April 8, 2025 Committee of the Full Board Item 1
Consideration of the Commissioner of Education’s Generation 30 High-Performing Entity Charter School Proposal
April 11, 2025
COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the committee and board an opportunity to review and take action or no action on the commissioner’s proposal for a Generation 30 High-Performing Entity (HPE) charter school scheduled to open in the 2026-2027 school year. If awarded, the charter will have an initial five-year term.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §12.101, and §12.1011.
TEC, §12.101 requires the commissioner to notify the State Board of Education (SBOE) of each charter the commissioner proposes to grant. Unless, before the 90th day after the date on which the board receives the notice from the commissioner, a majority of the members of the board present and voting, vote against the grant of that charter, the commissioner's proposal to grant the charter takes effect.
TEC, §12.1011 authorizes the commissioner to grant a charter for an open-enrollment charter school that is an eligible entity as determined by the commissioner in accordance with commissioner rule, has performed at a level of performance comparable to performance under the highest or second highest performance rating category under Subchapter C, Chapter 39.
The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: Annually, within 90 days of the commissioner’s notification of his intent to grant open-enrollment charter school(s), the SBOE has an opportunity to formally consider the commissioner’s proposals and to take action or take no action. At the June 2024 meeting, the SBOE took into consideration the five applicants recommended by the commissioner of education for charter award. The SBOE voted to take no action on the following four charter applicants: Pathway Academy (Big Spring), The Texas Girls School (Austin), Unparalleled Preparatory Academy (Manor), and Infinite Minds (Arlington). The SBOE voted to veto one of the charter applicants: Visionary STEM Academy (Terrell).
This is the first proposal of a High-Performing Entity (HPE) Subchapter D Open-Enrollment Charter School by the commissioner.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: TEC, §12.101 grants the commissioner the authority to award up to 305 open-enrollment charters to eligible entities that: are considered capable of carrying out the responsibilities of the charter, are likely to operate a school of high quality, have been proposed by the commissioner, and are not vetoed by a majority of the SBOE members present and voting.
TEC, §12.1011 permits the commissioner to grant a charter for an open-enrollment charter school to an applicant that is an eligible high-performing entity. It establishes that eligible entities are non-profit organizations that propose to operate the charter school program of a charter operator that operates one or more charter school in another state and with which the eligible entity is affiliated or entities that have operated one or more charter schools established under TEC Chapter 12 Subchapter C or E. Both types of entities must also have performed or have equivalent academic performance of the highest or second highest performance rating category under TEC Chapter 39, Subchapter C.
Prior to the charter school award cycle, the commissioner adopted the Generation 30 Open-Enrollment Charter High-Performing Entity Instructions and Guidance and Request for Application document, establishing the timeline and procedures for the application cycle, the contents of the application, and the criteria by which charter schools would be awarded to eligible entities.
One application was submitted by the December 20, 2024 deadline, and after eligibility and completion checks by Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff, the application advanced to the data analysis and eligibility review. The applicant met the requirement of equivalent performance of the highest or second highest performance rating on Domain 1: Student Achievement. The applicant then moved forward to the due diligence period. During this period, TEA staff visited existing schools of the affiliated operator and held meetings with both the proposed applicant team and their current authorizers. Subsequent to the commissioner’s proposal, SBOE members were then invited to meet and ask questions of the proposed applicant.
MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:
Review and take no action on the commissioner’s proposed Generation 30 High-Performing Entity (HPE) Subchapter D Open-Enrollment Charter School to open in the 2026-2027 school year.
Staff Members Responsible:
Kelvey Oeser, Deputy Commissioner, Educator, and System Support
Marian Schutte, Deputy Associate Commissioner, Authorizing and Policy
Separate Exhibit:
Commissioner of Education’s Generation 30 High-Performing Entity Open-Enrollment Charter School proposal
(to be provided at the April 2025 SBOE meeting)