July 2016 Committee on School Initiatives Item 6
Review of the Commissioner of Education’s
Generation 21 Charter Proposals
July 22, 2016
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the committee and board an opportunity to review the commissioner’s list of proposed Subchapter D Open-Enrollment Charter Schools scheduled to open in school year 2017-2018. If awarded, the charters will have an initial five-year term with a July 31, 2022 contract end date.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §12.101.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: At the July 2015 board meeting, the State Board of Education (SBOE) took into consideration the six applicants recommended by the Commissioner of Education for charter award. The SBOE motioned and voted to take no action on five charter applicants: A+ Unlimited Potential (Houston), Kauffman Leadership Academy (Cleburne), Pioneer Technology and Arts Academy (Dallas/Fort Worth), The Lone Star Language Academy (Plano/Carrollton), and Trivium Academy (Collin/Denton County). The board voted to reject Athlos Academy (Dallas/Fort Worth).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Texas Education Code (TEC), 12.101, amended in the 83rd Texas Legislative Session, 2013, granted the commissioner 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 commissioner adopted the Generation 21 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 21 applications must have earned a cut score of 85% to be granted an interview.
Twenty-two of the 26 applications submitted by the November 2, 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 22 applications for charter. Four of the applications that met the cut score of 85% were granted an interview. One applicant removed themselves from the process. The commissioner’s designee conducted interviews along with agency representatives on Tuesday, May 10 and Wednesday, May 11, 2016. 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 that enroll approximately 4% of our Texas public school 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.
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 21 Open-Enrollment Charter Schools 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 21 Open-Enrollment Charter Proposals (PDF, 19KB)