Middleton Bill Lets Commissioner Take Over Schools After Safety Findings

The text as introduced · 2,030 words

89R4876 MEW-F

By: Middleton
S.B. No. 408

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the appointment of an inspector general for education

and the creation of a division of inspector general for education in

the governor's office to investigate the administration of public

education.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37.1082, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) The commissioner may appoint the inspector general

for education established under Chapter 453, Government Code, as a

conservator for purposes of Subsection (a).

SECTION 2. The heading to Section 37.1085, Education Code,

is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 37.1085. INTERVENTIONS [ ASSIGNMENT OF CONSERVATOR ]

FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH SCHOOL SAFETY AND SECURITY REQUIREMENTS.

SECTION 3. Section 37.1085, Education Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as

follows:

(c) Subsections (a) and (b) do [ This section does ] not apply

to a school district's failure to comply with Section 37.0814 or a

good cause exception claimed under that section.

(d) If the division of inspector general for education

established under Chapter 453, Government Code, makes a finding of

fact under Section 453.051(c)(6), Government Code, that a school

district, an open-enrollment charter school, a regional education

service center, or another local education agency committed a

violation of a school safety and security requirement, the

commissioner may take control of the management, or any part of the

management, of the entity that committed the violation.

SECTION 4. Section 39.003(a), Education Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) The commissioner may authorize special investigations

to be conducted:

(1) when excessive numbers of absences of students

eligible to be tested on state assessment instruments are

determined;

(2) when excessive numbers of allowable exemptions

from the required state assessment instruments are determined;

(3) in response to complaints submitted to the agency

with respect to alleged violations of civil rights or other

requirements imposed on the state by federal law or court order;

(4) in response to established compliance reviews of

the district's financial accounting practices and state and federal

program requirements;

(5) when extraordinary numbers of student placements

in disciplinary alternative education programs, other than

placements under Sections 37.006 and 37.007, are determined;

(6) in response to an allegation involving a conflict

between members of the board of trustees or between the board and

the district administration if it appears that the conflict

involves a violation of a role or duty of the board members or the

administration clearly defined by this code;

(7) when excessive numbers of students in special

education programs under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, are assessed

through assessment instruments developed or adopted under Section

39.023(b);

(8) in response to an allegation regarding or an

analysis using a statistical method result indicating a possible

violation of an assessment instrument security procedure

established under Section 39.0301, including for the purpose of

investigating or auditing a school district under that section;

(9) when a significant pattern of decreased academic

performance has developed as a result of the promotion in the

preceding two school years of students who did not perform

satisfactorily as determined by the commissioner under Section

39.0241(a) on assessment instruments administered under Section

39.023(a), (c), or (l);

(10) when excessive numbers of students eligible to

enroll fail to complete an Algebra II course or any other advanced

course as determined by the commissioner;

(11) when resource allocation practices as evaluated

under Section 39.0821 indicate a potential for significant

improvement in resource allocation;

(12) when a disproportionate number of students of a

particular demographic group is graduating with a particular

endorsement under Section 28.025(c-1);

(13) when an excessive number of students is

graduating with a particular endorsement under Section

28.025(c-1);

(14) in response to a complaint submitted to the

agency with respect to alleged inaccurate data that is reported

through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)

or through other reports required by state or federal law or rule or

court order and that is used by the agency to make a determination

relating to public school accountability, including accreditation,

under this chapter;

(15) when 10 percent or more of the students

graduating in a particular school year from a particular high

school campus are awarded a diploma based on the determination of an

individual graduation committee under Section 28.0258;

(16) when a school district for any reason fails to

produce, at the request of the agency, evidence or an investigation

report relating to an educator who is under investigation by the

State Board for Educator Certification; [ or ]

(17) by the division of inspector general for

education established under Chapter 453, Government Code, for the

purpose of investigating allegations of:

(A) fraud, waste, and abuse in the administration

of public education; and

(B) violations, including violations by school

district employees, representatives, and contractors, of:

(i) school safety and security requirements

under Sections 37.108, 37.1081, and 37.109; or

(ii) other provisions of this code or other

law; or

(18) as the commissioner otherwise determines

necessary.

SECTION 5. Subtitle D, Title 4, Government Code, is amended

by adding Chapter 453 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 453. INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR EDUCATION

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 453.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Division" means the division of inspector general

for education established under this chapter.

(2) "Fraud" means an intentional deception or

misrepresentation made by a person with the knowledge that the

deception or misrepresentation could result in some unauthorized

benefit to that person or some other person. The term includes any

act that constitutes fraud under applicable federal or state law.

(3) "Local education agency" includes a school

district or county system described by Subchapter G, Chapter 11,

Education Code.

Sec. 453.002. DIVISION OF INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR EDUCATION.

(a) The division of inspector general for education is established

in the office of the governor.

(b) The governor shall appoint an inspector general to serve

as director of the division. The inspector general serves until

removed by the governor.

(c) The office of the governor shall provide staff and

administrative resources and support services as necessary to

ensure investigations and reviews authorized by this chapter are

conducted expeditiously.

SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES

Sec. 453.051. GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES. (a) The division

is responsible for:

(1) the investigation, prevention, and detection of

wrongdoing and fraud, waste, and abuse in the administration of

public education by school districts, open-enrollment charter

schools, regional education service centers, and other local

education agencies in this state;

(2) the investigation of violations of school safety

and security requirements and other provisions of the Education

Code or other law by entities described by Subdivision (1); and

(3) at the discretion of the division, the

investigation of complaints received from public school students

and parents regarding issues involving an entity described by

Subdivision (1).

(b) The division may investigate allegations of:

(1) fraud, waste, and abuse; and

(2) violations of:

(A) school safety and security requirements

under Sections 37.108, 37.1081, and 37.109, Education Code; or

(B) any other provision of the Education Code or

other law.

(c) The division may:

(1) conduct civil and administrative investigations

and initiate reviews of a school district, an open-enrollment

charter school, a regional education service center, or another

local education agency as considered appropriate by the inspector

general;

(2) conduct audits of the use of money, including

money used for school security, by an entity described by

Subdivision (1);

(3) receive complaints from any source and investigate

those complaints on the division's own initiative;

(4) conduct special investigations authorized by the

commissioner of education under Section 39.003(a), Education Code;

(5) review public school safety and security audits

conducted under Section 37.108, Education Code;

(6) make findings of fact that an entity described by

Subdivision (1) or an employee or agent of that entity committed an

act of wrongdoing, fraud, waste, or abuse in the administration of

public education or a violation of a school safety and security

requirement and take appropriate action as determined by the

governor in consultation with the commissioner of education,

regardless of any time requirement relating to the action under

Chapter 8, 12, or 39A, Education Code; and

(7) notwithstanding Subdivision (6), on a finding of a

violation of a school safety and security requirement, including a

requirement relating to a school district's or open-enrollment

charter school's multihazard emergency operations plan, by an

entity described by that subdivision, prescribe binding corrective

or disciplinary action, including timelines for those actions, to

be taken.

(d) The governor may order the division to conduct a

forensic audit of any school district, open-enrollment charter

school, regional education service center, or other local education

agency in this state. The entity for which the audit was ordered

shall pay the costs of the audit.

(e) The division shall perform all other duties and exercise

all other powers granted to the division by this chapter or other

law.

Sec. 453.052. GENERAL POWERS. (a) The division has all the

powers necessary or appropriate to carry out its responsibilities

and functions under this chapter and other law.

(b) Subject to Subsection (c), in conducting an

investigation under this chapter of the board of trustees of a

school district, the governing body of an open-enrollment charter

school, the board of directors of a regional education service

center or another local education agency, or the executive

leadership of any of those entities, the division may:

(1) attend any meeting or proceeding of the applicable

entity, including a meeting or proceeding that is closed to the

public, except for a private consultation of the entity with its

attorney permitted under Section 551.071; and

(2) inspect the records, documents, and files of the

applicable entity, including any record, document, or file that is

not subject to public disclosure under Chapter 552 or other law.

(c) The division's authority under Subsection (b) applies

only to a meeting, a proceeding, or information that is relevant to

the discovery of relevant information regarding an allegation of

wrongdoing or a violation of the Education Code or other law or of

fraud, waste, or abuse in the administration of public education by

a person or entity described by Subsection (b). The division may not

inspect a record, document, or file that is a privileged

communication between an individual and the individual's attorney.

(d) The inspection or disclosure of a record, document, or

file for purposes of an investigation under this chapter is not a

voluntary disclosure under Section 552.007. A record, document, or

file made available to the division for purposes of an

investigation under this chapter is not subject to public

disclosure by the division.

(e) The division may, for purposes of conducting an

investigation under this chapter, access any information under the

agency's control, including information contained in the Public

Education Information Management System (PEIMS) and information

relating to school disciplinary records.

Sec. 453.053. SUBPOENAS. (a) The inspector general may

issue a subpoena to compel the attendance of a relevant witness at a

hearing or deposition under this chapter or to compel the

production, for inspection or copying, of books, papers, records,

documents, or other relevant materials, including electronic data,

in connection with an investigation, review, hearing, or deposition

conducted under this chapter.

(b) A subpoena may be served personally or by certified

mail. If a person fails to comply with a subpoena, the inspector

general, acting through the attorney general, may file suit to

enforce the subpoena in a district court in this state.

(c) On finding that good cause exists for issuing the

subpoena, the court shall order the person to comply with the

subpoena. The court may hold in contempt a person who fails to obey

the court order.

Sec. 453.054. COOPERATION WITH OTHER ENTITIES. The

division may refer matters for further civil and administrative

action to appropriate administrative agencies, including the

attorney general.

SECTION 6. 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, 2025.