ORGANIZATION: CHARTER AMENDMENTS [LAW]
1. Approval by Commissioner of
Education
Revision
of the charter of an open-enrollment charter school may be made only with the
written approval of the commissioner. Charter amendments may relate to any of
the following:
A. A
change of grade levels served;
B. Maximum
enrollment limits;
C. Additional
campus locations;
D. Geographic
boundary changes;
E. Management
company contracts;
F. Relocation
of a campus; or
G. Other
matters relating to the charter.
2. Non-Substantive Amendments
The
commissioner may designate, from time to time, a list of non-substantive
amendments for which the charter holder may generally gain approval by filing a
notice of non-substantive amendment.
A. Filing
Before
implementing a non-substantive amendment, the charter holder shall file with
the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Division responsible for charter schools, a
notice, clearly labeled “notice of non-substantive amendment,” setting forth
the text and page reference, or a photocopy, of the current open-enrollment
charter language to be changed, and the text proposed as the new
open-enrollment charter language. A
notice of non-substantive amendment must be filed separately from any other
type of amendment request.
19
B. Commissioner’s
Response to Non-Substantive Amendment
(1) Within
10 business days of receiving notice of a non-substantive amendment, the
commissioner may determine that the amendment will be processed under the rules
governing substantive amendments.
(2) Absent
action by the commissioner to change the “notice of non-substantive amendment”
to a substantive amendment, the notice of non-substantive amendment shall be
effective after the expiration of 10 business days following receipt of
the notice by the TEA Division responsible for charter schools.
19
3. Substantive Amendments
A. In
General
A
substantive amendment is any change to the terms of an open-enrollment charter
that is not a non-substantive amendment.
A substantive amendment must be approved by the commissioner.
19
(1) Filing
Before implementing a substantive amendment, the charter
holder shall file, with the TEA Division responsible for charter schools, a
request, clearly labeled “charter amendment request,” setting forth the text
and page reference, 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
made in or attached to a written resolution adopted by the board of the charter
holder and signed by members voting in favor of it.
19
(2) Information
Considered by the Commissioner
As directed by the commissioner, a charter holder
requesting a substantive amendment shall submit current information required by
relevant portions of the last application form approved the State Board of Education,
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 student and other performance, compliance, Public
Education Information Management System (PEIMS) data, and other
information.
19
(3) Approval
Standard
The commissioner may approve a substantive 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 the
students enrolled in the charter school.
19
(4) 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 the students enrolled in the charter school. An amendment receiving conditional approval
shall not be effective until a written resolution, adopted by the board of the
charter holder and signed by the members voting in favor, is filed with the TEA
Division responsible for charter schools accepting all conditions and/or
requirements.
19
B. Expansion
Amendment
An
expansion amendment is a substantive amendment that will permit the charter
school to extend the grade levels it serves, add the site of an instructional
facility, change its geographic boundaries, or increase its maximum allowable
enrollment. The commissioner may approve
an expansion amendment only if:
(1) The
expansion will be effective no earlier than the start of the third full school
year at the affected charter school;
(2) The
amendment is approved no later than the 1st day of June preceding the school
year in which the expansion will be effective;
(3) The
amendment will not result in a student enrollment of fewer than 50 students,
unless the nature of the charter warrants a minimum enrollment lower than 50
students or the charter is making acceptable progress toward a minimum
enrollment of 50 students;
(4) The charter
holder has provided evidence that each school district affected by the
expansion has received a notice of the expansion amendment and has been given
an opportunity to submit a statement regarding the impact of the amendment on
the district;
(5) The
commissioner determines that the amendment is in the best interest of the
students of
(6) The
charter holder meets all other requirements applicable to expansion amendment
requests and substantive amendments generally.
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 as
may be in the best interest of the students of
19
C. Delegation
Amendment
A delegation amendment is a substantive amendment that
permits a charter holder to delegate the powers or duties of the board of the
charter holder to any other person or entity.
The commissioner may approve a delegation amendment only if:
(1) The charter
holder meets all requirements applicable to delegation amendments and
substantive amendments generally;
(2) The
amendment complies with all requirements of governance of charter schools
contained within the commissioner’s rules governing open-enrollment charter
schools and this policy; and
(3) The
commissioner determines that the amendment is in the best interest of the
students enrolled in the charter school.
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 the students enrolled in the charter school.
19
(1) Restrictions on Delegating the Charter
Holder Board’s Duties
Absent
a specific written waiver, setting forth good cause why a specific function
listed below cannot reasonably be carried out by the charter holder board, the
commissioner may not grant an amendment delegating such functions to any person
or entity through a contract for management services or otherwise. An amendment that is not authorized by such a
specific written waiver is not effective for any purpose.
Absent
a specific waiver from the commissioner, the board of the charter holder shall
not delegate:
(a) Final
authority to hear or decide employee grievances, citizen complaints, or
parental concerns;
(b) Final
authority to adopt or amend the budget of the charter holder or the charter
school, or to authorize the expenditure or obligation of state funds or the use
of public property;
(c) Final
authority to direct the disposition or safekeeping of public records, except
that the governing body may delegate this function to any person, subject to
the governing body’s superior right of immediately access to, control over, and
possession of such records;
(d) Final
authority to adopt policies governing charter school operations;
(e) Final
authority to approve audit reports under Tex. Educ. Code § 44.008(d); or
(f) Initial or
final authority to select, employ, direct, evaluate, renew, non-renew,
terminate, or set compensation for a chief executive officer.
19
(2) Restrictions
on Delegating a Charter Holder Chief Executive Officer’s Duties
Absent a specific written waiver, setting forth good
cause why a specific function listed below cannot reasonably be carried out by
the chief executive officer of the charter holder, the commissioner may not
grant an amendment permitting the chief executive officer to delegate such
function through a contract for management services or otherwise. An amendment that is not authorized by such a
specific written waiver is not effective for any purpose.
.
Absent
such a waiver from the commissioner, the chief executive officer of the charter
holder shall not delegate final authority:
(a) To organize the charter school’s central
administration;
(b) To approve reports or data submissions
required by law; or
(c) To select charter school employees or
officers.
19
4. Required Forms and Formats
The TEA Division
responsible for charter schools may develop and promulgate, from time to time,
forms or formats for requesting charter amendments as outlined in this policy. If a form or format is promulgated for a
particular type of amendment, it must be used to request an amendment of that
type.
19