Texas Administrative Code
Title 19 - EDUCATION
Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
Chapter 100 - CHARTERS
Subchapter AA - COMMISSIONER'S RULES CONCERNING OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOLS
Division 3 - COMMISSIONER ACTION, PERFORMANCE MONITORING, AND INTERVENTION
Section 100.1035 - Charter Amendment

Universal Citation: 19 TX Admin Code § 100.1035

Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025

(a) Subject to the requirements of this section, the terms of an open-enrollment charter may be revised with the consent of the charter holder by expansion or non-expansion amendment as approved by the commissioner of education.

(b) Information relevant to all amendment requests.

(1) Filing of amendment request. Prior to implementation, the charter holder shall file a request, in the form prescribed, with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) division responsible for charter schools.

(2) Board resolution. The request must be attached to a written resolution adopted by the governing body of the charter holder and signed by a majority of the members indicating approval of the requested amendment.

(3) Relevant information considered. As directed by the commissioner, a charter holder requesting an amendment shall submit current information required by the prescribed amendment form, 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 performance on the Charter School Performance Frameworks (CSPF) adopted by rule in § 100.1031 of this title (relating to Performance Frameworks for Subchapters D and E Charter Schools); student and other performance; compliance, staff, financial, and organizational data; and other information.

(4) Best interest of students. The commissioner may approve an 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 students. The commissioner may consider the performance of all charters operated by the same charter holder in the decision to finally grant or deny an amendment.

(5) 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 students.

(6) 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 under this section. If a form or format is promulgated for a particular type of amendment, it must be used to request an amendment of that type.

(7) Ineligibility. The commissioner will not consider any amendment that is submitted by a charter holder that has been notified by the commissioner of the commissioner's intent to allow the expiration of the charter or intent to revoke the charter. This subsection does not limit the commissioner's authority to accept the surrender of a charter.

(c) Expansion amendments.

(1) Timeline for submission. A charter holder may submit a request for approval for an expansion amendment:
(A) up to 36 months before the date on which the expansion will be effective; and

(B) no later than the first day of March before the school year for which the expansion will be effective.

(2) Notification.
(A) Upon receipt of an expansion amendment request by a charter holder, the TEA division responsible for charter schools will notify the following:
(i) the superintendent and the board of trustees of each school district from which the proposed open-enrollment charter school or campus is likely to draw students, as defined in § 100.1013 of this title (relating to Notification of Charter Application); and

(ii) each member of the legislature that represents the geographic area to be served by the proposed school or campus, as defined in § 100.1013 of this title.

(B) To be considered a school district for purposes related to land development standards, licensing, zoning, and various purposes and services, a charter school must meet the notification requirements as outlined in § 100.1209 of this title (relating to Municipal Ordinances).

(C) Should a change in the location of a campus be approved after notification but prior to opening, the commissioner of education or the commissioner's designee is required to notify as required by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph based on the zip code of the new location.

(3) Expansion types. A charter holder of an open-enrollment charter may submit, as described by this section, a request for approval for either:
(A) expedited expansion; or

(B) discretionary expansion.

(4) Expedited expansion amendments. An expedited expansion amendment allows for the establishment of a new charter campus under Texas Education Code (TEC), §12.101(b-4).
(A) In order to submit an expedited expansion amendment, the charter school must meet the following requirements:
(i) an accreditation status of Accredited;

(ii) currently has at least 50% of its student population in grades assessed under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter B, or has had at least 50% of the students in the grades assessed enrolled in the school for at least three years;

(iii) is currently evaluated under the standard accountability procedures for evaluation under TEC, Chapter 39, and received a district rating in the highest or second highest performance rating category under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter C, for three of the last five ratings;

(iv) at least 75% of the campuses rated under the charter school also received a rating in the highest or second highest performance rating category in the most recent ratings; and

(v) no campus received a rating in the lowest performance rating category in the most recent ratings.

(B) Unless the commissioner provides written notice that the charter holder does not meet the requirements outlined in TEC, § 12.101(b-4), within 60 days of the date the charter holder submits a completed expedited expansion amendment, the amendment is considered enacted. If the commissioner denies the amendment, the commissioner must identify the legal and factual basis for denial, including the specific criteria under TEC, § 12.101(b-4), that was not met.

(5) Discretionary expansion amendments. A discretionary expansion amendment permits commissioner-approved changes to the terms of an open-enrollment charter school related to expansion.
(A) Discretionary expansion amendment types. There are three types of discretionary amendments.
(i) Maximum enrollment. The commissioner may approve an expansion amendment request seeking to increase maximum allowable enrollment.

(ii) Grade span. The commissioner may approve an expansion amendment request seeking to extend the grade levels it serves only if it is accompanied by appropriate educational plans for the additional grade levels in accordance with Chapter 74, Subchapter A, of this title (relating to Required Curriculum), and such plan has been reviewed and approved by the charter governing board.

(iii) Adding a campus or site. The commissioner may approve an expansion amendment request seeking to add a new campus or site under a campus only if it meets the following criteria:
(I) the charter holder has operated at least one charter school campus in Texas for a minimum of three consecutive years; and

(II) a new site under an existing campus will be located within 25 miles of the campus with which it is associated.

(B) Board certification. Before voting to request a discretionary expansion amendment, the charter holder governing board must certify that they have considered a business plan and has determined by majority vote of the board that the growth proposed is financially prudent relative to the financial and operational strength of the charter school and includes such a statement in the board resolution. The commissioner may request submission of the business plan, which must be comprised of the following components:
(i) a statement discussing the need for the expansion;

(ii) a statement discussing the current and projected financial condition of the charter holder and charter school;

(iii) an unaudited statement of financial position for the current fiscal year;

(iv) an unaudited statement of financial activities for the current fiscal year;

(v) an unaudited statement of cash flows for the current fiscal year;

(vi) a pro forma budget that includes the costs of operating the charter school, including the implementation of the expansion amendment;

(vii) a statement or schedule that identifies the assumptions used to calculate the charter school's estimated Foundation School Program revenues;

(viii) a statement discussing the use of debt instruments to finance part or all of the charter school's incremental costs;

(ix) a statement discussing the incremental cost of acquiring additional facilities, furniture, and equipment to accommodate the anticipated increase in student enrollment;

(x) a statement discussing the incremental cost of additional on-site personnel and identifying the additional number of full-time equivalents that will be employed;

(xi) the required statement that the growth proposed is financially prudent relative to the financial and operational strength of the charter school;

(xii) there are no instances of nepotism, conflicts of interest, or revelations in criminal history checks that deemed any board member or employee ineligible to serve as reported in the Governance Reporting Forms submitted to TEA for the previous three years; and

(xiii) the charter holder meets all other requirements applicable to expansion amendment requests and other amendments.

(C) Requirements. The commissioner may approve a discretionary expansion amendment only if:
(i) the expansion will be effective no earlier than the start of the fourth full school year at the affected charter school. This restriction does not apply if the affected charter school has a district rating of an A, B, or C and is operated by a charter holder that operates multiple charter campuses and all of that charter holder's most recent campus ratings of an A, B, or C;

(ii) the charter school has an accreditation status of Accredited;

(iii) the most recent district rating for the charter school is an A, B, or C;

(iv) the most recent district financial accountability rating for the charter school in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas for charter schools is "satisfactory" as defined by § 100.1001(9) of this title (relating to Definitions);

(v) a charter holder that operates multiple charter campuses meets the criteria in subclause (I) or (II) of this clause. When calculating the percentages described, campuses that receive a 'Not Rated' rating shall not be included in the calculation.
(I) At least 90% of the campuses that receive an accountability rating are rated as an A, B, or C.

(II) If 75-89% of campuses that receive an accountability rating under the charter school are rated as an A, B, or C, the charter holder must provide additional information with the expansion request; and

(vi) the most recent designation for the charter school under the CSPF is "Tier 1" or "Tier 2" as defined by § 100.1031 of this title.

(D) Discretionary expansion amendment determination timeline. Notice of the commissioner's decision regarding a discretionary expansion amendment will be made within 60 calendar days of the date the charter holder submits a completed amendment request. The notice of the commissioner's determination may be sent electronically.

(6) High-quality campus designation. A high-quality campus designation is a separate designation and must be requested prior to the opening of a new campus associated with an approved expansion amendment. Charter holders of charter schools that receive high-quality campus designation from the commissioner will be eligible to participate in the charter school program competitive grant process when federal funding for the Texas charter school program is available.
(A) The commissioner may approve a high-quality campus designation for a charter only if:
(i) the charter holder meets all requirements applicable to an expansion amendment set forth in this section and has operated at least one charter school campus in Texas for a minimum of five consecutive years;

(ii) the charter school has been evaluated under the accountability rating system established in § 97.1001 of this title (relating to Accountability Rating System), has an accreditation status of Accredited, is currently evaluated under the standard accountability procedures, currently has an "A" or "B" rating at the local education agency level, and has an "A" or "B" rating in the previous two years in which ratings were issued with each campus that received a rating and operated under the charter also receiving an "A" or "B" rating as defined by § 100.1001(8) of this title in the most recent state accountability ratings;

(iii) no charter campus has been identified for federal interventions in the most current report;

(iv) the charter school is not under any sanction imposed by TEA authorized under TEC, Chapter 39; Chapter 97, Subchapter EE, of this title (relating to Accreditation Status, Standards, and Sanctions); or federal requirements;

(v) is rated "Tier 1" in the most recent CSPF and meets the requirements of federal law and TEC, § 12.111(a)(3) and (4);

(vi) the charter holder completes an application approved by the commissioner;

(vii) the amendment complies with all requirements of this paragraph; and

(viii) the commissioner determines that the designation is in the best interest of students.

(B) In addition to the requirements of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the commissioner may approve a high-quality campus designation only if the campus with the proposed designation:
(i) satisfies each element of the definition of a public charter school as set forth in federal law, including:
(I) admits students on the basis of a lottery, consistent with Elementary and Secondary Education Act, §4303(c)(3)(A), if more students apply for admission than can be accommodated; or

(II) in the case of a school that has an affiliated charter school (such as a school that is part of the same network of schools), automatically enrolls students who are enrolled in the immediate prior grade level of the affiliated charter school and, for any additional student openings or student openings created through regular attrition in student enrollment in the affiliated charter school and the enrolling school, admits students on the basis of a lottery as described in subclause (I) of this clause;

(ii) is separate and distinct from the existing charter school campus(es) established under the open-enrollment charter school with a separate facility and county-district-campus number; and

(iii) holds a valid charter contract issued by TEA.

(C) In making the findings required by subparagraph (B)(i) and (iii) of this paragraph, the commissioner shall consider:
(i) the terms of the open-enrollment charter school as a whole, as modified by the high-quality campus designation; and

(ii) whether the campus with the proposed designation shall be established and recognized as a separate school under Texas law.

(D) Failure to meet any standard or requirement for high-quality campus designation or agreed to in a performance agreement shall mean the immediate termination of any federal charter school program grant and/or any waiver exempting a charter from some of the expansion amendment requirements that may have been granted to a charter holder as a result of the high-quality campus designation.

(E) Notice of the commissioner's decision regarding a high-quality campus designation will be made within 60 calendar days of the date the charter holder submits a completed request. The notice of the commissioner's determination may be sent electronically.

(d) Non-expansion amendment. A non-expansion amendment permits changes to the terms of an open-enrollment charter school not related to expansion.

(1) Timeline for submission. All non-expansion amendments may be filed with the commissioner at any time throughout the year.

(2) Non-expansion amendment types. A non-expansion amendment is either material or non-material.
(A) Material non-expansion amendments include changes to the terms of an open-enrollment charter, including the following: relocation of a campus, campus or charter dormancy, closing or returning an active campus or site, charter holder governance, articles of incorporation, corporate bylaws, management company, admission and enrollment policy, shared services cooperatives or shared services agreements, and curriculum programs not already approved by TEA.
(i) Relocation amendment. A material non-expansion amendment to relocate solely permits a charter holder to relocate an existing campus or site to an alternate address while serving the same students and grade levels without a significant disruption to the delivery of the educational services. The alternate address of the relocation shall not be in excess of 25 miles from the existing campus address.

(ii) Material charter language change. Any material non-expansion amendment that requires changes to charter language shall set forth the text and page references in electronic format of the current open-enrollment charter language to be changed, and the text proposed as the new open-enrollment charter language.

(B) Non-material non-expansion amendments include changes to the terms of an open-enrollment charter, including the following: charter holder name, charter school (district) name, charter campus name, grade levels served on a campus, campus start date change, closing or returning a dormant campus or site, and fiscal year change.

(C) Any non-expansion amendment not identified in subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph is subject to commissioner determination as material or non-material.

(D) The following timelines apply to non-expansion amendment requests.
(i) Charter holders that submit material non-expansion requests will receive notice of the commissioner's decision within 60 calendar days of a completed amendment request.

(ii) Charter holders that submit non-material non-expansion requests may proceed with the request 30 calendar days after the date the charter holder submits a completed amendment request unless otherwise notified by the commissioner.

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