Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Except as expressly provided in the rules
in this subchapter, provisions in this section apply to applications affiliated
and published under the following Texas Education Code (TEC) subchapters:
(1) TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapter D;
(2) TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapter E;
and
(3) TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapter
G.
(b) Prior to each
application cycle, the commissioner of education shall approve an application
form for submission by new and returning applicants seeking to operate a high
quality open-enrollment charter school. The application form shall address the
content requirements specified in TEC, §
12.111, for the
Subchapter D form; TEC, §
12.154, for the
Subchapter E form; and TEC, §
12.257, for the
Subchapter G form, and contain the following:
(1) the timeline for selection;
(2) applicant conferences and training
prerequisites;
(3) scoring criteria
and procedures for use by the review panel selected under subsection (d) of
this section;
(4) the minimum score
necessary for an application to be eligible for capacity interview;
and
(5) the earliest date an
open-enrollment charter school selected in the cycle may open.
(c) The Texas Education Agency
(TEA) shall review applications submitted under this section.
(1) No applicant will be considered if it
meets either of the conditions in the following subparagraphs. This paragraph
does not apply to an applicant that has previously relinquished a charter,
under the circumstances described in §
100.1001(12)(C)
of this title (relating to Definitions).
(A)
Within the preceding 10 years, the applicant had a charter under Texas law or
similar charter under the laws of another state surrendered under a settlement
agreement, revoked, denied renewal, or returned.
(B) The applicant is considered to be a
corporate affiliate of, or substantially related to, an entity that within the
preceding 10 years, had a charter under Texas law or similar charter under the
laws of another state surrendered under a settlement agreement, revoked, denied
renewal, or returned.
(2)
The commissioner of education may not grant more than one charter for an
open-enrollment charter school to any charter holder.
(3) Upon receipt, TEA shall review
applications for completeness and provide each applicant with a notice that
documents the status of each requirement as complete or incomplete.
(A) TEA shall remove applications without
further processing if documents are:
(i)
received after the submission deadline as provided in the request for
application;
(ii) substantially
incomplete; or
(iii) determined not
to meet the standards in TEC, §§
12.101,
12.152,
12.257, or
12.255, or §
100.1011 or §
100.1017 of this title (relating
to Application Requirements and Selection Process and Applicant Eligibility and
Form Contents).
(B) If
TEA determines that an application is not complete, TEA shall notify the
applicant of all documents that are eligible for remedy and allow five business
days for the applicant to submit the requested documentation.
(C) Once additional review is complete, the
decision of the commissioner or commissioner's designee is final and may not be
appealed.
(D) Failure of TEA to
identify any deficiency, or notify an applicant thereof, does not constitute a
waiver of the requirement and does not bind the commissioner.
(E) Upon written notice to TEA and without
penalty for future application cycles, an applicant may withdraw an
application.
(F) Applications that
are determined complete shall be reviewed and scored by an external application
review panel.
(i) The external application
review panel shall be selected from a pool of qualified candidates. To the
greatest extent practicable, an external review panelist will not be assigned
applications for schools planning to locate within the geographic area in which
they have a primary physical address or employment address and served by the
same regional education service center.
(ii) Members of the review panel shall
disclose to TEA immediately the discovery of any past or present relationship
with an open-enrollment charter applicant, including any current or prospective
employee, agent, officer, or director of the sponsoring entity, an affiliated
entity, or other party with an interest in the selection of the
application.
(iii) Reviewers must
be individuals with the knowledge and skills associated with one or more of the
following: curriculum and instruction, education service and delivery, charter
authorization, charter school organization and management, facilities use and
management, pedagogy, innovative education programs or technologies,
assessments, diverse learning populations, school leadership, human resources,
school finance, and/or charter school governance and policy.
(iv) The panel shall review and score
applications in accordance with the procedures and criteria established in the
application form.
(v) Review panel
members shall not discuss applications with anyone except TEA staff. Review
panel members shall not accept meals, entertainment, gifts, or gratuities in
any form from any person or organization with an interest in the results of the
selection process for open-enrollment charters.
(vi) Applications that are not scored at or
above the minimum score established in the application form are not eligible
for commissioner selection during that cycle.
(vii) Upon completion of external review, TEA
will provide all applicants with the results of their reviews by the panel,
notice of their status as meeting or not meeting the minimum score, whether the
applicant will advance to capacity interviews, the average scores, and
individual scoring rubrics, including comments from independent external review
panelists.
(G) The
commissioner may, at the commissioner's sole discretion, decline to grant an
open-enrollment charter to an applicant whose application was scored at or
above the minimum score.
(i) No
recommendation, ranking, or other type of endorsement by a member or members of
the review panel is binding on the commissioner.
(ii) The commissioner or commissioner's
designee shall provide written notice to any applicant that is removed under
this paragraph.
(iii) The decision
of the commissioner or commissioner's designee is final and may not be
appealed.
(H) All parts
of the application are releasable to the public under the Texas Public
Information Act and will be posted to the TEA website; therefore, the following
must be excluded or redacted:
(i) personal
email addresses;
(ii) proprietary
material;
(iii) copyrighted
material;
(iv) documents that could
violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act by identifying potential
students of the charter school, including, but not limited to, sign-in lists at
public meetings about the school, photographs of existing students if the
school is currently operating or photographs of prospective students, and/or
letters of support from potential charter school parents and/or students;
and
(v) any other information or
documentation that cannot be released in accordance with Texas Government Code,
Chapter 552.
(I) The
commissioner or the commissioner's designee(s) in coordination with TEA staff
shall conduct a capacity interview with applicants whose applications received
the minimum score established in the application form. The commissioner may
specify individuals required to attend the interview and may require the
submission of additional information and documentation prior or subsequent to
an interview.
(d) The commissioner shall approve or deny a
Subchapter D charter school application based on:
(1) documented evidence gathered through the
application review process;
(3) criteria for applicants
that apply as new operators that include, at a minimum:
(A) indications that the charter school will
possess the capability to carry out responsibilities as provided in the
charter;
(B) indications that the
charter school will improve student performance and encourage innovative
programs;
(C) indications that the
charter school will be high-quality, including:
(i) evidence that the school will receive the
highest or second highest performance rating category under TEC, Chapter 39,
Subchapter C, beginning in the first year of eligibility; and
(ii) evidence that the charter school will
earn seventy or more points without failing a critical indicator on the Charter
Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas beginning in Year 1; and
(D) a statement from any school
district whose enrollment is likely to be affected by the charter school,
including information relating to any financial difficulty that a loss in
enrollment may have on the district;
(4) criteria for applicants that apply as
experienced operators that include, at a minimum:
(A) the criteria described in paragraphs
(1)-(3) of this subsection;
(B) the
strength of the applicant's existing portfolio, or their affiliate;
and
(C) the likelihood of operating
a high-quality charter; and
(5) all other criteria published in the
application.
(e) The
commissioner shall approve or deny a Subchapter E charter school application
based on:
(1) the criteria described in
subsection (d)(1)-(3) of this section;
(2) indications that the applicant's
educational program will be implemented under the direct supervision of a
member of the teaching or research faculty of the public junior college, senior
college, or university;
(3)
indications that the faculty member supervising the applicant's educational
program has substantial experience and expertise in education research, teacher
education, classroom instruction, or educational administration;
(4) indications that the applicant's
educational program has been designed to meet specific goals described in the
charter application and each aspect of the program is directed toward the
attainment of the goals;
(5)
indications that the financial operations of the applicant will be supervised
by the business office of the public junior college, senior college, or
university; and
(6) all other
criteria published in the application.
(f) The commissioner shall approve or deny a
Subchapter G charter school application based on:
(1) documented evidence gathered through the
application review process;
(3) criteria that
include:
(A) indications that the education
program will enable program participants to successfully earn a diploma and
take career and technology education courses that can lead to an industry
certification;
(B) indications that
the applicant, or a member of the applicant's executive leadership has a
successful history of providing education services, including industry
certifications and job placement services, to adults 18 years of age and older
whose educational and training opportunities have been limited by educational
disadvantages, disabilities, homelessness, criminal history, or similar
marginalizing circumstances;
(C)
indications that a significant portion of instruction will be delivered in a
teacher-led, interactive classroom environment;
(D) indications that the educational program
will provide access to:
(i) career readiness
training;
(ii) postsecondary
counseling; and
(iii) job-placement
services;
(E) indications
that the educational program will provide support services that include:
(i) child care at no cost to
students;
(ii) life coaching
services as outlined in TEC, §
12.259;
(iii) mental health counseling;
(iv) instructional support services for
students with identified disabilities; and
(v) transportation assistance;
(F) indications that the charter
school will possess the capability to carry out responsibilities as provided in
the charter;
(G) indications that
the proposed governance structure will maintain sound fiscal management and
administrative practices; and
(H)
indications that the financial plan is viable.
(g) Priority shall be given to applicants
that propose a school in an attendance zone of a school district campus
assigned an unacceptable performance rating under TEC, §
39.054, for two
preceding years. This paragraph does not apply to an application form released
under TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapter G.
(h) An applicant or any person or entity
acting on behalf of an applicant for an open-enrollment charter shall not
knowingly communicate with any member of an external application review panel
concerning a charter school application beginning on the date the application
is submitted and ending 90 days after the commissioner's proposal of a
Subchapter D charter, or ending with the commissioner's notice of decision
regarding a Subchapter E or G charter, whichever applies. On finding a material
violation of the no-contact period, the commissioner may reject the application
and deem it ineligible for award.
(i) An applicant or their representative must
not initiate contact with any employee of TEA, other than the commissioner or
commissioner's designee, regarding the content of its application from the time
the application is submitted until the application cycle is final, following
the 90-day State Board of Education (SBOE) veto period.
(j) An applicant or person or entity acting
on behalf of the applicant may not provide any item of value, directly or
indirectly, to the commissioner, any employee of TEA, or a member of the SBOE
during the no-contact period.
(k)
An applicant or any person or entity acting on behalf of an applicant for an
open-enrollment charter shall not knowingly communicate with any member of the
SBOE beginning on the date the application is submitted and ending on the date
the applicant passes through an external review with a qualifying score. On
finding a material violation of the no-contact period, the commissioner may
reject the application and deem it ineligible for award. This paragraph does
not apply to a charter the commissioner authorizes under TEC, Chapter 12,
Subchapter E and Subchapter G.
(l)
The commissioner shall notify the SBOE of each charter the commissioner
proposes to authorize. A charter proposed by the commissioner will be granted
on the 90th day after the date on which the SBOE receives the notice from the
commissioner unless either of the conditions in the following paragraphs are
met. This paragraph does not apply to a charter the commissioner authorizes
under TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapters E and G.
(1) The SBOE votes against the charter in
accordance with TEC, §
12.101(b-0).
(2) The commissioner withdraws the
proposal.
(m) The
commissioner may defer granting an open-enrollment charter subject to
contingencies and shall require fulfillment of such contingencies before the
charter school is issued a contract. Such conditions must be fulfilled by the
awardee, as determined by the commissioner, no later than 60 days after the
date of the notification of contingencies by the commissioner or the proposal
of the charter is withdrawn. The commissioner may establish timelines for
submission by the awardee of any documentation to be considered by the
commissioner in determining whether contingencies have been met.
(n) The commissioner may decline to finally
grant or award a charter based on misrepresentations during the application
process or failure to comply with commissioner rules, application requirements,
or SBOE rules.
(o) An
open-enrollment charter shall be in the form and substance of a written
contract signed by the commissioner, the board chair of the charter holder or
charter school, and the chief operating officer of the school but is not a
contract for goods or services within the meaning of Texas Government Code,
Chapter 2260. The chief operating officer of the school shall mean the chief
executive officer of the open-enrollment charter holder under TEC, §
12.1012.
(p) The charter contract shall be for an
initial term of five years beginning on July 1 following the execution of the
initial contract or July 1 following an approved extension under subsection (q)
of this section.
(q) The charter
must open and serve students within one school year of the awarding of the
charter contract, unless an extension is approved by the commissioner. Failure
to operate by the approved extension date shall constitute an automatic
abandonment of the charter contract and the charter is automatically considered
void and returned to the commissioner.