19 TAC §97.1001
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) adopts an amendment to §97.1001,
concerning accountability. The amendment is adopted without changes to the
proposed text as published in the June 2, 2006, issue of the
Texas Register
(31 TexReg 4557) and will not be republished. Section
97.1001 describes the state accountability rating system and adopts applicable
excerpts of the most recently published accountability manual. The amendment
adopts applicable excerpts of the
2006 Accountability
Manual
, dated May 2006.
Legal counsel with the 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
2006 Accountability Manual
, dated May 2006, into rule as a figure.
The excerpts,
Chapters 2-6, 8, 10-12, 14-16
,
and
Appendix I
of the
2006 Accountability Manual
, specify the indicators, standards, and
procedures used by the commissioner of education to determine accountability
ratings, both standard and alternative education accountability, 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. In addition,
these chapters specify procedures for submitting an appeal and evaluating
districts and campuses impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita. The TEA
will issue accountability ratings under the procedures specified in the 2006 Accountability Manual
in August 2006. Ratings
may be revised as a result of investigative activities by the commissioner
as authorized under TEC, §39.074 and §39.075.
In 2006, campuses and districts will be evaluated using four base indicators:
Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) results, completion rates,
annual dropout rates, and student performance on the State Developed Alternative
Assessment (SDAA) II. In 2006, the GPA system will award acknowledgment on
14 separate indicators to districts and campuses rated
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;
and Texas Success Initiative - Higher Education Readiness Component on ELA
and/or Mathematics.
No changes were made to the rule or manual excerpts adopted as rule since
published as proposed.
No comments were received regarding the adoption of the amendment.
The amendment is adopted under the Texas Education Code (TEC), §§39.051(c)-(d),
39.072(c), 39.0721, 39.073, and 29.081(e), which authorize the commissioner
of education to specify the indicators, standards, and procedures used to
determine standard accountability ratings and alternative education accountability
ratings and to determine acknowledgment on additional indicators.
The amendment implements the Texas Education Code, §§39.051(c)-(d),
39.072(c), 39.0721, 39.073, and 29.081(e).
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on July 10, 2006.
TRD-200603657
Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez
Director, Policy Coordination
Texas Education Agency
Effective date: July 30, 2006
Proposal publication date: June 2, 2006
For further information, please call: (512) 475-1497