TX HB2866

Restricts school districts from using federal, state, or local funding to initiate or maintain legal actions against the state or state agencies, requiring attorney payments for ultra vires claims to be held in escrow until the case concludes and only released if the claimant prevails

Authorizes the commissioner to appoint a conservator to any school district or charter school that initiates legal proceedings against the state, with potential escalation to a board of managers if the district fails to comply with orders to withdraw from litigation

Requires mandatory interventions against districts that sued to block the 2022-2023 or 2023-2024 accountability ratings, including appointing boards of managers and revoking charter renewals that were granted during the litigation period

Establishes a 15-year timeline for increasing accountability standards, with performance score increases occurring only every five years beginning with 2027-2028, aiming to eliminate achievement gaps and rank Texas in the top five states nationally

Expands military readiness indicators for high school accountability to include students who achieve passing scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test and complete JROTC programs, and requires the agency to study the correlation of college, career, and military readiness indicators with postsecondary success