2015 Legislative Summary for Texas Charter School Leaders REGULAR SESSION OF THE 84th TEXAS LEGISLATURE Table of Contents TCSA Legislative Summary for the 84th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature This Legislative Summary contains general summaries of the bills passed during the 84th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature that impact charter schools. It is for informational purposes only. Many of the new bills may require a charter school to re-evaluate its policies and procedures or may require the creation of new policies to comply with statutory and regulatory changes. TCSA offers a series of model board policies designed to aid and educate charter school leaders in the operation and management of their schools. TCSA will update Model Board Policy Series to reflect these changes in the law, and these updates will be available to current subscribers of the series. More information regarding the TCSA Model Board Policy Series is available by phone at (512) 584-8272 or visit: www.txcharterschools.org/purchase-model-board-policies/model-board-policy-series. You must not rely on the information in this summary as legal advice or as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional legal services provider. If you have any specific questions about a particular bill or change in law, you should directly consult TCSA Legal & Policy Services, your attorney, or other professional legal services provider. Table of Contents State Appropriations 1 Accountability House Bill 743 / Representative Dan Huberty 3 House Bill 1164 / Representative Gary VanDeaver 4 House Bill 1613 / Representative Ryan Guillen 5 House Bill 1842 / Representative Jimmie Don Aycock 6 Senate Bill 1867 / Senator Judith Zaffirini 8 House Bill 2804 / Representative Jimmie Don Aycock 9 House Bill 3106 / Representative Dan Huberty 10 Early Childhood Education House Bill 4 / Representative Dan Huberty 13 FSP Funding House Bill 1474 / Representative Gary VanDeaver 17 House Bill 2251* / Representative Rafael Anchia 18 Open Government House Bill 283 / Representative Pat Fallon 21 House Bill 685 / Representative Kenneth Sheets 22 House Bill 2134 / Representative Cindy Burkett 23 School Employees House Bill 218 / Representative Marisa Márquez 25 Senate Bill 674 / Senator Donna Campbell 26 Senate Bill 925 / Senator Lois Kolkhorst 27 Senate Bill 934 / Senator Lois Kolkhorst 28 Senate Bill 935 / Senator Lois Kolkhorst 29 Senate Bill 972 / Senator Lois Kolkhorst 30 House Bill 1783 / Representative Joe Moody 31 House Bill 2168 / Representative Sergio Muñoz 32 House Bill 2186 / Representative Byron Cook 33 House Bill 2974 / Representative Dan Flynn 34 *TCSA Legislative Priority Table of Contents School Operations House Bill 910 / Representative Larry Phillips 37 Senate Bill 955 / Senator Charles Schwertner 38 House Bill 1170* / Representative Marsha Farney 39 House Bill 1171* / Representative Marsha Farney 40 House Bill 1804 / Representative Elliott Naishtat 41 Senate Bill 2062 / Senator Kirk Watson 42 Student Attendance & Instruction House Bill 18 / Representative Jimmie Don Aycock 45 Senate Bill 149 / Senator Kel Seliger 46 House Bill 181 / Representative Cecil Bell 47 Senate Bill 453 / Senator Kel Seliger 48 House Bill 505 / Representative Eddie Rodriguez 49 Senate Bill 968 / Senator Royce West 50 Senate Bill 1494 / Senator Carlos Uresti 51 Senate Bill 1776 / Senator José Menéndez 52 House Bill 2349 / Representative Jimmie Don Aycock 53 House Bill 2610 / Representative Ken King 54 House Bill 2660 / Representative Donna Howard 55 Student Health, Nutrition & Safety Senate Bill 66 / Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa 57 Senate Bill 265 / Senator Rodney Ellis 58 Senate Bill 382 / Senator Carlos Uresti 59 Senate Bill 996 / Senator Van Taylor 60 House Bill 1305 / Representative Greg Bonnen 61 Students with Disabilities Senate Bill 507 / Senator Eddie Lucio 63 Senate Bill 1259 / Senator José Rodríguez 65 Texas Education Agency House Bill 1706 / Representative Gary VanDeaver 67 House Bill 3748 / Representative Marsha Farney 68 *TCSA Legislative Priority Table of Contents State Appropriations Summarized below are the estimated changes Impact on Charter Schools: made to the Foundation School Program (FSP) Open-enrollment charter schools will see in an increase in the funding resulting from actions taken by the 84th per student allocation of FSP funding. Based on Legislative Legislature during the 2015 regular session. Budget Board (LBB) estimates, FSP funding will increase approximately $126 per WADA in fiscal year 2015-2016 for Summary: open-enrollment charter schools. Actions taken by the 84th Legislature resulted in a $1.5 billion increase in Foundation School Program Entitlement for the 2016-2017 biennium. This increase was primarily due to a $1.2 billion increase in the basic allotment, $200 million for fractional funding for the New Instructional Facilities Allotment (NIFA) of $23,750,000 each year, and $55.5 million for Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA) awards in fiscal year 2017. Texas Charter Schools Association ©2015 1 Table of Contents 2 Texas Charter Schools Association ©2015 Table of Contents Accountability House Bill 743 / Representative Dan Huberty Impact on Charter Schools: Kingwood This new legislation will not impact charter schools, but charter school leaders should be aware of the changes made Effective Date: by HB 743. June 19, 2015 Amending Education Code: §39.023, §39.0236, and §39.0261 Bill Summary: HB 743 amends the Education Code to require that an assessment instrument be determined to be valid and reliable by an independent entity before it is administered. The TEA is required to ensure that all statewide-standardized exams are designed primarily to assess the essential knowledge and skills identified by the State Board of Education (SBOE) for the subject and grade level being tested. The bill requires tests to be designed so that 85 percent of students in grades three through five take no more than 120 minutes to complete and 85 percent of students in grades six through eight take no more than 180 minutes to complete. A test administration cannot exceed eight hours or take place on more than one day. The bill also requires the TEA to develop a comprehensive methodology for auditing and monitoring performance under testing contracts to verify compliance with contractual obligations. All new and renewed contracts include a provision that the TEA or a designee can conduct periodic contract compliance reviews, without advance notice, to monitor vendor performance. Texas Charter Schools Association ©2015 3 Table of Contents Accountability House Bill 1164 / Representative Gary VanDeaver Impact on Charter Schools: New Boston This new legislation does not apply to and will not impact open-enrollment charter schools or university charter Effective Date: schools, but charter school leaders should be aware of the September 1, 2015 changes made by HB 1164. Amending Education Code: §39.02301 Bill Summary: HB 1164 amends the Education Code to require the TEA during the 2015-2016 school year to conduct a study to develop an alternative writing assessment method. During the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years, the TEA shall establish a pilot program to implement in designated school districts the writing assessment developed under the TEA study conducted during the 2015-2016 school year. The pilot program must include at least one large urban district, one medium-sized district, and one rural district. 4 Texas Charter Schools Association ©2015 Table of Contents Accountability House Bill 1613 / Representative Ryan Guillen Impact on Charter Schools: Rio Grande City Charter schools should amend their EOC policies and practices to reflect the changes made by HB 1613. Effective Date: June 19, 2015 Amending Education Code: §28.008 and §39.025 Bill Summary: HB 1613 amends the Education Code to require the State Board of Education to create by rule a chart showing the alignment between the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills with the college readiness standards and expectations. The bill exempts a student from the Algebra I, English I or English II end-of-course exam (EOC) if the student was enrolled in a math or ELA college prep course and who performs at college readiness levels on the TSI assessment at the end of the math or ELA college prep course, even if the student previously failed an EOC in the applicable subject. The bill clarifies that a student may retake the TSI assessment for purposes of satisfying the EOC requirement or they may choose to take the appropriate EOC. Texas Charter Schools Association ©2015 5 Table of Contents Accountability House Bill 1842 / Representative Jimmie Don Aycock [CHARTER RENEWAL/REVOCATION] Killeen If the commissioner denies renewal under §12.114(c) of the Education Code or revokes a school’s charter under Effective Date: §12.115(a) of the Education Code, representatives of the June 19, 2015 charter school must be allowed to meet with the commissioner to discuss the decision and the charter holder may submit Amending Education Code: additional information related to the decision. In addition, the §7.028, §11.0511, §28.009, §12.101, §12.116, §29.315, commissioner is required to provide a written response to the §30.005, §39.056, §39.058, §39.107, §39.114 and adding new information presented. a new §39.1121, §39.1122 and Chapter 12A [MONITORING REVIEWS] Bill Summary: The commissioner may direct the TEA to conduct monitoring [DISTRICTS OF INNOVATION] reviews and random on-site visits, the TEA may obtain Eligible