After House Vote, Texas Moves Closer to Expanding Charter School Networks

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State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, spoke Wednesday as Texas charter school supporters rallied at the Texas Capitol to lobby the Legislature for more funding.
(Photo: Texas Tribune)

Lindsay Kastner, Houston Chronicle
AUSTIN — The Texas House approved on Thursday an amended version of a bill to introduce sweeping changes to the state’s charter school system.

Senate Bill 2 passed on a 105-34 vote on second reading. It now faces a third reading before it can be reconciled with a similar version the Senate passed last month.

“I think the bill supports quality charters, helping them to expand and grow but at the same time helping to shut down the poor performers,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen.

Its author, Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, has called SB2 the most comprehensive charter school legislation since the state introduced the publicly funded and privately run schools in the 1990s. Previous efforts to change the system made it through the Senate but failed to gain traction in the House.

A measure taking aim at Harmony Public Schools, the state's largest charter school network with 36 campuses, was added onto major legislation from Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick, R-Houston, as it cleared the Texas House on Thursday. (Texas Tribune)
Also: A measure taking aim at Harmony Public Schools, the state’s largest charter school network, was added onto the legislation as it cleared the Texas House on Thursday.(Texas Tribune)

The bill would update rules on the renewal, expansion and revocation of charters, raising the current cap of 215 charters that can be authorized at any one time by allowing an additional 10 per year up to a total of 275 by 2019. Charter holders may operate multiple schools under a single charter.

It would also tighten nepotism rules – an amendment exempts current employees – and give operators the right of first refusal on the lease or purchase of unused facilities in traditional public school districts.

Patrick initially sought to provide charters with state funding for facilities, create a separate board to authorize new charters and to eliminate the state cap altogether. He and other supporters have argued that Texas needs more charters to provide choices to families, including the more than 100,000 Texas school children on charter school waiting lists.
(Read more at Chron.com)

Texas House Backs Bill Expanding Charter Schools (Texas Tribune)

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