1. (a) Prior to each selection cycle, the State Board of Education (SBOE) shall adopt an application form for submission by applicants seeking a charter to operate an 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. (1) the timeline for selection;
   2. (2) scoring criteria and procedures for use by the review panel appointed under subsection (d) of this section;
   3. (3) selection criteria, including the minimum score necessary for an application to be eligible for selection; and
   4. (4) the earliest date an open-enrollment charter school selected in the cycle may open.
2. (b) The Texas Education Agency (TEA) shall review applications submitted under this section. If an application does not contain all required information and documentation, the TEA may notify the applicant of deficiencies. Further, the TEA may notify the applicant of substantive deviations from state and federal requirements affecting the operation of open-enrollment charter schools or the applicant's eligibility to be granted a charter. The TEA may establish procedures and schedules for responses to such notifications. Failure of the TEA to identify any deficiency or substantive deviation, or notify an applicant thereof, does not constitute a waiver of the requirement and does not bind the SBOE.
3. (c) Upon written notice to the TEA, an applicant may withdraw an application.
4. (d) Eligible applications shall be reviewed and scored by an appointed review panel. Two-thirds of the panel members shall be appointed by the SBOE. One-third of the panel members shall be appointed by the commissioner of education. 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 or 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 upon discovery 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.
5. (e) Applications that are not scored at or above the minimum score established in the application form are not eligible for SBOE selection during that cycle. The SBOE may at its 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 SBOE, except as provided in this section.
6. (f) The SBOE or its designee(s) shall interview applicants whose applications received the minimum score established in the application form. The SBOE may specify individuals required to attend the interview and may require the submission of additional information and documentation prior or subsequent to an interview.

7. (g) The SBOE may consider criteria that include, but are not limited to, the following when determining whether to grant an open-enrollment charter:

   1. (1) indications that the charter school will improve student performance;
   2. (2) innovation evident in the program(s) proposed for the charter school;
   3. (3) 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;
   4. (4) evidence of parental and community support for the proposed charter school;
   5. (5) the qualifications, backgrounds, and histories of individuals and entities who will be involved in the management and educational leadership of the proposed charter school;
   6. (6) the history of the sponsoring entity of the proposed charter school, as defined in the application form;
   7. (7) indications that the governance structure proposed for the charter school is conducive to sound fiscal and administrative practices; and

   8. (8) indications that the proposed charter school would expand the variety of charter schools in operation with respect to the following:

      1. (A) representation in urban, suburban, and rural communities;
      2. (B) instructional settings;
      3. (C) types of eligible entities;
      4. (D) types of innovative programs;
      5. (E) student populations and programs; and
      6. (F) geographic regions.

8. (h) An applicant for an open-enrollment charter shall not communicate with a member of the SBOE, or with a member of an external application review panel appointed by the SBOE, concerning a charter school application or renewal application during the no-contact periods described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection. On finding a material violation of either no-contact period, the SBOE shall reject the application or applications affected.

   1. (1) The no-contact period for a member of the SBOE shall begin on the date an application form is adopted by the SBOE for the application cycle and end when the SBOE takes final action awarding charters under that application.
   2. (2) The no-contact period for a member of an external application review panel shall begin on the date the panel member is notified of appointment to serve on a specific review cycle and end when the SBOE takes final action awarding charters under that application.

9. (i) The SBOE may consider minimum enrollment criteria.

   1. (1) Each application for an open-enrollment charter, for renewal of an existing charter, and for amendment of an existing charter shall state a minimum student enrollment of no fewer than 50 students. The SBOE may grant a lower minimum student enrollment only on unanimous recommendation of members voting from the committee with jurisdiction over charters.
   2. (2) On or before the first day of October each year, an open-enrollment charter reporting student enrollment of fewer than 50 students on its most recent report to the TEA Division of State Funding, or found by TEA audit to have fewer than 50 students enrolled, shall be placed on the agenda of the SBOE for consideration of an amendment of the charter to allow operation with less than 50 students. Unless the SBOE approves a lower minimum student enrollment, continued enrollment below 50 students shall be a material violation of the charter.
   3. (3) The SBOE may grant a lower minimum student enrollment in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection upon finding that either the nature of the charter warrants a minimum enrollment lower than 50 students or the charter is making acceptable progress toward minimum enrollment.
10. (j) The SBOE may grant an open-enrollment charter subject to additional conditions not contained in the application and may require fulfillment of such conditions before the charter school is permitted to operate.
11. (k) An open-enrollment charter shall be in the form and substance of a written contract signed by the chair of the SBOE and the chief operating officer of the school. The chief operating officer of the school shall mean the chief executive officer of the open enrollment charter holder under TEC, §12.101.

12. (l) The terms of an open-enrollment charter may be revised with the consent of the charter holder by written amendment approved by majority vote of the SBOE, subject to the following procedures.

    1. (1) An amendment proposed by an open-enrollment charter holder must be transmitted to the SBOE in conformance with procedures established by the TEA.
    2. (2) An open-enrollment charter may not be amended to permit a charter school to extend the grade levels it serves or increase its maximum allowable enrollment figure during its first year of operation.
    3. (3) An amendment permitting an open-enrollment charter school to extend the grade levels it serves or increase its maximum allowable enrollment figure may not be approved later than the first day of June preceding the school year in which the amendment becomes effective. The SBOE may grant an exception upon a unanimous recommendation of members voting from the committee with jurisdiction over charters.
    4. (4) An open-enrollment charter holder proposing a substantive revision of its charter must submit, as directed by the TEA, information required by relevant portions of the last application form approved by the SBOE.
    5. (5) The commissioner may approve a revision to an open-enrollment charter on a provisional basis pending action by the SBOE at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Source Note:The provisions of this §100.1 adopted to be effective December 5, 1999, 24 TexReg 10529; amended to be effective January 1, 2001, 25 TexReg 11652.