HB 5125
AN ACT relating to measures to ensure public school transparency and
89th Regular Session
Jan 14, 2025 - Jun 2, 2025 • Session ended
Awaiting Committee Assignment
Bill filed, pending referral to House committee
Committee
Not yet assigned
Fiscal Note
Not available
What This Bill Does
relating to measures to ensure public school transparency and
Subject Areas
Bill Text
relating to measures to ensure public school transparency and accountability, including school district board of trustees meeting requirements, posting of certain information on a public school's Internet website, the creation of a grievance portal, and the inclusion of a transparency and accountability domain in the public school accountability system. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 11.0621, Education Code, is amended to Sec. 11.0621. MEETINGS. (a) The minutes, certified agenda, or recording, as applicable, of a regular or special meeting of the board of trustees must reflect each member's attendance at or absence from the meeting. The minutes or tape recording of an open meeting must be accessible to the public in accordance with Section 551.022, Government Code. (b) The board of trustees of a school district shall: (1) conduct all business of the board in a public and open manner unless the board is addressing sensitive personnel issues or a matter required to be kept confidential by law; (2) allow public comment at the beginning of each (3) address any issue raised during the public comment period under Subdivision (2) during the same board meeting in which SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 11, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 11.1519 to read as follows: Sec. 11.1519. POSTING OF DISTRICT RULES, POLICIES, AND PROCEDURES. (a) A school district shall post on the district's Internet website in a manner easily accessible to the public each rule, policy, and procedure applicable to students or staff adopted (b) A school district must update the district's Internet website not later than the 30th day after the date on which the district adopts or modifies a rule, policy, or procedure applicable SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 12.142 to read as follows: Sec. 12.142. POSTING OF SCHOOL RULES, POLICIES, AND PROCEDURES. (a) An open-enrollment charter school shall post on the school's Internet website in a manner easily accessible to the public each rule, policy, and procedure applicable to students or (b) An open-enrollment charter school must update the school's Internet website not later than the 30th day after the date on which the school adopts or modifies a rule, policy, or procedure applicable to students or staff. SECTION 4. Chapter 26, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 26.0115 to read as follows: Sec. 26.0115. GRIEVANCE PORTAL. The agency shall develop an Internet portal through which a person may file a grievance concerning a school district or open-enrollment charter school. The portal must allow for a person to easily: (1) file a grievance and forward the grievance to the appropriate district or school; (2) track a grievance that has been filed through the (3) access a copy of the resolution of the grievance; (4) if the grievance is not resolved to the person's satisfaction by the district or school, file an appeal with the commissioner in accordance with Section 7.057. SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 31, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 31.107 to read as follows: Sec. 31.107. POSTING OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS. A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall post on the district's or school's Internet website in an easily accessible manner the list of instructional materials used by the district or SECTION 6. Subchapter B, Chapter 33, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 33.028 to read as follows: Sec. 33.028. POSTING OF LIBRARY CATALOG. A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall post on the district's or school's Internet website in an easily accessible manner the catalog of available library materials at each school library in SECTION 7. Section 39.053(c), Education Code, is amended to (c) School districts and campuses must be evaluated based on four [three] domains of indicators of achievement adopted under (1) in the student achievement domain, indicators of student achievement that must include: (A) for evaluating the performance of districts (i) an indicator that accounts for the results of assessment instruments required under Sections 39.023(a), (c), and (l), as applicable for the district and campus, including the results of assessment instruments required for graduation retaken by a student, aggregated across grade levels by (a) for the performance standard determined by the commissioner under Section 39.0241(a), the percentage of students who performed satisfactorily on the assessment instruments, aggregated across grade levels by subject performance standard as determined under Section 39.0241, the percentage of students who performed satisfactorily on the assessment instruments, aggregated across grade levels by subject (ii) an indicator that accounts for the results of assessment instruments required under Section 39.023(b), as applicable for the district and campus, including the percentage of students who performed satisfactorily on the assessment instruments, as determined by the performance standard adopted by the agency, aggregated across grade levels by subject (B) for evaluating the performance of high school campuses and districts that include high school campuses, (i) students who satisfy the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) college readiness benchmarks prescribed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under Section 51.334 on an assessment instrument in reading or mathematics designated by the coordinating board under that section; (ii) students who satisfy relevant performance standards on advanced placement tests or similar (iii) students who earn dual course credits (iv) students who enlist in the armed forces of the United States or the Texas National Guard; (v) students who earn industry (vi) students admitted into postsecondary industry certification programs that require as a prerequisite for entrance successful performance at the secondary level; (vii) students whose successful completion of a course or courses under Section 28.014 indicates the student's preparation to enroll and succeed, without remediation, in an entry-level general education course for a baccalaureate degree or (viii) students who successfully met standards on a composite of indicators that through research indicates the student's preparation to enroll and succeed, without remediation, in an entry-level general education course for a baccalaureate degree or associate degree; (ix) high school graduation rates, computed in accordance with standards and definitions adopted in compliance with the Every Student Succeeds Act (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.) subject to the exclusions provided by Subsections (g), (g-1), (x) students who successfully completed an OnRamps dual enrollment course; (xi) students who successfully completed a practicum or internship approved by the State Board of Education; (xii) students who are awarded an associate (xiii) students who successfully completed a program of study in career and technical education; (2) in the school progress domain, indicators for effectiveness in promoting student learning, which must include: (A) for assessment instruments, including assessment instruments under Subdivisions (1)(A)(i) and (ii), the percentage of students who met the standard for improvement, as determined by the commissioner; and (B) for evaluating relative performance, the performance of districts and campuses compared to similar districts (3) in the closing the gaps domain, the use of disaggregated data to demonstrate the differentials among students from different racial and ethnic groups, socioeconomic backgrounds, and other factors, including: (A) students formerly receiving special (B) students continuously enrolled; and (C) students who are mobile; and (4) in the transparency and accountability domain, indicators for effectiveness in promoting transparency and accountability with respect to district or campus operations. SECTION 8. Section 39.301(d), Education Code, is amended to (d) Performance on the indicators described by Sections 39.053(c)(1), (2), and (3) [Section 39.053(c)] and Subsections (c)(3), (4), and (9) of this section must be based on longitudinal student data that is disaggregated by the bilingual education or special language program, if any, in which emergent bilingual students, as defined by Section 29.052, are or former emergent bilingual students were enrolled. If a student described by this subsection is not or was not enrolled in specialized language instruction, the number and percentage of those students shall be SECTION 9. This Act applies beginning with the 2025-2026 SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Bill History
Bill filed: AN ACT relating to measures to ensure public school transparency and
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