Commissioner's Rules
Adopted Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 101, Assessment, Subchapter CC, Commissioner's Rules Concerning Implementation of Testing Program
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF)
II. Text of Adopted Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 101, Assessment, Subchapter CC, Commissioner's Rules Concerning Implementation of Testing Program (PDF)
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 CC, Commissioner's Rules Concerning Implementation of Testing Program. The adopted revisions implement requirements of House Bill (HB) 3, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009, relating to performance standards and end-of-course assessment requirements for graduation. No changes were made to the rules since published as proposed.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.0241 and §39.025.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
February 22, 2010.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES:
In June 2009, the 81st Texas Legislature enacted HB 3, which made significant changes to the Texas student assessment program. These changes include the transfer of statutory authority to determine satisfactory performance levels for assessment from the State Board of Education (SBOE) to the commissioner of education. HB 3 also addressed requirements for end-of-course assessments. To implement the requirements of HB 3, the adopted revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 101, Subchapter CC, add new 19 TAC §101.3004, Performance Standards, and amend 19 TAC §101.3003, Graduation Requirements, as follows.
Adopted new 19 TAC §101.3004 specifies that responsibility of setting all performance standards on all state-developed assessments belongs to the commissioner of education based on the TEC, §39.0241(a). This commissioner rule replaces 19 TAC §101.23, Performance Standards, which the SBOE took action to repeal at its November 2009 meeting. Adopted new 19 TAC §101.3004 establishes in commissioner rule the same scale scores that had been set by the SBOE. The effective date for the repeal of 19 TAC §101.23 is coordinated with the effective date of adopted new 19 TAC §101.3004 in order to maintain established performance standards.
The adopted amendment to 19 TAC §101.3003 adds new subsection (g) to specify that students entering Grade 9 or lower in the 2011-2012 school year will be subject to end-of-course testing requirements for graduation, as outlined in the TEC, §39.023 and §39.025. In addition, the section title changed from "Graduation Requirements" to "Assessment Requirements for Graduation."
No changes were made to the rules since published as proposed.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The TEA has determined that the rule actions will result in no additional costs to persons or entities. 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 students in state assessments and the transfer of statutory authority for setting of performance standards.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS:
The adopted revisions will have no new procedural and reporting implications.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS:
The adopted revisions will have no new locally maintained paperwork requirements.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The public comment period on the proposed revisions began November 27, 2009, and ended December 28, 2009. No public comments were received.
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.