Opinion ID: 6109717
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: AYW's claim

Text: The Commissioner also revoked AYW's charter under the authority of § 12.115(c). AYW's charter revocation, however, was not because of its academics, as was the case with Honors's revocation, but rather because of its financials. AYW received a financial rating of Substandard Achievement for school years 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013. 9 And although § 12.115(c-1) excluded the 2011-2012 school year when considering revocation for unacceptable academics under § 12.115(c)(1), it did not also exclude that school year when considering revocation for unacceptable financial performance under § 12.115(c)(2). TEX. EDUC. CODE § 12.115(c)(1)-(2), (c-1). The new academic standards that made the 2011-2012 school term a transition year for rating academic performance did not significantly affect financial performance ratings and thus § 12.115(c-1) stated that the initial three school years for which financial accountability performance ratings under Subchapter D, Chapter 39, shall be considered are the 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 school years. Id. § 12.115(c-1). As already noted, the Commissioner notified AYW of his intention to revoke AYW's charter based on its unacceptable financial ratings and advised AYW of its right to an informal review by written request. AYW appealed the revocation decision through the informal procedure, but the Commissioner determined that he would proceed with the revocation. AYW's appeal was then forwarded to the SOAH, which issued a hearing notice. Rather than pursue the SOAH hearing, 10 AYW filed suit in district court, where it obtained the temporary injunction, which is the subject of this appeal. AYW's ultra vires complaint is similar to Honors's in that it complains that the Commissioner used the wrong data when revoking its charter. The disagreement here is over whether a school's financial accountability performance rating (or FIRST rating) for any particular school year refers to the school year in which the financial data is collected or the year in which the data is compiled and a rating announced. By rule, a school's financial rating for any given fiscal year is based on data from the prior fiscal year. See 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 109.1001 (k) ; see also 36 Tex. Reg. 6941 , 6946 (2011) (formerly 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 109.1002 (i) ). AYW argues that, despite this regulation, the TEA's website indicated something different. For example, according to AYW, the financial accountability rating based on performance during the 2011-2012 year was called the '2011-2012 Charter School Status Detail' and accessed by  selecting the '2011-2012' year in the TEA dropdown menu. From this, AYW concludes the financial accountability rating for any particular school year should be based on performance data from that year rather than from the preceding school year. AYW further submits that, by identifying the initial three school years that could be considered for a charter revocation under § 12.115(c)(2), the Legislature prohibited the use of financial data collected before the 2010-2011 school term, the earliest identified school term. See TEX. EDUC. CODE § 12.115(c-1). AYW then concludes that the Commissioner acted beyond his authority by basing AYW's 2010-2011 financial performance rating on data collected during the preceding 2009-2010 school year, rather than during the year of performance. According to AYW, if the Commissioner had used the correct data from the performance year, its charter school would not have had three consecutive years of unacceptable financial ratings because data collected during the 2012-2013 school year produced a sufficient financial performance rating. And if AYW did not have three consecutive unacceptable financial ratings, its charter would not have been subject to mandatory revocation under § 12.115(c)(2). The Commissioner responds that he used the appropriate financial ratings for the school years identified in section 12.115(c-1) and that his actions were not ultra vires, but rather required by law. See id. § 12.115(c)(2). True, the annual financial ratings were based on prior-year data, but that was known to all because of the rule. See Acker v. Tex. Water Comm'n , 790 S.W.2d 299 , 301 (Tex. 1990) (noting the presumption that Legislature knows the existing law when it enacts a statute). Thus, when the Legislature referred to financial ratings for certain years in § 12.115(c-1), it knew that those ratings were based on data from the prior year. Finally, the Commissioner submits that, under applicable law, his authority in the matter is broad and his decisions insulated from de novo review. See id. § 12.116(c)(1) (stating that an administrative law judge shall uphold the Commissioner's decision unless it is arbitrary and capricious or clearly erroneous); see also id. § 12.116(c)(2) (providing that the administrative law judge's decision is final and may not be appealed). As already discussed, when the Legislature makes an executive decision final and unappealable, a plaintiff may not obtain reversal of that decision through an ultra vires action unless the decision presents a manifest conflict with express statutory terms. Klumb , 458 S.W.3d at 10 . Absent a conspicuous and irreconcilable conflict with the statute, any review of the Commissioner's revocation decision encroaches on the Commissioner's authority and the finality the statute accords his decisions. See Id. at 11 ; see also Sterling City , 499 S.W.3d at 413. The disagreement here regarding the interpretation of § 12.115(c-1) suggests the existence of an ambiguity rather than the conspicuous and irreconcilable conflict assumed to be the standard in our prior decisions. We therefore conclude that the Commissioner's interpretation was within his authority and that his application of § 12.115(c) was not an ultra vires act.