This update to GKD (Local) substantially rewrites the Nonschool Use of School Facilities policy by replacing the prior framework with a comprehensive new structure that introduces formal definitions (District Facility, Facility User, Campus-Affiliated Facility User, Employee Facility User, Student Activity User), expanded scheduling priority provisions, detailed facility use requirements (18 numbered items), revised fee and complimentary-use rules, liability and insurance requirements, an appeals process, and an implementation deadline of December 31, 2026. The prior policy language covering approval of use, release of liability, private lessons/clinics/summer athletic leagues, special provisions, usage fees, complimentary/reduced/waived fees, required conduct, and applicability is entirely removed and replaced.
Legal Compliance Details Mixed
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Definitions section (District Facility, Facility User, Campus-Affiliated Facility User, Employee Facility User, Student Activity User) Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: All five definitions are locally created categories with no statutory equivalent or requirement in the provided statute analysis. The policy creates a new governance framework entirely absent from statutory text.
Scheduling priorities favoring Campus-Affiliated, Employee, and Student Activity Users over other Facility Users Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: The statute analysis contains no requirement or permission for prioritizing specific classes of facility users. This prioritization structure is a local design choice.
Facility use limited to educational, recreational, civic, social, or religious activities not conflicting with state or federal law or Board Policies including EMB (Local) Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: No verbatim statutory text was retrievable for TEC §11.151 or §11.158. The District's decision to condition facility use on compliance with Board Policy EMB (Local) and to enumerate permitted activity categories is a local governance choice. The addition of 'religious activities' as a permitted use category may track TEC §11.173 permissive authority but that statute does not mandate this language.
Permission for religious organizations to use facilities (implicit via 'religious activities' language) subject to conditions tracking TEC §11.173 Permitted by LawStatutory basis: TEC §11.173, as enacted by S.B. 2986 (89th Leg., R.S.)
Verified via: verbatim statute text
Litigation: None identified. S.B. 2986 enacted 89th Leg. (2025); no active injunctions identified as of June 2025.
Local additions: The District's policy permits religious activities among the enumerated permitted uses and imposes equal-terms, liability, and cost-recovery conditions on all Facility Users generally—consistent with the statute's equal-treatment and liability requirements. The District's election to allow such use at all, and the general framework of liability, insurance, and fee requirements applicable to all users, constitutes the District's local implementation of the permissive statutory authority. The statute does not mandate that districts allow religious use; that remains a district choice.
Child abuse prevention, reporting, mandatory reporting compliance, and investigation cooperation requirements imposed on Facility Users (Facility Use Requirements item 17) MixedStatutory basis: TEC §38.004(a), (b), (c)
Verified via: verbatim statute text
Litigation: None identified. TEC §38.004 is long-standing and not newly enacted within 24 months.
Local additions: The statute requires the District to adopt a TEA-developed child abuse reporting policy and mandates that district employees report abuse—that component is Required by Law. However, the policy extends mandatory reporting and investigation cooperation obligations to non-employee Facility Users, which goes beyond what TEC §38.004 requires. Requiring Facility Users (who are not district employees) to comply with mandatory reporting and assist investigations is a locally chosen expansion. The FFG policy cross-reference and the specific supervision and one-on-one contact provisions are also locally chosen additions.
Liability release and hold-harmless requirement for Facility Users (except Campus-Affiliated and Board/Superintendent-designated entities) Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: No verbatim statutory text was retrievable for TEC §11.151 or §11.158. The District's requirement that Facility Users execute releases of liability and hold-harmless agreements is a local governance choice continued from the prior policy. No statute in the analysis requires or expressly authorizes this specific condition.
Insurance coverage requirements for Facility Users (except Campus-Affiliated and Board/Superintendent-designated entities) Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: No verbatim statutory text was retrievable for TEC §11.158. The District's requirement that Facility Users provide proof of liability insurance before approval is a local governance choice carried over and refined from the prior policy. No statute in the analysis requires or expressly authorizes this specific condition.
Background checks of Facility Users with authority to deny use based on results (Facility Use Requirements item 7) Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: The prior policy required criminal history checks specifically for persons providing individualized instruction. The new policy broadens this to permit background checks of all Facility Users at the District's discretion. No statute in the analysis requires or expressly permits this broader discretionary check. This is a locally expanded authority.
Facility use fees—general authority to charge fees sufficient to recover direct and indirect costs with Board-adopted fee schedules Locally DiscretionaryStatutory basis: TEC §11.158
Verified via: unverified
Local additions: No verbatim statutory text was retrievable for TEC §11.158. Per the grounding rule, without a supporting verbatim quote from the statute text, this element cannot be classified as Permitted by Law. The District's decision to charge cost-recovery fees, enumerate eligible cost categories, and vary fees by user type, timing, nonprofit status, and similar factors is classified as Locally Discretionary. The prior policy also charged usage fees pursuant to a Board-published schedule.
Requirement that Board adopt a fee schedule before any District Facility may be made available for use Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District imposes a procedural prerequisite that no facility may be approved for use unless the Board has adopted a fee schedule for that facility. This is a local governance choice not required by any statute in the analysis.
Authority to assess additional fees for staff, security, restoration, health/safety, and large-scale or special events beyond published fee schedules (Facility Use Requirements item 6) Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District reserves discretionary authority to assess additional charges beyond published fee schedules for specified cost categories and special events. The prior policy reserved a similar right. No statute in the analysis requires or expressly authorizes this specific mechanism.
Restriction that only the Board may waive or modify published fees by formal Board action (except as expressly authorized in policy) Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: This procedural restriction consolidating fee-waiver authority in the Board is a local governance choice. The prior policy similarly restricted fee waivers to Board approval. No statute mandates or prohibits this restriction.
Complimentary use for Campus-Affiliated Facility Users subject to availability and reasonableness Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District elects to grant complimentary facility use to PTA/PTO organizations, booster clubs, Board committees, employee organizations, and designated groups. No statute in the analysis requires or expressly authorizes this specific benefit. The prior policy provided similar treatment for qualifying parent/teacher/employee organizations. This is a continued local policy choice.
Discretionary complimentary or reduced fees for Employee Facility Users and Student Activity Users consistent with cost-recovery objectives Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District creates discretionary authority to offer reduced or complimentary fees to Employee Facility Users and Student Activity Users subject to cost-recovery constraints. The prior policy granted automatic discounts to school employees for nonschool camps, clinics, workshops, and lessons. The new policy makes discounts discretionary rather than automatic—a local policy shift with no statutory basis in the analysis.
Waiver of fees for public meetings sponsored by state or local governmental agencies Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: unverified
Local additions: No verbatim statutory text was retrievable for any statute that would compel or expressly authorize this fee waiver. The policy retains this waiver from the prior policy and notes it applies 'as otherwise required by law,' which suggests a possible external statutory basis not captured in the statute analysis. Per the grounding rule, without a supporting verbatim quote, this element is classified as Locally Discretionary. If a specific statute compels this waiver (e.g., Texas Local Government Code), that would elevate this element to Required by Law, but no such text is present in the statute analysis.
Annual estimate of cost to the District of complimentary or reduced fees Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District commits to annually estimating the cost of complimentary or reduced fees. This is a local fiscal transparency measure with no statutory requirement or authorization in the analysis.
Grounds for denial, cancellation, and permanent or temporary revocation of facility use (including discretionary revocation for any reason, item 18) Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District reserves broad authority to deny, cancel, or permanently revoke facility use for specified and wholly discretionary reasons. The new policy's item 18 ('for any reason') significantly expands the prior policy's narrower cancellation grounds (interference with school activities or excessive wear). No statute in the analysis requires or expressly authorizes this scope of revocation authority.
Requirement to maintain publicly accessible website or comparable electronic platform with Board policies, fee schedules, and facility-use applications Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District elects to maintain a public electronic platform with all relevant policies, fee schedules, and applications. This is a local operational and transparency choice not required by any statute in the analysis.
Electronic system for District full-time exempt employees to volunteer as facility monitors, with optional training and qualification requirements Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District creates a new voluntary staffing mechanism for employee monitors and reserves authority to require training. This is a local operational innovation with no statutory basis in the analysis.
Emergency or disaster waiver authority for Superintendent with Board notification Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District retains from prior policy the authority for the Superintendent to authorize facility use by civil defense officials and waive policy provisions during emergencies, with Board notification as soon as practicable. No statute in the analysis requires or expressly authorizes this specific mechanism. It is a local governance choice consistent with good-practice emergency management.
Appeals process for decisions under this policy through District grievance processes Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District incorporates facility-use decision appeals into its standard grievance processes. This is a local procedural choice ensuring due process. No statute in the analysis mandates this.
Implementation deadline of December 31, 2026, including Board approval of fee schedules Locally DiscretionaryVerified via: verbatim statute text
Local additions: District self-imposes a transition timeline for full policy compliance including Board approval of fee schedules by December 31, 2026. This is a local implementation deadline with no statutory basis.