Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a)
Petition for renewal.
(1) A charter holder of
an open-enrollment charter may submit, as described by this section, a petition
for:
(A) expedited renewal; or
(B) discretionary renewal.
(2) A petition for renewal of the
charter must be submitted on the date provided by the Texas Education Agency
(TEA) annually, prior to the expiration of the charter contract.
(3) A petition for renewal must be in the
form provided by the TEA and shall include all information and documentation
required by the form.
(4) If a
charter holder fails to submit a timely and sufficient petition for renewal of
an open-enrollment charter, the existing charter may expire at the end of its
term.
(b) Expedited
renewal. If a charter holder submits the petition for expedited renewal, the
commissioner of education will approve or deny the expedited renewal not later
than the 30th day after the date of the charter holder submission. A charter
holder may submit a petition for expedited renewal if:
(1) the charter holder has been assigned the
highest or second highest performance rating under Texas Education Code (TEC),
Chapter 39, Subchapter C, for the three preceding school years;
(2) the charter holder has been assigned a
financial performance accountability rating under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter
D, indicating financial performance that is satisfactory or better for the
three preceding school years; and
(3) no campus operating under the charter has
been assigned the lowest performance rating under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter
C, for the three preceding school years or such a campus has been
closed.
(c) Expiration.
Notwithstanding any other law, a determination by the commissioner under this
subsection is final and may not be appealed. The commissioner may not renew the
charter and must allow the charter to expire if:
(1) the charter holder has been assigned the
lowest performance rating under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter C, for any three of
the five preceding school years;
(2) the charter holder has been assigned a
financial accountability performance rating under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter
D, indicating financial performance that is lower than satisfactory for any
three of the five preceding school years;
(3) the charter holder has been assigned any
combination of the ratings described by paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection
for any three of the five preceding school years; or
(4) any campus operating under the charter
has been assigned the lowest performance rating under TEC, Chapter 39,
Subchapter C, for the three preceding school years and such a campus, and if
applicable, all sites associated with the campus, has not been
closed.
(d)
Discretionary renewal.
(1) A charter holder
may submit a petition for discretionary renewal if it:
(A) does not qualify to submit the petition
for expedited renewal; or
(B) is
not subject to an expiration under subsection (c) of this section.
(2) In evaluating the petition for
discretionary renewal, the commissioner shall consider the following:
(A) the results of the charter's annual
evaluation under the performance framework set forth in the Charter School
Performance Framework Manual established under TEC, §12.1181;
and
(B) the criteria described
under §
100.1032
of this title (relating to Standards for Discretionary Renewal).
(e) Special rules for
alternative education accountability (AEA) charters. The following provisions
apply to the renewal of the charter of an open-enrollment charter school that
is registered under the TEA AEA procedures for evaluation under TEC, Chapter
39.
(1) Discretionary renewal of AEA
charters. An AEA charter may submit the petition for discretionary renewal and
the petition must be considered under the discretionary renewal process. An AEA
charter may not submit a petition for expedited renewal.
(2) Academic criteria for discretionary
renewal of AEA charters.
(A) In considering a
petition for discretionary renewal by an AEA charter such as a dropout recovery
school or a school providing education within a residential treatment facility,
the commissioner shall use academic criteria as outlined in the Charter School
Performance Framework Manual established under TEC, §12.1181, that is
appropriate to measure the specific goals of the school.
(B) For purposes of this subsection, the
commissioner shall designate as a dropout recovery school an open-enrollment
charter school or a campus of an open-enrollment charter school:
(i) that serves students in Grades 9-12 and
has an enrollment of which at least 50 percent of the students are 17 years of
age or older as of September 1 of the school year as reported for the fall
semester Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) submission;
and
(ii) that meets the eligibility
requirements for and is registered under AEA procedures adopted by the
commissioner.
(3) Expiration of AEA charters. The
commissioner may not renew and must allow an AEA charter to expire if the
charter holder has been assigned a financial accountability performance rating
under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter D, indicating financial performance that is
lower than satisfactory for any three of the five preceding school
years.
(f) Notice and
content of renewal decision or determination.
(1) Expedited renewal decision. Not later
than the 30th day after the submission of a petition for expedited renewal, the
commissioner shall provide written notice to the charter holder of the
commissioner's decision to grant or deny the petition. If the expedited renewal
is denied, the notice shall include an explanation of the factual and legal
basis for the decision, a description of the legally relevant factors
considered, an explanation of why the result reached is reasonable, and a
description of the procedures to seek a review of the decision.
(2) Discretionary renewal decision. Not later
than the 90th day after the submission of a petition for discretionary renewal,
the commissioner shall provide written notice to the charter holder of the
commissioner's decision to grant or deny the petition. If the discretionary
renewal is denied, the notice shall include an explanation of the factual and
legal basis for the decision, a description of the legally relevant factors
considered, an explanation of why the result reached is reasonable, and a
description of the procedures to seek a review of the determination.
(3) Expiration determination. The
commissioner shall provide written notice to the charter holder of the
commissioner's determination that the charter must expire. In the event a
charter holder that meets the criteria for expiration submits a petition for
renewal, the commissioner, not later than the 90th day after the submission,
shall provide written notice to the charter holder of the commissioner's
decision to deny the petition. Determinations made by the commissioner are
final and may not be appealed. The notice shall include an explanation of the
factual and legal basis for the determination, a description of the legally
relevant factors considered, and an explanation of why the result reached is
reasonable.
(4) Delivery and
effective date of notice. The commissioner shall provide written notice to the
charter holder by regular mail. Notice is effective as of the date of the
postmark.
(g) Appeal of
renewal decisions and determinations. A decision by the commissioner to deny
the petition for an expedited renewal or the petition for a discretionary
renewal is subject to review by the State Office of Administrative Hearings
under an arbitrary and capricious or clearly erroneous standard as described
under Chapter 157, Subchapter EE, Division 4, of this title (relating to State
Office of Administrative Hearings Arbitrary and Capricious or Clearly Erroneous
Review).
(h) Use of ratings and
data. The following provisions apply to the petition for renewal or expiration
under this section.
(1) If a rating is not
issued during one or more of the preceding school years, then the term "three
preceding school years" means the most recent three school years during which a
rating was issued, and the term "three of the five preceding school years"
means three out of the most recent five school years during which a rating was
issued.
(2) A rating that does not
meet the criteria for "academically acceptable" as defined by §
100.1001(26)
of this title (relating to Definitions) shall not be considered the highest or
second highest academic performance rating for purposes of this
section.
(3) For purposes of
renewal or expiration under this section, the term "unacceptable performance"
means an unacceptable academic performance rating as defined by §
100.1001(26)
of this title.
(4) For purposes of
renewal under this section, the term "financial performance lower than
satisfactory" means a financial performance rating as defined by §
100.1001(27)
of this title.
(5) For purposes of
determination of renewal or expiration, the academic accountability performance
rating for the 2011-2012 school year may not be considered.
(6) For purposes of determination of renewal
or expiration, the earliest three school years for which performance ratings
under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter C, shall be considered are the 2009-2010,
2010-2011, and 2012-2013 school years.
(7) For purposes of determination of renewal,
the earliest school year for which financial accountability performance ratings
under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter D, may be considered is the 2010-2011 school
year.
(8) The provisions in
paragraphs (5)-(7) of this subsection and this paragraph expire on September 1,
2016.
(i) Conflict of
rule. Except as provided by subsection (c) of this section, a contract term
that conflicts with any rule in Part 2 of this title is superseded by the rule
to the extent that the rule conflicts with the contract term.
(j) Conditional approval. Notwithstanding any
other rule in Part 2 of this title, the commissioner may require, as a
condition of renewal, that the charter holder amend a contract under TEC,
§12.114(a), to correct any ambiguities, defects, or other
infirmities.
