Commissioner's Rules
Adopted Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 97, Planning and Accountability, Subchapter AA, Accountability and Performance Monitoring, §97.1001, Accountability Rating System
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF)
II. Text of Adopted Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 97, Planning and Accountability, Subchapter AA, Accountability and Performance Monitoring, §97.1001, Accountability Rating System (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 amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 97, Planning and Accountability, Subchapter AA, Accountability and Performance Monitoring, §97.1001, Accountability Rating System. The amendment adopts applicable excerpts of the 2010 Accountability Manual. Earlier versions of the manual will remain in effect with respect to the school years for which they were developed. No changes were made to the rule or manual since published as proposed.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
Texas Education Code (TEC), §§39.051(c)-(d), 39.072(c), 39.0721, 39.073, and 29.081(e), as those sections existed before amendment by House Bill (HB) 3, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009. These remain in effect through the 2010-2011 school year.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
July 26, 2010.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES:
Legal counsel with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has recommended that the procedures for issuing accountability ratings for public school districts and campuses be adopted as part of the Texas Administrative Code. This decision was made in 2000 given a court decision challenging state agency decision making via administrative letter/publications. Given the statewide application of the accountability rating process and the existence of sufficient statutory authority for the commissioner of education to formally adopt rules in this area, portions of each annual accountability manual have been adopted since 2000. The accountability system evolves from year to year so the criteria and standards for rating and acknowledging schools in the most current year differ to some degree over those applied in the prior year. The intention is to annually update 19 TAC §97.1001 to refer to the most recently published accountability manual.
The amendment to 19 TAC §97.1001 adopts excerpts of the 2010 Accountability Manual into rule as a figure. The excerpts, Chapters 2-6, 8, 10-13, and 15-17 of the 2010 Accountability Manual, specify the indicators, standards, and procedures used by the commissioner of education to determine accountability ratings, both standard and alternative education accountability (AEA) procedures, for districts, campuses, and charter schools. These chapters also specify indicators, standards, and procedures used to determine Gold Performance Acknowledgment (GPA) on additional indicators for Texas public school districts and campuses. The TEA will issue accountability ratings under the procedures specified in the 2010 Accountability Manual by August 1, 2010. Ratings may be revised as a result of investigative activities by the commissioner as authorized under TEC, §39.074 and §39.075, as those sections existed before amendment by HB 3, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009.
In 2010, campuses and districts will be evaluated using three base indicators: Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) results, completion rates, and annual dropout rates. In 2010, the GPA system will award acknowledgment on up to 15 separate indicators to districts and campuses rated Academically Acceptable, AEA Academically Acceptable, or higher: Attendance Rate for Grades 1-12; Advanced Course/Dual Enrollment Completion; Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Results; College Admissions Test Results; Commended Performance on Reading/English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Writing, Science and/or Social Studies; Recommended High School Program/Distinguished Achievement Program Participation; Comparable Improvement on Reading/ELA and Mathematics; Texas Success Initiative - Higher Education Readiness Component on ELA and/or Mathematics; and College-Ready Graduates.
The adopted amendment also modifies subsection (e) to specify that accountability manuals adopted for school years prior to 2010-2011 will remain in effect with respect to those school years.
No changes were made to the rule or manual since published as proposed.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The TEA has determined that there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the rule action. 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 amendment continues to inform the public of the existence of annual manuals specifying rating procedures for the public schools by including this rule in the Texas Administrative Code.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS:
The adopted amendment places the specific procedures contained in Chapters 2-6, 8, 10-13, and 15-17 of the 2010 Accountability Manual for annually rating school districts and campuses in the Texas Administrative Code. Applicable procedures will be adopted each year as annual versions of the accountability manual are published.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS:
The adopted amendment has no locally maintained paperwork requirements.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
The public comment period on the proposal began May 28, 2010, and ended June 28, 2010. 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.