HBA-LCA H.B. 1809 76(R)
BILL ANALYSIS 


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1809
By: Lengefeld
Public Education
3/7/1999
Introduced


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

As part of the 1995 recodification of the Texas Education Code, school
boards were authorized to grant campus program charters and cooperative
campus charters at the request of parents and teachers.  School districts
use charters to create specialized curricula and methodology.  Currently,
the application process for a charter requires a petition signed by a
majority of parents and teachers at campuses to be affected by proposed
charters.  H.B. 1809 simplifies the charter application process by removing
the petition requirement from the law, and retains a requirement that
school boards adopt local policies for the charter approval process among
requirements governing campus and program charters. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Sections 12.052 and 12.053, Education Code, as follows:  

Sec. 12.052. AUTHORIZATION.  Provides that the board of trustees of a
school district or the governing body of a home-rule school district may
grant a charter to parents and teachers for a campus or a program on a
campus without a petition signed by the parents of a majority of the
students and by a majority of the teachers at that campus.   

Sec.  12.053. COOPERATIVE CAMPUS CHARTER.  Authorizes the board of trustees
to grant a charter to parents and teachers at two or more campuses in the
district for a cooperative charter program without a petition signed by the
parents of a majority of the students and by the majority of teachers at
that campus.   

SECTION 2.  Redesignates Section 12.058, Education Code, as Section
12.0531, and amends it as follows: 

Sec. 12.0531. CHARTER POLICY.  Deletes language requiring a school district
to adopt the campus charter and campus program charter policy required by
this section no later than January 1, 1998. 

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.