Commissioner's Rules
Adopted Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 101, Assessment, Subchapter AA, Commissioner's Rules Concerning the Participation of Limited English Proficient Students in State Assessments
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF)
II. Text of Adopted Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 101, Assessment, Subchapter AA, Commissioner's Rules Concerning the Participation of Limited English Proficient Students in State Assessments (PDF)
III. Summary of Public Comments and Agency Responses
SUMMARY:
The rule action presented in this item will be filed as adopted with the Texas Register under the commissioner's rulemaking authority. This item adopts revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 101, Assessment, Subchapter AA, Commissioner's Rules Concerning the Participation of Limited English Proficient Students in State Assessments. The adopted revisions implement new assessment requirements for certain limited English proficient (LEP) students in accordance with House Bill (HB) 3, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
Texas Education Code, §39.023 and §39.027, as amended by HB 3, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
February 22, 2010.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES:
In June 2009, the 81st Texas Legislature enacted HB 3, which changed the requirements governing the participation of certain LEP students in the state assessment program, including additional provisions for unschooled asylees or refugees. To implement HB 3, the following revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapter AA, are adopted.
Section 101.1003, Role of the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee, was amended to specify additional assessment provisions, including documentation required by the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC). As a technical edit, the section was reformatted for clarity.
Section 101.1005, Limited English Proficient Students at the Exit Level, was amended to modify the criteria for postponement of the administration of exit level assessments.
Section 101.1007, Limited English Proficient Students at Grades Other Than the Exit Level, was amended to restrict the administration of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills assessments in Spanish to eligible LEP students in Grades 3-5 instead of Grades 3-6; clarify the number of exemptions and administrations in Spanish allowable for an immigrant LEP student; update provisions relating to requirements of federal law and regulations; and update provisions for a LEP student whose parent or guardian declined bilingual or special language program services to incorporate HB 3 changes.
Section 101.1009, Limited English Proficient Students Who Receive Special Education Services, was amended to specify documentation required by the LPAC and the admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee for LEP students served by special education; clarify the provisions for participation in assessments; and update provisions for a student whose parent or guardian declined bilingual or special language program services to incorporate HB 3 changes.
Adopted new 19 TAC §101.1010, Provisions for Unschooled Limited English Proficient Asylees and Refugees, establishes definitions of terms and sets forth provisions such as exclusion of test results for state accountability purposes and administration of linguistically accommodated testing procedures for asylees and refugees.
In response to public comment, subsections (a), (b), and (c) were modified at adoption to clarify that exemption for students who may qualify as asylees and refugees is not necessarily dependent on initial enrollment in a U.S. school and can be applied retroactively. Subsection (c) was also modified to clarify the LEP and exit level postponement period.
Adopted new 19 TAC §101.1011, Student Success Initiative Grade Advancement Requirements, specifies the situations in which LEP students are not subject to grade advancement testing requirements under the Student Success Initiative.
Adopted new 19 TAC §101.1011 was modified at adoption to correct the cross reference to the qualifications for the provisions for unschooled asylees or refugees under §101.1010(c), instead of §101.1010(b).
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has determined that there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the rule actions. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses and microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT:
The adopted revisions will inform educators and the public of new requirements governing the participation of certain LEP students in state assessments.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS:
The adopted revisions have data collection implications. In order to differentiate between unschooled LEP students who receive exemptions due to asylee/refugee status and LEP students who receive exemptions for other reasons, the TEA will require campuses to indicate the status of the LEP student in the Agency Use field on the assessment answer document for the 2009-2010 school year. The TEA will revisit the data implications at a later date to determine the collection method for the 2010-2011 school year.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS:
The adopted revisions will have locally maintained paperwork requirements. LPACs will be required to maintain documentation of assessment and accommodation decisions for eligible refugees or asylees.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The public comment period on the proposal began October 30, 2009, and ended November 30, 2009. Attachment III is a summary of public comments received and corresponding agency responses regarding the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 101, Assessment, Subchapter AA, Commissioner's Rules Concerning the Participation of Limited English Proficient Students in State Assessments.
ALTERNATIVES:
None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES:
None.
Staff Member Responsible:
Criss Cloudt, Associate Commissioner, Assessment, Accountability, and Data Quality
For additional information, email rules@tea.state.tx.us.