| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Positive | Neutral |
Relating to accountability intervention provisions applicable to school district campuses, including the creation of accelerated campus excellence turnaround plans and the conditions under which a closed campus may be repurposed to serve students at that campus location.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
SB 1412 would allow under-performing schools to submit an accelerated campus excellence turnaround plan to the Texas Education Agency. This plan would require the appointment of a principal with a proven track record of improving student academic growth, that at least 80 percent of classroom teachers assigned to the school that had previously performed in the top quartile of teachers in the district, that the principal has final authority over personnel decisions, and incentives for principles and teachers to remain on campus, among other things.
This bill adds to the current Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) Turnaround Plan, which incentivizes a school district's most effective educators to lead and teach at historically underperforming campuses that failed to meet state accountability standards. This bill would specify how to implement strategic staffing and effective teachers and principles.
Additionally, SB 1412 would allow for a school district to enter into contract with a non-profit to repurpose a closed campus to serve the students in the geographical area the school used to serve. School districts would only be allowed to enter into contracts with non-profits that has a governing board independent of the school district's board and has a proven record of successfully operating a public or open-enrollment charter school. (These are the elements of HB 4205.)
Texas Action recommends supporting SB 1412 because it promotes our principles of limited government by improving student outcomes in public schools, a legitimate function of the state. The ACE program has seen dramatic increases in student results with steady STAAR reading improvement at multiple high-poverty elementary schools in Dallas ISD. This bill encourages the use of existing resources to increase the recruitment and retention of highly effective teachers, which will result in increased student outcomes and decreased human capital costs.
Also, we supported HB 4205 and were pleased to see the provisions of that bill included in CSSB 1412.