SECTION 100.1025. Intervention Based on Health, Safety, or Welfare of Students

(a) The commissioner of education may temporarily withhold state funds, suspend the authority of an open-enrollment charter school to operate in its entirety or at one or more locations, and/or take any other reasonable action the commissioner determines necessary to protect the health, safety, or welfare of students enrolled at the school based on evidence that conditions at the school present a danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the students.

(b) The commissioner must notify the charter holder in writing of the action taken in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) If the commissioner's actions under subsection (a) of this section relate to circumstances that present an imminent danger of material harm to the health, safety, or welfare of students, the open-enrollment charter school may not receive state funds and may not resume operating until a determination is made that:

(1) despite initial evidence, the conditions at the school do not present an imminent danger of material harm to the health, safety, or welfare of students; or

(2) the conditions at the school that presented an imminent danger of material harm to the health, safety, or welfare of students have been corrected.

(d) Not later than the third business day after the date the commissioner acts under subsection (a) of this section to address circumstances that present an imminent danger of material harm to the health, safety, or welfare of students, the commissioner shall provide the charter holder an opportunity for a hearing.

(e) The hearing under this section shall be conducted under the procedures governing informal review of a preliminary investigative report specified in Chapter 157, Subchapter EE, Division 1, of this title (relating to Informal Review).

(f) An action under subsection (a) of this section to address circumstances that present an imminent danger of material harm to the health, safety, or welfare of students remains in effect until a determination under subsection (e) of this section becomes final.

(1) If the determination is in favor of the charter holder, the commissioner must cease the action under subsection (a) of this section immediately and restore all funds to which the charter holder would be entitled but for such action.

(2) If the determination is against the charter holder, the commissioner must initiate adverse action against the charter under §100.1021 of this title (relating to Revocation and Modification of Governance of an Open-Enrollment Charter). The action under subsection (a) of this section then remains in effect until the final decision under §100.1021 of this title.

Source Note: The provisions of this §100.1025 adopted to be effective November 6, 2001, 26 TexReg 8823; amended to be effective April 6, 2005, 30 TexReg 1911; amended to be effective September 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 7097; amended to be effective September 18, 2014, 39 TexReg 7295