Senate Bill 1882 Texas Partnerships Applications

Pursuant to Senate Bill (SB) 1882, 85th Regular Legislative Session, school districts can access potential financial and/or accountability benefits by entering into a partnership with a non-profit, institution of higher education, or other governmental entity to manage a district campus or set of campuses. 

Deadline for Submission for Texas Partnership Benefits 

The deadline for districts to submit their Texas Partnerships Benefits Application Package to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for partnerships beginning operation in school year (SY) 2021-2022 is 5:00 p.m. (Central Time) on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. 

Required Actions for Benefits Eligibility 

To be eligible to receive Texas Partnership benefits, districts must: 

• Submit a non-binding Letter of Intent; 
• Attend mandatory training webinars; 
• Adopt and implement the TEA model charter authorizing policy or a similar policy approved by TEA; 
• Adopt and implement the TEA model campus charter application or a similar application and scoring rubric approved by TEA; and 
• Submit the application for benefits by March 31, 2021. 

Each of these requirements are detailed in the sections below. 

Mandatory Letter of Intent 

Districts that are considering pursuing a Texas Partnership for SY 2021-2022 are required to submit a non-binding Letter of Intent by Friday, October 30, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. (Central Time). Districts can submit the Letter of Intent by completing this online form. TEA will not accept a Texas Partnerships Benefit application package from a district unless the district has completed a Letter of Intent by the required deadline. 

Mandatory Training Webinar for Districts and Proposed or Potential Operating Partners 

Districts that intend to submit a Texas Partnerships Benefits Application Package and their proposed or potential operating partners must each attend a mandatory training webinar. 

TEA will not accept a Texas Partnerships Benefit application from a district unless the district has attended: 

• one of the two training webinars offered for districts; and 
• one of the two training webinars on performance contracts. 

Required attendees from the district are the superintendent or a cabinet member. 

TEA will not accept a Texas Partnerships Benefits application from a district unless their proposed or potential operating partner has attended: 

• one of the two training webinars offered for proposed or potential operating partners; and 
• one of the two training webinars on performance contracts. 

A required attendee from the proposed or potential operating partner is a board member or a full-time staff employee of the partner organization. 

The training session options, all to take place via webinar, are listed below. Participants must register prior to the webinar; registration links are in the table below. 

Local Authorizing Policy and Campus Application 

Districts that are not using the TEA model policy, campus charter application, and scoring rubric must have these items approved prior to submitting the application for Texas Partnership Benefits. The deadline for submitting these materials is 5:00 p.m. (Central Time) on Friday, October 30, 2020. Model documents can be found at 

www.txpartnerships.org/tools. 

Summary of Important Dates Related to Texas Partnerships 

Optional Informational Webinars 

The Division of System Support and Innovation will host informational webinars about Texas Partnerships and the benefits available under SB 1882 in early Fall 2020. These webinars are open to all stakeholders. The content of each webinar is the same. Participants must register prior to the webinar; registration links are in the table below. 

Additional Information 

Additional information and resources regarding Texas Partnerships may found at www.txpartnerships.org. The website will be updated regularly. 

Contact 

Please contact the Division of System Support and Innovation with additional questions via DSSI@tea.texas.gov.