The commissioner of education may grant charters for certain juvenile detention, correctional, or residential facilities and must adopt application procedures and implementation rules. Those facilities or their contracted eligible entities must provide required educational services if they apply, and qualifying charter schools are entitled to open-enrollment charter school funding.
Sec. 221.0071. CHARTER SCHOOL. (a) Notwithstanding any other law and in addition to the number of charters allowed under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code, the commissioner of education may grant a charter on the application of a detention, correctional, or residential facility established only for juvenile offenders under Section 51.12, 51.125, or 51.126, Family Code, or an eligible entity that has entered into a contract with a facility described by this subsection. (b) If a local detention, correctional, or residential facility described by Subsection (a) or an eligible entity that has entered into a contract with a facility described by Subsection (a) applies for a charter, the facility or the eligible entity must provide all educational opportunities and services, including special education instruction and related services, that a school district is required under state or federal law to provide for students residing in the district through a charter school operated in accordance with and subject to Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code. (c) The commissioner of education shall adopt a form and procedure to allow a detention, correctional, or residential facility described by Subsection (a) or an eligible entity that has entered into a contract with a facility described by Subsection (a) to apply for a charter. The application form and procedure must be comparable to the applicable requirements of Section 12.110, Education Code, and must include any requirements provided under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code. (d) A charter school operating under a charter granted under this section is entitled to receive open-enrollment charter school funding under Chapter 48, Education Code, in the same manner as an open-enrollment charter school operating under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code. (e) The commissioner of education shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section, including rules that modify the requirements for charter schools provided under Chapter 12, Education Code, as necessary to allow a charter school to operate in a detention, correctional, or residential facility described by Subsection (a). (f) In this section, "eligible entity" has the meaning assigned by Section 12.101(a), Education Code. Redesignated and amended from Human Resources Code, Subchapter C, Chapter 141 by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 85 (S.B. 653), Sec. 1.004, eff. September 1, 2011. Amended by: Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1140 (S.B. 2), Sec. 44, eff. September 1, 2013. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 418 (S.B. 1177), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 943 (H.B. 3), Sec. 3.084, eff. September 1, 2019.