(a) Prior to each selection cycle, the commissioner of education shall approve an application form for submission by applicants seeking to operate a high quality open-enrollment charter school. The application form shall address the content requirements specified in Texas Education Code (TEC), §12.111, and contain the following:
  (1) the timeline for selection;
  (2) required applicant conferences and training prerequisites;
  (3) scoring criteria and procedures for use by the review panel selected under subsection (d) of this section;
  (4) selection criteria, including the minimum score necessary for an application to be eligible for selection; and
  (5) the earliest date an open-enrollment charter school selected in the cycle may open.
(b) The Texas Education Agency (TEA) shall review applications submitted under this section.
  (1) If the TEA determines that an application is not complete, the TEA shall notify the applicant and allow five business days for the applicant to submit the missing documents. If the documents are not timely submitted, the TEA shall remove the application without further processing.
  (2) If the TEA determines that an application does not meet the standards in TEC, §12.101, and §100.1015 of this title (relating to Applicants for an Open-Enrollment Charter, Public Senior College or University Charter, or Public Junior College Charter), the TEA shall remove the application without further processing.
  (3) The TEA shall establish procedures and schedules for returning applications without further processing.
  (4) Failure of the TEA to identify any deficiency, or notify an applicant thereof, does not constitute a waiver of the requirement and does not bind the commissioner.
(c) Upon written notice to the TEA, an applicant may withdraw an application.
(d) Applications that are determined to meet the standards established under TEC, §12.101, and §100.1015 of this title shall be reviewed and scored by an external application review panel selected by the commissioner from a pool of qualified candidates identified through a request for qualification (RFQ) process. The panel shall review and score applications in accordance with the procedures and criteria established in the application form. Review panel members shall not discuss applications with anyone except the TEA staff. Review panel members shall not accept meals, entertainment, gifts, or gratuities in any form from any person or organization with an interest in the results of the selection process for open-enrollment charters. Members of the review panel shall disclose to the TEA immediately the discovery of any past or present relationship with an open-enrollment charter applicant, including any current or prospective employee, agent, officer, or director of the sponsoring entity, an affiliated entity, or other party with an interest in the selection of the application.
(e) Applications that are not scored at or above the minimum score established in the application form are not eligible for commissioner selection during that cycle. The commissioner may, at the commissioner's sole discretion, decline to grant an open-enrollment charter to an applicant whose application was scored at or above the minimum score. No recommendation, ranking, or other type of endorsement by a member or members of the review panel is binding on the commissioner.
(f) All parts of the application are releasable to the public under the Texas Public Information Act and will be posted to the TEA website; therefore, the following must be excluded or redacted:
  (1) personal email addresses;
  (2) proprietary material;
  (3) copyrighted material;
  (4) documents that could violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) by identifying potential students of the charter school, including, but not limited to, sign-in lists at public meetings about the school, photographs of existing students if the school is currently operating or photographs of prospective students, and/or letters of support from potential charter school parents and/or students; and
  (5) any other information or documentation that cannot be released in accordance with Texas Government Code, Chapter 552.
(g) The commissioner or the commissioner's designee(s) in coordination with the TEA staff shall interview applicants whose applications received the minimum score established in the application form. The commissioner may specify individuals required to attend the interview and may require the submission of additional information and documentation prior or subsequent to an interview.
(h) The commissioner may consider criteria that include, but are not limited to, the following when determining whether to grant an open-enrollment charter:
  (1) indications that the charter school will improve student performance;
  (2) innovation evident in the program(s) proposed for the charter school;
  (3) indications that the charter school will be fiscally viable from its inception;
  (4) impact statements from any school district whose enrollment is likely to be affected by the proposed charter school, including information relating to any financial difficulty that a loss in enrollment may have on a district;
  (5) evidence of parental and community support for or opposition to the proposed charter school;
  (6) the qualifications, backgrounds, and histories of individuals and entities who will be involved in the management and educational leadership of the proposed charter school;
  (7) the history of the sponsoring entity of the proposed charter school, as defined in the application form;
  (8) indications that the governance structure proposed for the charter school is conducive to sound fiscal and administrative practices; and
  (9) indications that the proposed charter school would expand the variety of charter schools in operation with respect to the following:
    (A) representation in urban, suburban, and rural communities;
    (B) instructional settings;
    (C) types of eligible entities;
    (D) types of innovative programs;
    (E) student populations and programs; and
    (F) geographic regions.
(i) In addition to the criteria specified in subsection (h) of this section, the commissioner shall approve or deny an application based on:
  (1) documented evidence gathered through the application review process;
  (2) merit; and
  (3) other criteria, including:
    (A) criteria related to capability of carrying out the responsibilities as provided in the charter; and
    (B) the likelihood of operating a high-quality charter, including previous experience operating a public school(s).
(j) Priority shall be given to an applicant that proposes a school in an attendance zone of a school district campus assigned an unacceptable performance rating under TEC, §39.054, for two preceding years.
(k) An applicant or any person or entity acting on behalf of an applicant for an open-enrollment charter shall not knowingly communicate with any member of an external application review panel concerning a charter school application beginning on the date the application is submitted and ending 90 days after the commissioner's proposal. State Board of Education (SBOE) members and/or the TEA staff may initiate communications with an applicant. On finding a material violation of the no-contact period, the commissioner shall reject the application and deem it ineligible for award.
(l) The commissioner shall notify the SBOE of each charter the commissioner proposes to grant under this subchapter. A charter proposed by the commissioner will be granted on the 90th day after the date on which the SBOE receives the notice from the commissioner unless:
  (1) the SBOE votes against the charter in accordance with TEC, §12.101(b-0); or
  (2) the commissioner withdraws the proposal.
(m) The commissioner may defer granting an open-enrollment charter subject to contingencies and shall require fulfillment of such contingencies before the charter school is issued a contract. Such conditions must be fulfilled by the awardee, as determined by the commissioner, no later than two months after the date of the notification of contingencies by the commissioner or the proposal of the charter is withdrawn. The commissioner may establish timelines for submission by the awardee of any documentation to be considered by the commissioner in determining whether contingencies have been met. An applicant that is not granted a charter may reapply.
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