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The Senate Committee on Education met to discuss interim charges concerning charter schools and inappropriate teacher-student relationships.
 
Charge 2: Study the approval, expansion, and revocation of public charter schools in Texas, including the implementation of SB 2 (83R) and other legislation. In particular, examine the issues surrounding the disposition of state property when charters are revoked, non-renewed, or cease to operate. Make recommendations regarding policies to ensure an efficient and effective transfer and disposal of state property that preserves state interest while ensuring that certain investment capital and the bond market supporting charter construction remains robust. In addition, make recommendations if needed to clarify policies regarding expansion of existing high-quality charter schools in Texas. Additionally, examine facility funding for charter schools in other states and make recommendations on facility funding assistance for charter schools in Texas.
 
Von Byer, Texas Education Agency

  • Charter oversight has changed significantly since SB 2 (83rd), changes include:
    • Commissioner approves charter grants subject to SBOE veto
    • Commissioner tends to issue fewer charters per year than the SBOE
    • Charter cap has been increased, 305 by 2019
  • Currently 182 authorized charters currently
  • Renewal, revocation, and expiration have metrics now, which work alongside commissioners discretionary powers
  • Expiration standard: has there been poor performance in the last 3 years? If so, charter can expire
  • Revocation standard: has there been poor performance for the last 3 consecutive years? If so, charter can be revoked
  • New plan is to have one charter per holder, with charter coverage being able to be expanded, expansion is automatic now as of 84th session’s HB 1842
  • Agency’s effort to revoke charters has increased significantly since the passage of SB 2 (83rd)
  • Sen. West asks if there is a date certain where phase out must occur on revocation, if there is a wind down period
    • Each charter varies, generally revocation is immediate, but agency tries to have charter operate to the end of the academic year
  • Sen. West asks what happens to the students
    • These students transfer to another state education facility
  • Sen. West asks if there are metrics on student performance after transfer
    • Performance is not tracked/unable to answer
  • If the end goal is the closure of charters, SB 2 (83rd) has provided clear standards and advanced closures significantly
  • Technical vs. substantive violations are mentioned in statute, but no hard-line examples exist over what these mean
  • Sen. Kolkhorst wonders how CPA errors can be handled under this, does not necessarily think that minor accounting errors should lead to revocation
  • Sen. Kolkhorst also highlights the danger of misappropriation of funds and the fine line to walk on this issue
  • Sen. Kolkhorst asks for a pattern on revocations
    • Hasn’t seen anything, but has not necessarily looked in depth
    • However, solutions have been discussed, currently financial and/or academic failure for 3 years leads to revocation, but different solutions would have led to different closure outcomes in period of time since SB 2 (83rd) passage
  • Sen. West asks if there were proposals last session to make financial and academic failures mutually exclusive, thinks that financial and academic failures in tandem should be a warning sign for charters
  • Chair Taylor comments that previously the Commissioner had no discretion previously, that is, a strike against schools was a strike without compromise
  • Sen. West comments that there should be guidelines for Commissioner discretion
  • Sen. Garcia asks the meaning of material violations in the statute
    • Two mandatory closure provisions, material violations mean mandatory closure if school does not meet provisions in charter agreement
  • Sen. Garcia asks what the difference is between substantive and technical violations under the code
    • Absent direction from legislature, agency is unclear on how to distinguish these
  • Sen. Garcia asks then if all material violations are substantive
    • Given no definition of technical violations, TEA considers all of these substantive
    • Technical or substantive discussion revolves around cases such as reports being turned in a day late, i.e. how important are these violations?
    • Charters are stewards of taxpayer funds, and having good best practices and management of those funds is important and should be considered
  • Sen. Garcia asks who decides if a violation is technical
    • Byer explains that three strikes against a charter escalates it to TEA’s legal department and SOAH
  • Sen. Garcia does not think this answered her question
  • Chair Taylor comments that computer glitches or the like are not substantive, would be technical violations and there should be some discretionary power
  • Sen. Bettencourt notes that SB 2 (83rd) has increased the number of charter revocations, would like a comparison of revocations and closures between charter and public schools, thinks this would help fix the actual problem
  • Sen. Huffines asks if there is a process for charter’s to amend financial reports
    • Lisa Dawn-Fisher, TEA, responds that there are processes to amend, but charters must make these changes before final deadline for financial report submission
  • Sen. Kolkhorst asks if the 17 charter closures since SB 2 (83rd) passage are campus or charter revocations
    • Entire charter revocations
  • Sen. Kolkhorst references Sen. Bettencourt’s question over charter vs. public, highlights that there have been 2 public school closures in the same time period, charter revocations are 10% of total and public school closures are .6% of total public schools
  • Sen. Bettencourt comments that he wants a measuring stick for performance, wants a clear and similar measure for both charter and public schools
    • TEA will provide enrollment and locations comparisons at a future date
  • Sen. Rodriguez notes that a lot of information is needed from TEA to make decisions, perhaps including the difference on substantive and technical violations
  • Sen. West wants information on common denominators between charter and public schools
    • Currently there is no definition for technical violations, only a rule and list that define “material” violations
  • Disposition of Property Issue:
    • Taxpayer funds, private funds, and borrowed funds are implicated in this issue
    • Structure should be defined to govern fund contribution
  • Property purchased or leased with state funds means the property is state property
  • If no money has been spent since September 1, 2011, 50% of funding must come from state to consider property state property
  • Questions exist of whether pro-rating is appropriate, who is credited for improvements, and what things count as improvements
  • Sen. West asks what happens to taxpayers dollars contributed to charters that are winding down
    • Perfected security interests take precedence over state funding
    • Tom Sage, Andrews Kurth LLP, in charter school bond financing there is a Deed of Trust which specifies perfected security interests, and in these instances the TEA would get involved in recovering funds to pay back the bond amount
    • Thus bond funds have a superior lien on school property
  • Sen. Kolkhorst wants a specific example of debt return after charter closure
    • On facility in Galveston closed down, charter holder paid the exact debt amount for the facility and took control of property
  • Sen. Kolkhorst asks if this is state property as it involves state funds after 2011
    • In this case, yes.
  • Guidance useful for charter community and agency statutory help is better than rule making
  • Senator Rodriguez suggests that rulemaking may be best route
    • Rulemaking agencies would be subject to ambiguous laws in that process
  • Sen. Rodriguez asks if any properties have been turned over to ISDs
    • No, we cannot resolve the titling issue so transferring the property has been problematic
  • Besides property, there are also funds that can remain at a charter that ceases to operate, but there is no clear direction to claiming those funds
  • Legislature may want to revisit this especially as other charters expand and take over the land/properties

 
David Dunn, Executive Director of Texas Charter School Association

  • TCSA supports SB 2 (83rd)  and stringent consequences for Charter Schools, but the processes need to be fair
  • For example, when TEA only grants appeals on academic or financial rating if the agency made a mistake , but charters should not be revoked simply because they submitted bad data
  • Commissioner should have discretion when looking at new charters that have faced issues
  • Informal review standards are too strict, because the charter operator should be able to state their case before the commissioner
  • Legislation by Sen. Larry Taylor would have fixed these issues with legislation last session, but it did not pass in the House
  • So far parts of SB 2 (83rd) to allow expansion for proven charter operators have not been as successful
  • There is a lack of facilities funding
    • We agree with school systems that sued state, but charter schools also need additional funding
  • Sen. Rodriguez asks how many charter schools are operated by people in the state vs. out of state corporate interests
    • Law requires that they are run by local 501(c)
    • There are 7 of these 501(c)s that have contracts with corporations out of state
  • Sen. Rodriguez asks how many charters serve special needs
    • Dunn believes all of them provide those services
    • There is a lower percentage of special needs students, but a higher percentage of ELL students
  • Sen. Huffines asks how we get kids off of the waitlist
    • Facilities funding is the largest impediment
  • Sen. Huffines asks what the ultimate percentage of students in charter school could be
    • Any answer to that question would be pure speculation
    • 17% is largest in the nation in Arizona
    • City of New Orleans is almost entirely charter schools
  • Sen. Bettencourt says buying down the existing debt allotment keeps charters from going after new facilities
  • Sen. Garcia says charters as well as ISDs have the challenge with facilities funding, and there are waiting lists in ISDs as well
    • We are all here because there should be high quality school for each students’ needs
  • Sen. Garcia expresses concern of competitive nature between ISDs and charters
    • Dunn says there is a difference between healthy and cut throat competition
  • Sen. Huffines asks what basic charter school facilities look like because it seems that they are more affordable than ISD facilities
    • They could look many different ways
    • It is generally the case that these facilities are more affordable than building a new public school
  • Sen. Bettencourt asks for one word describing the state of charter schools in TX
    • Healthy and strong
  • Sen. Bettencourt wants to remove barriers to collaboration
    • Would be happy to work with Sen. Bettencourt on that
  • Sen. Rodriguez asks about the statement that charter schools receive $1,000 per student less than public school students because Judge Dietz said the opposite
    • $1,000 per student is weighted ADA analysis and not strictly ADA
    • $1,000 per student is also based strictly on FSP program available to ISDs and charter programs
  • Sen. Kolkhorst asks when you look at WADA vs. Houston
    • Lisa says Dunn and Judge Dietz’s statements are both true
    • Lisa says Dietz was talking about ADA and Dunn was talking about WADA
    • 1,000 per student is all in M&O funding
    • Charters do not receive I&S money
  • Sen. Kolkhorst explains that there are always people chasing tax dollars in good and bad ways, so we need to be careful to not create a situation where we could be losing innovation.
    • We just need to be careful with how we fund
  • Sen. Rodriguez says funding in general is inadequate
    • Dunn says that while ISDs may have inadequate funding, charters have no funding
  • Sen. Huffines says that charters are doing well without I&S funding, so we should get them more funding to see how successful they really can be
  • Sen. West asks if we are changing what charters were actually set up for since we are asking for additional dollars but still do not want to be under the same regulations and how we balance that out with the initial purpose of the charter legislation
    • We support the stringent consequences
    • There are ways to ensure that additional money comes with additional oversight, but the budget is stringent on charters
  • Sen. Seliger asks why charters want a simple appropriation as opposed to how the ISDs go to tax payers for these funds since the idea if to have a level playing field
    • This is a constitutional issue as well
    • Providing this funding for an education system is constitutional
  • Sen. Kolkhorst says there will probably at least some rewrite of the formula for ISDs which will also affect charter schools is this correct?
    • Lisa says it depends on what the ruling is and how it is rewritten
    • Chapter 42 covers charters and could have an effect

 
Tom Sage, Public Finance Lawyer

  • These are small businesses that may fail, not state employees
  • As we get towards the end of a charter school’s life, we should take into account private shares vs. state shares and liquidate property, so everybody gets their share
  • Sen. West asks why we don’t use laws governing non-profits that are already in place as opposed to coming up with a whole new process for charter schools
    • It is unclear how to deal with the state interests in this venture
  • Sen. West said the state should be treated as any other creditor, but we should look to these laws and tweak if necessary

 
Russ Simnick, National Alliance for Public Schools

  • Charter school students need funding equity
  • Nationally, charter schools receive 72% of the funding that public schools receive
  • 6 Policy Options used across the nation that could be utilized here
    • Per people facilities allowance
    • Public Charter School Facility grant program
    • Public Charter School Facility loan program
    • Public Charter Schools with traditional facilities for public schools
    • Provide Public Charter Schools with access to mechanisms to reduce borrowing costs (Texas is a leader here and there has been an incredible impact)
    • Provide Public Charter Schools with access to local tax dollars

 
Jennifer Goodman, Odyssey Academy

  • Perhaps funds should go to where students are going when charters close
  • Charter schools would benefit from facilities funding
  • TEA tried very hard to support Odyssey when they took over for a closing charter, but because of lack of procedures, it was a struggle
    • They assumed the loan of the previous charter which was doable as long as they could use the facilities
    • Major repairs had to be done to facilities after Hurricane Ike, and now we are in jeopardy of breaking our bond covenant
  • With financial situation in jeopardy, charters are concerned with accountability
    • We have difficulty with 8% special needs students deemed acceptable for charters when special needs are a large portion of their population
  • Sen. West asks what challenges are faced when you bring students in from a charter that failed for academic reasons
    • Asks for one year reprieve/waiver for new charter systems or systems that take over failed systems

 
Jeff Gordon, General Land Office as Resource Witness

  • Sen. Taylor asks who is involved when the state takes over properties
    • Problem with PSF taking control of asset because it could be expensive
    • GLO needs to maximize amount of money received because they are bound by prudent investor standard

 
Velma Ybarra, Hispanics Organized for Political Education

  • Here as unpaid advocate
  • Do not support expansion of charter schools in state of Texas
  • Data in Texas do not support lower income students are better off in charter schools
  • Charter schools have plenty of private funding
  • If there is to be any experimental expansion that the schools should be multicultural with mixed income levels

 
Larry Tonjes, Representing Self

  • Charter schools receive plenty of funding and do not need to be expanded

 
Dave Levin, Kipp Foundation

  • Best way to serve waitlist is for all boats to rise – not just charter schools
  • The goal is for all schools to get better

 
Patty Quinzi, American Federation of Teachers

  • There has been an increase in number of charters who choose costly lease to purchase
  • Texas Facilities Commission should be consulted about how to deal with title transfers
  • Wait lists are for specific charter schools, but charter schools overall have over 108,000 empty seats
  • Sen. Taylor questions that number

 
Kalese Whitehurst, Responsive Education Solutions

  • There needs to be clarification with what happens to properties of closed charter schools
  • Schools should have one year grace period to turn the school around

 
Christian Smith, League of United Latin American Citizens

  • Public schools should be a priority over the charter schools because they face many of the same issues
  • Any additional funds to charter systems should be accompanied by more oversight
  • Sen. Huffines asks why he separates “public schools” and “charter schools” since charter schools are public
    • They both have state funding, but charters are privately run
  • Equality should be a focus of charter schools

 
John Gray, Texas State Teachers Association

  • Facilities funding would come from existing funds to the detriment of public schools
  • ISDs face many of the same issues faced by charter schools and should be prioritized

 
Charge 5: Study the recent rise of inappropriate teacher-student relationships, the impact of social media interaction between teachers and students, and examine the current efforts by the Texas Education Agency, schools, law enforcement, and the courts to investigate and prosecute any educator engaged in inappropriate relationships. Determine what recommendations, if any, are needed to improve student safety, including increasing agency staff, adjusting penalties, and strengthening efforts to sanction educators' certificates for misconduct. Study and address the issue of prevention through training and education of school employees.
 
David Thompson, On behalf of self

  • Students deserve safe opportunity in schools
  • 53% increase of sexual misconduct in schools
  • Social media provides route to inappropriate communication between teachers and minors
    • Employee handbooks should be online which will detail rules for electronic communication to elaborate to parents the expectations of parents
    • Sen. Taylor says those specific parts of the manual should be posted as opposed to just the whole handbook which will not be read by parents
    • Text messaging should be restricted and copied to send to educator supervisor
    • Sen. Kolkhorst mentions that texting is becoming increasingly prevalent as a form of communicators for educators
    • Sen. West agrees that there should be at least some minimum requirements as far as having policy about texts and that this specific area of employee handbook should be on website
    • Sen. Seliger says technology and the communication is beneficial, but the propriety of the communication is worse
  • Child abuse reporting
    • Educators should notify school administration and then report abuse
    • Texas child abuse reporting responsibilities are very clear and should be part of education and continuing education for teachers
  • Interaction between school districts and law enforcement
    • Increasing frustration from law enforcement that school administrators do not investigate sexual misconduct as seriously as they should
    • Increased collaboration with law enforcement is good
  • Recognizing sign of sexual grooming of children
    • Important that educators recognize the sign so the profession can watch its own conduct
  • Educator continuing education for ethical decision making are permissive rather than required
    • There are no required clock hours  for continuing education
  • Failing to disclose substantiated ethical misconduct of an educator to prospective employer
    • We do not know how often  this happens throughout Texas, and would not recommend policy until we know more about its prevalence

 
Doug Phillips, Texas Education Agency

  • Primary methods of investigating improper relations are required reporting and criminal history hits
  • Majority of cases involve sexual misconduct, violence, and drugs and alcohol
  • Sen. West notes there have been over 300 investigations involving sexual misconduct out of 700 total inappropriate relations, wonders what the overlap is with the 900 total investigations
    • Depends on the way cases are brought to TEA, categories are not mutually exclusive and there is a lot of overlap
  • Generally been a steady increase per year since 2011, roughly increases by 10 every year
  • Sexual conduct, however, is not required for an inappropriate relationship judgment
  • Must involve sexual contact to violate the Texas Penal Code
  • Sen. West asks what happens if a teacher pleads no contest and receives a deferred adjudication
    • TEA is looking for conduct, so action would still be pursued against a certificate
  • Sen. West asks if burden for revocation is on the state
    • Yes, standard is preponderance of the evidence
  • Sen. West asks if a person receives a deferred adjudication, does TEA need to bring the student forward to revoke a certificate
    • May need to, if the teacher does not surrender the certificate voluntarily
  • Sen. Rodriguez notes that sexual misconduct must be in the same distract to violate penal code, wonders if state should cover sexual conduct between all districts
    • Phillips agrees
  • Sen. Rodriguez asks if there are metrics for sexual misconduct between teachers and students in different districts
    • There are not a lot of inter-district cases
  • Sen. Bettencourt asks how many teachers with certificates have felony convictions or are registered sexual offenders
    • Should not currently be any with convictions, per law convictions preclude certification or require surrender of certificate
  • We should have automatic revocation for certificates for registered sex offenders
  • Sen. Huffines asks how many educators were actually charged with a crime
    • 188 inappropriate relationship cases, but not all were charged
    • 100 is a guess of how many were arrested but does not know how many are convicted
  • Sen. Kolkhorst asks about non-certified positions
    • TEA has no jurisdiction in non-educators
    • Aides are certified by TEA, but janitors are not
    • TEA does not have any authority of that, but there are criminal cases about this
  • Sen. Kolkhorst asks if parents are required to know if employee is engaged in an inappropriate relationship
    • Not sure; that would not go through TEA

 
Katie Warren, Harris County DA’s Office

  • Extra-curricular leaders, coaches etc. tend to have higher percentages of offenders
  • Sexual performance of a child carries a life time registry requirement for anybody over 18
    • This includes teachers sending texts to students asking for pictures
  • We need officers to be there when principals confront teachers to get phone as evidence so teachers cannot destroy evidence
    • Principals should not play the role of investigator
    • Alternatively teachers should maybe sign a contract with their employment that they will turn their phones over or be suspended
  • Sen. Kolkhorst says it is important to identify inappropriate conduct early on, many teachers are collegiate and do not want to believe other teachers have this issue
  • Vast majority of these cases do a plea to the judge without a recommendations and get deferred adjudication
  • Most teachers with deferred adjudication are “good probationers”
  • Social media opens up avenues for teachers to sexual misconduct

 
Dr. Jamie Wilson, Denton ISD Superintendent

  • Superintendent’s role is to know kids are safe and secure
  • Schools have very specific guidelines regarding training for educators in recognizing, reporting child abuse
  • Committee could explore partnerships with child advocacy centers for schools to get best knowledge and training
    • Stewards of children from darkness to light is a good training center
  • Sanctions against certificates should be used to let other districts know about the employee
  • Recommendations should be positive or negative to avoid neutral recommendations to “pass the trash”
  • Sen. Huffines asks if students are trained in what is appropriate and not appropriate
    • Yes, counselors train students
  • Sen. Huffines asks if there are rules about teachers and students being one on one
    • Yes, it is a rule and students are trained on that

 
Katherine Robert, University of Texas at San Antonio

  • Sen. Rodriguez asks if the training goes far enough to give consequences of their actions
    • Katherine believes it is, but there is a question about who should be contacted first

 
Lonnie Hollingsworth, Texas Classroom Teachers Association

  • Association believes one incidence of misconduct is too many
  • Superintendents are required to finish investigations once they get started
  • Professionals should have the ability to report anonymously to DPS

 
Christina Green, Children Advocacy Centers of Texas

  • Centers investigate to see if abuse occurred or did not occur
  • Centers offer mental health services
  • CACs train educators, teachers, and students and have a close partnership with TEA