Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(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 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 an unacceptable 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 and in accordance with TEC, §
12.1141(e),
a determination by the commissioner of education 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 unacceptable 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. For purposes of determining a
combination, a school that earned a financial and academic rating as described
in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection in the same year will count once;
or
(4) any campus operating under
the charter has been assigned an unacceptable 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:
(A) the results of the charter's annual
evaluation under the performance framework set forth in the Charter School
Performance Framework (CSPF) Manual established under TEC, §
12.1181; and
(B) the criteria described under §
100.1039 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 CSPF 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 that:
(i) serves students in Grades 9-12 and has an
enrollment of which at least 60% of the students are 16 years of age or older
as of September 1 of the school year as reported for the fall semester Public
Education Information Management System submission or applies for and receives
designation as a dropout recovery school in accordance with commissioner rule;
and
(ii) meets the eligibility
requirements for and is registered under alternative education accountability
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
electronically to the charter holder. Notice is effective on the sent date of
the electronic notification.
(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, not to exceed more than the six most recent years.
(2) A rating that does not meet the criteria
for "academically acceptable" as defined by §
100.1001(8) 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(8) 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(9) of
this title.
(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 (relating to Texas
Education Agency) 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.
