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 an external application review panel appointed by the SBOE concerning a charter school application beginning on the date the panel member is notified of appointment to serve on a specific review cycle and ending when the SBOE takes final action awarding charters under that application. On finding a material violation of the no-contact period, the SBOE shall reject the application or applications affected.

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

   1. (1) Each application for an open-enrollment charter shall state a minimum student enrollment of no fewer than 50 students. The SBOE may grant a lower minimum student enrollment only on majority recommendation of members voting from the committee with jurisdiction over charters.
   2. (2) 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.
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.

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; amended to be effective October 7, 2001, 26 TexReg 7539.