Texas Register, Volume 37, Number 35, Pages 6819-7008, August 31, 2012 Page: 6,879
6819-7008 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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(a) Prior to each selection cycle, the State Board of Education
(SBOE) shall adopt an application form for submission by applicants
seeking a charter to operate an open-enrollment charter school. The
application form shall address the content requirements specified in
Texas Education Code (TEC), 12.111, and contain the following:
(1) the timeline for selection;
(2) required applicant conferences and training prerequi-
sites;
(3) scoring criteria and procedures for use by the review
panel selected [appointed] under subsection (d) of this section;
(4) selection criteria, including the minimum score neces-
sary for an application to be eligible for selection; and
(5) the earliest date an open-enrollment charter school se-
lected in the cycle may open.
(b) The Texas Education Agency (TEA) shall review applica-
tions submitted under this section. If an application does not contain
all required information and documentation and/or meet the standards
in TEC, 12.101, and 100.1015 of this title (relating to Applicants
for an Open-Enrollment Charter, Public Senior College or University
Charter, or Public Junior College Charter), the TEA shall return the ap-
plication without further processing. [Futher the TE shall return the
Application without further processing if it finds stubstantive dviations
from state and federal requirements -ffeing the operation of open-en-
rollment charter shools or the applicants eligibility to be granted a
charter.] The TEA shall establish procedures and schedules [to be ap-
proved by the SBOE] for returning applications without further pro-
cessing [under this subseetion- including a process for review by the
SBOE committee responsible for chater schools]. Failure of the TEA
to identify any deficiency [or substantive deviation], or notify an appli-
cant thereof, does not constitute a waiver of the requirement and does
not bind the SBOE.
(c) Upon written notice to the TEA, an applicant may with-
draw an application.
(d) Applications that meet the standards established under
TEC, 12.101, and 100.1015 of this title [Eligible applications]
shall be reviewed and scored by an external application [appointed]
review panel selected by the commissioner of education from a pool
of qualified candidates identified through a request for qualification
(RFQ) process. [Two-thirds of the panel members shall be appointed
by the SBOE. One-third of the panel members shall be appointed by
the commissioner of education.] The panel shall review and score
applications in accordance with the procedures and criteria established
in the application form. Review panel members shall not discuss
applications with or 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. Members of the
review panel shall disclose to the TEA immediately upon 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.
(e) Applications that are not scored at or above the minimum
score established in the application form are not eligible for SBOE se-
lection during that cycle. The SBOE may at its sole discretion decline
to grant an open-enrollment charter to an applicant whose application
was scored at or above the minimum score. No recommendation, rank-
ing, or other type of endorsement by a member or members of the re-
view panel is binding on the SBOE[, except as provided in this seetin].(f) The SBOE or its designee(s) shall interview applicants
whose applications received the minimum score established in the
application form. The SBOE may specify individuals required to
attend the interview and may require the submission of additional
information and documentation prior or subsequent to an interview.
(g) The SBOE may consider criteria that include, but are not
limited to, the following when determining whether to grant an open-
enrollment charter:
(1) indications that the charter school will improve student
performance;
(2) innovation evident in the program(s) proposed for the
charter school;
(3) impact statements from any school district whose en-
rollment is likely to be affected by the proposed charter school, includ-
ing information relating to any financial difficulty that a loss in enroll-
ment may have on a district;
(4) evidence of parental and community support for the
proposed charter school;
(5) the qualifications, backgrounds, and histories of indi-
viduals and entities who will be involved in the management and edu-
cational leadership of the proposed charter school;
(6) the history of the sponsoring entity of the proposed
charter school, as defined in the application form;
(7) indications that the governance structure proposed for
the charter school is conducive to sound fiscal and administrative prac-
tices; and
(8) indications that the proposed charter school would ex-
pand the variety of charter schools in operation with respect to the fol-
lowing:
(A) representation in urban, suburban, and rural com-
munities;
(B) instructional settings;
(C) types of eligible entities;
(D) types of innovative programs;
(E) student populations and programs; and
(F) geographic regions.
(h) An applicant for an open-enrollment charter shall not
communicate with a member of an external application review panel
[appointed by the SBOE] concerning a charter school application
beginning on the date the panel member is notified of appointment
to serve on a specific review cycle and ending when the SBOE takes
final action awarding charters under that application. On finding a
material violation of the no-contact period, the SBOE shall reject the
application or applications affected.
1(i) The SBOE may consider minimum enrollment criteria
1(1) Eaeh application for an open-enrollment charter sha
state a minimum student enrollment of no fewer than 50 students The
SBOE may grant a lower minimum student enrollment only on majority
recommendation f members voting from the committee with jurisdic-
tion ever charters
{(2) The SBOE may grant a lower minimum student enroell-
ment in aeeordane with paragraph (-1-) of this subsection upon finding
that either the nature of the charter warrants a minimum enrollment
flower than 50 students.PROPOSED RULES August 31, 2012 37 TexReg 6879
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Texas. Secretary of State. Texas Register, Volume 37, Number 35, Pages 6819-7008, August 31, 2012, periodical, August 31, 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253227/m1/61/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.