July 2015 Committee on School Initiatives Item 2
Review of the Commissioner of Education’s
Generation 20 Charter Proposals
July 17, 2015
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the committee an opportunity to review the commissioner’s list of proposed Subchapter D open-enrollment charter schools scheduled to open in school year 2016-2017. If awarded, the charters will have an initial five-year term with a July 31, 2021 contract end date.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §12.101.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: At the September 2014 board meeting, the State Board of Education (SBOE) took into consideration the five applicants recommended by the Commissioner of Education (COE) for charter award. By law, the board may only veto a charter school recommendation of the commissioner or take no action. The SBOE voted to take no action on all five charter applicants: Beta Academy, High Point Academy, Ki Charter Academy, Excel Center, and Trinity Environmental Academy.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The Texas Education Code (TEC), 12.101, amended in the 83rd Texas Legislative Session, 2013, granted the COE the authority to award up to 305 open-enrollment charters on a graduated basis by the year 2019 to eligible entities that: are considered capable of carrying out the responsibilities of the charter, are likely to operate a school of high quality, have been proposed by the commissioner, and are not vetoed by a majority of members of the SBOE. Prior to the charter school award cycle, the COE adopted the Generation Twenty Open-Enrollment Charter Application, Guidelines and Request for Applications, establishing the timeline and procedures for the application cycle, the contents of the application, and the criteria by which charter schools would be awarded to eligible entities. Inclusive of the criteria, Generation Twenty applications must have earned an average score of 86 out of a possible 108 points in order to be granted an interview.
Twenty-seven of the 38 applications submitted by the January 9, 2015 deadline were deemed to be complete after review by Texas Education Agency staff. The external reviewers, designated through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process, scored the 27 applications for charter. Twenty applications which met the cut score of 86 were granted an interview. One applicant withdrew from the process. The commissioner’s designee conducted interviews with 19 sponsoring entity representatives from Monday through Thursday, May 4-7, 2015. State Board of Education members were invited to attend the interviews.
FISCAL IMPACT: A fiscal implication would be likely for local school districts as a result of open-enrollment charters being authorized. A decrease in state revenue to local districts would occur as the result of students attending an open-enrollment charter school instead of a traditional district school.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: In accordance with current statute, the approval of open-enrollment charters will provide new avenues for flexibility, innovation, local restructuring, and school choice options for parents and students. Charter schools are a public school choice option used by approximately 4% of our Texas students.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: Open-Enrollment Charter Schools are subject to the public school accountability system under TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapters B, C, D, E, F, G, and J and reporting requirements referenced in TEC §12.104 which include, but are not limited to, PEIMS; criminal history records, Chapter 22, Subchapter C; Special Education, Chapter 29, Subchapter A; and Bilingual Education, Chapter 29, Subchapter B.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
ALTERNATIVES: No alternative actions are proposed regarding this item.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: No other comments or related issues are presented.
MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:
Take no action on the list of proposed Generation 20 open-enrollment charters submitted by the commissioner of education.
Staff Members Responsible:
Sally Partridge, Associate Commissioner
Accreditation and School Improvement
Heather Mauzé, Director
Charter School Administration
Attachment:
Commissioner of Education’s Generation 20 Open-Enrollment Charter Proposals (PDF, 63KB)