bill setting rules for handing a campus to a charter

The text as introduced · 423 words

By: Creighton
S.B. No. 2927

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a contract regarding the operation of a school district

campus.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 11.174, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsections (o), and (p) and amending Subsection (h) to read

as follows:

(h) A [ Subject to Subsection (i), a ] contract entered into

by the board of trustees of a school district and the governing body

of an open-enrollment charter school or entity for the operation of

a district campus as provided by Subsection (a) must :

(1) engage in a thorough vetting process, including

exercising due diligence to assess performance, cultural

alignment, and shared goals to:

(A) ensure accurate projections of student

enrollment, average daily attendance, and associated costs to

minimize financial discrepancies; and

(B) clearly state any shared service fees and

include a formula for any adjustment based on actual use or changes

in the student population;

(2) require that all federal money received by the

district for a student at the campus under the Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Section 12101 et seq.), Title I

of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

Section 6301 et seq.), and any other supplementary funding

identified in the contract is passed directly from the district to

the school or entity, without any deduction that is not

specifically authorized in the contract; and

(3) subject to Subsection (i), include a provision

addressing student eligibility for enrollment.

(o) Each school year for which the board of trustees of a

school district enters into a contract to partner with an

open-enrollment charter school or entity to operate a district

campus under Subsection (a):

(1) the district and open-enrollment charter school or

entity shall conduct a financial review of the partnership and

reconcile all payments for the operation of the partnership at the

end of the school year.

(p) The agency:

(1) may provide guidance to school districts,

open-enrollment charter schools, and entities described by

Subsection (a)(2) on contracts to partner to operate a district

campus under Subsection (a); and

(2) may audit a partnership to operate a district

campus under Subsection (a).

SECTION 2. A contract entered into or renewed before the

effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the

date the contract was entered into or renewed, and the former law is

continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.