19 Tex. Admin. Code § 100.1117

Current through Reg. 49, No. 43; October 25, 2024

Section 100.1117 - Core Training for New Governing Board Members and Officers

(a) Training required. A new governing board member or officer, defined as any board member or officer who has not served in their position or similar position requiring the core program training with a Texas charter school in the last three years, must complete core training that consists of 10 instructional hours outlined in this section.

(b) Timeline for completing training. The core training must be completed within one calendar year of appointment or election to such governing body or employment by the charter, as applicable, unless otherwise indicated in subsection (d) of this section or as required by Texas law.

(c) Required curriculum outline. The commissioner of education shall approve and disseminate a curriculum outline that specifies all core training content, time, and delivery requirements. Training that does not conform to the core curriculum outline does not satisfy the requirements of this section.

(d) Core training content. The core training shall cover, at minimum, the following topics:

(1) Charter Law, including:

(A) history and purpose of charter schools;

(B) charter holder contractual obligations to the Texas Education Agency (TEA);

(C) charter holder bylaws, charter board governance policy, and charter district policies and procedures;

(D) charter School Performance Framework;

(E) charter contract renewal with TEA;

(F) charter amendments;

(G) contract revocation;

(H) student enrollment and lotteries;

(I) roles and responsibilities by officer type;

(J) ensuring services to special populations;

(K) student code of conduct, student discipline, and parental rights; and

(L) other laws and rules that apply to charter holders;

(2) Accountability to the Public, including:

(A) Texas Open Meetings Act, open meetings requirements under Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, with special emphasis on posting the agenda, executive sessions, accessibility of the meeting location to the public, employee board members, and civil and criminal sanctions, which must be completed by new governing board members within the first 90 days after joining the board;

(B) Texas Public Information Act requirements under Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, which must be completed by new governing board members within the first 90 days after joining the board;

(C) nepotism and conflicts of interest;

(D) audits, investigations, and sanctions, with an emphasis on mandatory revocation for three consecutive unacceptable performance ratings required by Texas Education Code (TEC), §12.115(c), and mandatory expiration for three out of five unacceptable performance ratings required by TEC, §12.1141(d);

(E) student records and privacy; and

(F) other accountability or transparency requirements that apply to charter holders;

(3) Evaluating and Improving Student Outcomes, including:

(A) Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills;

(B) State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness;

(C) Texas A-F Accountability System;

(D) setting school board required specific, quantifiable student outcome goals for all students and disaggregated student groups;

(E) adopting plans to improve early literacy and numeracy and college, career, and military readiness;

(F) Results Driven Accountability;

(G) progress monitoring practices to improve student outcomes; and

(H) other best practices for improving student outcomes;

(4) Accountability for Public Funds, including:

(A) school finance in Texas, with an emphasis on charter finance;

(B) Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas;

(C) Annual Financial and Compliance Report;

(D) Financial Accountability System Resource Guide;

(E) financial controls and monitoring financial health;

(F) annual budgets; and

(G) other items related to school finance, risk management, related party transactions, or financial oversight; and

(5) School Safety, including:

(A) school safety plans and audits;

(B) school emergency and safety drills;

(C) behavioral threat assessment;

(D) school safety and security committee;

(E) school security guard;

(F) traumatic injury response;

(G) identifying child abuse and human trafficking;

(H) school safety facility standards; and

(I) other items related to school safety or student health.

19 Tex. Admin. Code § 100.1117

Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 49, Number 39, September 27, 2024, TexReg 7891, eff. 10/2/2024