19 Tex. Admin. Code § 100.1039

Current through Reg. 49, No. 45; November 8, 2024

Section 100.1039 - Standards for Discretionary Renewal

Criteria for discretionary renewal. The following criteria shall be considered by the commissioner of education during the discretionary renewal process. The commissioner may non-renew a charter contract based on any of the following.

(1) Academic:

(A) assignment of an "academically unacceptable" rating as defined in § 100.1001(8) of this title (relating to Definitions);

(B) failure to meet academic performance standards for students not measured in the accountability system;

(C) unsatisfactory academic performance of subpopulations; and

(D) failure to meet program requirements for special populations, including, but not limited to, special education, bilingual/English as a second language, and career and technical education.

(2) Financial:

(A) failure to use state funds for purposes for which a school district may use local funds under Texas Education Code (TEC), §45.105(e);

(B) failure to hold state funds in trust for the benefit of the students of the charter school;

(C) failure to satisfy generally acceptable accounting standards of fiscal management;

(D) failure to resolve a lien, levy, or other garnishment within 30 days;

(E) existence of a Foundation School Program (FSP) allotment subject to a warrant hold and that warrant has not been removed within 30 days;

(F) failure to timely file annual financial report required under TEC, §44.008;

(G) existence of an annual financial report containing adverse, qualified, or disclaimed opinion(s);

(H) assignment of a lower than satisfactory financial performance rating as defined in § 100.1001(9) of this title;

(I) submission of attendance accounting data resulting in an overallocation from the FSP;

(J) existence of the following interested transactions:

(i) failure to comply with Local Government Code, Chapter 171;

(ii) failure to record and report on the governance reporting forms all financial transactions between charter school and non-charter activities of charter holder; and

(iii) failure to timely and accurately record and report on the governance reporting forms all financial transactions required in the governance reporting form;

(K) failure to post all financial information, including the salary of the chief executive officer (CEO), annual financial statement, most current annual financial report, and approved budget, on the charter school's website;

(L) payment of salaries of the CEO and/or other administrative position(s) that exceed reasonable fair market value for the services provided. Fair market value shall be based on size of school, individual's education, prior salary history, job duties actually performed, and what a typical person with similar skills, experience, and job duties would earn;

(M) renting or purchasing property for amounts in excess of fair market value;

(N) loss of eligibility to participate in the child nutrition program for more than 30 days;

(O) charter holder being imminently insolvent as defined by this chapter;

(P) failure to conduct fiscal management, including, but not limited to, the loss of financial records or a material non-compliance with State Board of Education or commissioner accounting requirements and failure to comply with the Financial Accountability System Resource Guide adopted under § 109.41 of this title (relating to Financial Accountability System Resource Guide); and

(Q) failure to comply with applicable purchasing requirements, including Local Government Code, Chapter 271, if applicable.

(3) Operational:

(A) Governance:

(i) failure to timely file accurate and complete governance reporting forms;

(ii) non-compliance with required charter board training;

(iii) failure to timely and accurately report board training in the annual financial report;

(iv) failure to maintain verification of criminal history check/fingerprinting;

(v) failure to maintain verification of compliance with reporting requirements of the Secretary of State, the Texas Family Code, the Texas Open Meetings Act, the Texas Public Information Act, government and local records, applicability of public purchasing and contracting, and conflicts of interest and nepotism;

(vi) allowing a person with a criminal record to be employed or serve as a volunteer, officer, or board member in violation of TEC, Chapters 12 and 22;

(vii) failure of an employee or officer of the charter school to report child abuse or neglect as required by the Texas Family Code, Chapter 261;

(viii) failure to disclose and report all conflict of interest and nepotistic relationships to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in the applicable minutes of the charter holder's corporate records;

(ix) failure to submit to the Secretary of State a listing of all current members of the charter holder, the articles of incorporation, the by-laws, assumed name, and any other matter of the corporate business required to be reported to the Secretary of State; and

(x) failure to maintain the 501(c)(3) status of the charter holder at all times;

(B) Complaints: failure to timely respond to and correct any complaints as directed by TEA;

(C) Property and campus operations (campuses of charter holders that provide instructional services within residential detention, treatment, or adjudication facilities are not subject to clauses (ii) and (iii) of this subparagraph):

(i) operation of any campus that does not meet the definition of a campus according to § 100.1001(6)(B) of this title and that does not serve a minimum of 100 students as reflected in the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) fall snapshot;

(ii) failure of the charter holder to serve a minimum of 100 students, as reflected in the PEIMS fall snapshot, unless a lower number is declared and approved in the charter contract or approved by the commissioner;

(iii) failure to document and fully disclose any step transactions in the purchase or sale of property; and

(iv) failure to ensure that all charter holder buildings used for educational purposes have a valid certificate of occupancy for educating children;

(D) Activity fees and volunteer requirements:

(i) requiring any activity fees or any compulsory fees that are not authorized by TEC, §11.158, or other law; and

(ii) requiring any parental involvement, donation, or volunteerism as a condition of enrollment or continued enrollment;

(E) Management contracts:

(i) charter holder board allowing any entity to exercise control or ultimate responsibility for the school, including the academic performance, financial accountability, or operational viability;

(ii) charter holder board not retaining or exercising ultimate responsibility for the management of the charter school without regard to execution of a management contract with a charter management organization (CMO);

(iii) failure to timely file a current copy of the executed management contract, including any and all amendments, with TEA;

(iv) failure of the board of directors of the charter holder to ensure that both the charter holder and CMO are compliant with all the rules applicable to charter schools, including, but not limited to:

(I) financial accounting;

(II) record retention;

(III) health, safety, and welfare of students;

(IV) educational program accountability;

(V) Texas Open Meetings Act;

(VI) Texas Public Information Act; and

(VII) policies, procedures, and legal requirements found in state and federal laws/guidelines and the charter contract; and

(v) failure to comply with requirements in § 100.1155 of this title (relating to Substantial Interest in Management Company; Restrictions on Serving) prohibiting a board member from having a substantial interest in the CMO; and

(F) Charter school performance framework: failure to satisfy applicable performance framework measures as prescribed in the Charter School Performance Framework Manual established under TEC, §12.1181.

19 Tex. Admin. Code § 100.1039

Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 49, Number 39, September 27, 2024, TexReg 7881, eff. 10/2/2024