements.
         (h)  For the purposes of any benefit or right requiring
  continuous service or based on years of service, the prior system
  shall grant a leave of absence to a person employed by the
  opportunity school district who was employed at a campus when the
  campus was removed under this section. The prior system shall
  consider the period during which the opportunity school district
  operates the campus to be service time with the prior system if the
  employee returns to the prior system's employment, but the prior
  system is not required to provide benefits during such leave.
         (i)  The benefits and privileges of any person employed in a
  campus by the opportunity school district who was not employed by
  the prior system at the time the campus was removed to the
  opportunity school district shall be those determined by the
  opportunity school district at the time of such employment in
  compliance with applicable law.
         (j)  The opportunity school district shall retain
  jurisdiction over any campus removed to the district until the
  commissioner, on the recommendation of the opportunity school
  district's superintendent, enters into an agreement with the prior
  system for return of the campus to the prior system.
         (k)  When a campus in the opportunity school district
  achieves an acceptable level of performance under this chapter, the
  commissioner shall direct the opportunity school district to seek
  agreement for the return of the campus to the prior system. An
  agreement between the commissioner and the prior system for the
  return of the campus shall include:
               (1)  details for the operation of the campus by the
  prior system, including provisions for the continuation of the
  programs that have provided the basis for the academic achievement
  by the students;
               (2)  provisions for the employment status of all
  persons employed by the opportunity school district who were not
  employed by the prior system at the time the campus was removed to
  the opportunity school district; and
               (3)  provisions for the means and timetable for the
  campus's transition and return to the prior system.
         (l)  If a campus has been operating under arrangements
  established by the opportunity school district for three years, or
  two years if the commissioner determines that the campus has not
  made meaningful progress during those two years, and the campus has
  failed during that period of three or two years, as applicable, to
  achieve an acceptable level of performance under this chapter, the
  commissioner shall:
               (1)  take the following action:
                     (A)  direct the superintendent of the opportunity
  school district to organize a new campus of the opportunity school
  district for the purpose of educating the students attending the
  campus initially removed from the prior system under this section
  in the manner determined by the superintendent as most likely to
  bring the campus to an acceptable level of performance, which may be
  done by designing and granting a campus charter under Section
  12.0521(a)(1); or
                     (B)  in accordance with a proposal for improving
  campus performance submitted by the prior system, return the campus
  to the prior system;
               (2)  if the campus remains in the jurisdiction of the
  opportunity school district, address the opportunity school
  district's failure to turn around the campus within three years;
  and
               (3)  record these steps for reporting as required by
  Section 39.332.
         (m)  For purposes of this subsection, "parent" has the
  meaning assigned by Section 12.051.  If the commissioner is
  presented, in the time and manner specified by commissioner rule, a
  written petition signed by the parents of a majority of the students
  enrolled at a campus to which Subsection (l) applies requesting a
  specific action described by Section 39.107(e)(1), (2), or (3), the
  commissioner shall, except as otherwise authorized by this section,
  order the specific action requested.  For purposes of this
  subsection, the signature of only one parent of a student is
  required.
         (n)  If a campus governing body established by the
  opportunity school district presents to the commissioner, in the
  time and manner specified by commissioner rule, a written request
  that the commissioner order specific action described by Section
  39.107(e)(1) or (2) other than the specific action requested in the
  parents' petition and a written explanation of the basis for the
  governing body's request, the commissioner may order the action
  requested by the governing body.
         (o)  If the commissioner determines that the basis for the
  unsatisfactory performance of a campus for 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
  instead of removal under this section.
         (p)  On request, the commissioner and the superintendent of
  the opportunity school district shall provide information
  concerning the new operations and performance of a campus to the
  prior system.
         (q)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the
  funding for a campus operated by the opportunity school district
  must be not less than the funding of the other campuses in the prior
  system on a per student basis so that the opportunity school
  district receives at least the same funding the campus would
  otherwise have received, provided that the prior system receives
  the same amount per student in a given year.
         (r)  A campus operated by the opportunity school district may
  change its name only on agreement of the prior system and the
  opportunity school district.
         (s)  The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
  this section.
         SECTION 7.  Section 39.108, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 39.108.  ANNUAL REVIEW. (a)  The commissioner shall
  review annually the performance of a district or campus subject to
  this subchapter to determine the appropriate actions to be
  implemented under this subchapter. The commissioner must review at
  least annually the performance of a district for which the
  accreditation status or rating has been lowered due to insufficient
  student performance and may not raise the accreditation status or
  rating until the district has demonstrated improved student
  performance.  If the review reveals a lack of improvement, the
  commissioner shall increase the level of state intervention and
  sanction unless the commissioner finds good cause for maintaining
  the current status.
         (b)  The review required by Subsection (a) shall form the
  basis of the reporting required by Section 39.332(b)(25).
         SECTION 8.  Section 39.332(b), Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subdivision (25) to read as follows:
               (25)  The report must contain a listing and description
  of the status of each campus under the jurisdiction of the
  opportunity school district and a summary of the reforms
  implemented and progress of the campus.
         SECTION 9.  This Act applies beginning with the 2016-2017
  school year.
         SECTION 10.  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, 2015.