SECTION 30.1. Petition for Adoption of Rule Changes

(a) Any interested person as defined in Texas Government Code (TGC), §2001.021(d), may petition for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule of the State Board of Education (SBOE) by filing a petition on the form provided in this subsection. The petition shall be signed and submitted to the Texas Education Agency (TEA). The TEA staff responsible for the area with which the rule is concerned shall evaluate the merits of the petition to determine whether to recommend that rulemaking proceedings be initiated or that the petition be denied.

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(b) In accordance with TGC, §2001.021, the TEA staff must respond to the petitioner within 60 calendar days of receipt of the petition.

(1) Where possible, the TEA staff recommendation concerning the petition shall be placed on the next SBOE agenda, and the SBOE shall act on the petition within 60 calendar days.

(2) Where the time required to review the petition or the scheduling of SBOE meetings will not permit the SBOE to act on the petition within the required 60 calendar days, the TEA staff shall respond to the petitioner within the required 60 calendar days, notifying the petitioner of the date of the SBOE meeting at which the TEA staff recommendation will be presented to the SBOE for action.

(c) The SBOE will review the petition and the TEA staff recommendation and will either deny the petition, giving reasons for the denial, or direct the TEA staff to begin the rulemaking process. The TEA staff will notify the petitioner of the SBOE's action related to the petition.

(d) The SBOE may deny a petition on the following grounds:

(1) the SBOE does not have jurisdiction or authority to propose or adopt the petitioned rule;

(2) the petitioned rule conflicts with a statute, court decision, another rule proposed or adopted by the SBOE, or other law;

(3) the SBOE determines that a different proceeding, procedure, or act more appropriately addresses the subject matter of the petition than initiating a rulemaking proceeding;

(4) the petitioner files a petition:

(A) within one year of the SBOE denying a petition on a similar rule or the same subject matter; or

(B) to amend a rule proposed or adopted by the SBOE that has not yet become effective; or

(5) any other reason the SBOE determines is grounds for denial.

(e) If the SBOE initiates rulemaking procedures in response to a petition, the rule text which the SBOE proposes may differ from the rule text proposed by the petitioner.

Source Note: The provisions of this §30.1 adopted to be effective December 5, 2004, 29 TexReg 11339; amended to be effective April 26, 2009, 34 TexReg 2531; amended to be effective May 23, 2017, 42 TexReg 2722; amended to be effective June 13, 2021, 46 TexReg 3518