Part 2. TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
Chapter 89. ADAPTATIONS FOR SPECIAL POPULATIONS
Subchapter FF. COMMISSIONER'S RULES CONCERNING DUAL LANGUAGE IMMERSION PROGRAMS
19 TAC §§89.1601, 89.1603, 89.1605, 89.1607, 89.1609, 89.1611, 89.1613
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) adopts new §§89.1601, 89.1603, 89.1605, 89.1607, 89.1609, 89.1611, and 89.1613, concerning dual language immersion programs. The new sections are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the April 27, 2007, issue of the Texas Register (32 TexReg 2348) and will not be republished. The adopted new sections provide guidance for school districts and charter schools on dual language immersion programs for students enrolled in elementary grades, in accordance with the Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.0051.
The TEC, §28.0051, added by the 77th Texas Legislature, 2001, provides for dual language immersion programs that would result in students with a demonstrated mastery of the required curriculum in both English and one other language. Dual language instruction has been a program model within bilingual education since its inception. In 2001, Senate Concurrent Resolution 50, encouraged school districts to develop dual language programs to integrate native English speakers and speakers of other languages for academic instruction where the first language is maintained while a second language is acquired.
The TEC, §28.0051, directs the commissioner of education to adopt rules for the implementation of dual language programs in Texas school districts, including the establishment of minimum requirements for such a program, standards for evaluating program success and performance, and standards for recognizing exceptional programs and students who successfully complete these programs. The adopted new 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter FF, establishes the following provisions.
New §89.1601, Definitions, defines applicable words and terms.
New §89.1603, Dual Language Immersion Program Goals, addresses the primary goals of the program.
New §89.1605, Minimum Program Requirements, establishes minimum dual language immersion program requirements that must be met, including use of curriculum and instructional materials, percentage of instructional time that must be spent in the language other than English, percentage of participating students who must be speakers of the language other than English, and grade levels for program participation.
New §89.1607, Staffing and Staff Development, sets forth certification and professional development requirements.
New §89.1609, Program Implementation, addresses selection criteria, parental approval of student participation, and local policy on enrollment and continuation in the program. The adopted rule specifies that student enrollment in the program is optional.
New §89.1611, Standards for Evaluation, describes evaluations that must be conducted by a local school district implementing a program. The adopted rule also provides indicators of success of a dual language immersion program.
New §89.1613, General Standards for Recognition, outlines general standards under which a dual language immersion program would be recognized by its local school district board of trustees. The new rule also outlines general standards for recognition of students.
The public comment period began April 27, 2007, and ended May 27, 2007. Following is a summary of public comments received and corresponding agency responses regarding the proposed new 19 TAC Chapter 89, Adaptations for Special Populations, Subchapter FF, Commissioner's Rules Concerning Dual Language Immersion Programs.
Comment. Concerning §89.1601, Definitions, the assistant superintendent for the multi-language enrichment program of the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) requested the use of the term "two- way dual language immersion program" rather than "dual language immersion program" because there is also a one-way dual language model.
Agency Response. The agency disagrees with the comment and has maintained language as filed as proposed. The term "dual language immersion program" encompasses all possible dual language models, allowing for the most flexibility for districts.
Comment. Concerning §89.1605, Minimum Program Requirements, a dual language education professor from The University of Texas-Pan American expressed the belief that the minimum enrollment requirement for limited English proficient (LEP) students should be no less than 50%.
Agency Response. The agency disagrees with the comment and has maintained language as filed as proposed. The requirement for LEP students to be no less than 30% would allow more districts throughout the state to meet minimum requirements, thus increasing the number of districts that would be able to implement a dual language program.
Comment. Concerning §89.1605, Minimum Program Requirements, the assistant superintendent for the multi-language enrichment program of the Dallas ISD expressed the belief that the minimum enrollment requirement for LEP students should be no less than 45%.
Agency Response. The agency disagrees with the comment and has maintained language as filed as proposed. The requirement for LEP students to be no less than 30% would allow more districts throughout the state to meet minimum requirements, thus increasing the number of districts that would be able to implement a dual language program.
Comment. Concerning §89.1607, Staffing and Staff Development, comments were received from the following individuals: the bilingual/English as a second language director of the Spring Branch ISD, the assistant superintendent and an elementary specialist for the multi-language enrichment program of the Dallas ISD, a dual language education professor from The University of Texas-Pan American, and an associate professor from The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. The commenters suggested that the rule would provide schools the option to use either a bilingual education certified teacher for both English and Spanish content instruction or an English as a second language certified teacher for English content instruction and a bilingual education certified teacher for Spanish content instruction to allow schools to serve more English language learners.
Agency Response. The agency disagrees with the comment and has maintained language as filed as proposed. The language filed as proposed allows for flexibility in the certification of teachers who teach in dual language programs.
Comment. An individual expressed support for a dual language immersion program beginning as early as prekindergarten, kindergarten, and Grade 1. The individual commented on the benefits for children learning a second language.
Agency Response. The agency agrees.
Comment. An elementary specialist for the multi-language enrichment program of the Dallas ISD and the bilingual/English as a second language director of the Spring Branch ISD inquired about funding for non-English language learners participating in dual language immersion programs.
Agency Response. The rule action addresses legislative direction regarding program design, including minimum program requirements, standards for evaluation, and standards for recognition. Funding decisions are to occur at the local level.
Comment. The bilingual/English as a second language director of the Spring Branch ISD requested clarification of departmentalization of bilingual programs, specifically, regular transitional programs and/or dual language programs.
Agency Response. The rule action is specific to the dual language immersion program. Departmentalization and transition programs are outside the scope of this rule action and not addressed.
The new sections are adopted under the TEC, §28.0051, which requires the commissioner of education by rule to adopt minimum requirements for a dual language immersion program implemented by a school district; standards for evaluating the success of a dual language immersion program and the performance of schools that implement a dual language immersion program; and standards for recognizing schools that offer an exceptional dual language immersion program and students who successfully complete a dual language immersion program.
The new sections implement the TEC, §§28.0051, 29.051, and 29.055.
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 3, 2007.
TRD-200702840
Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez
Director, Policy Coordination
Texas Education Agency
Effective date: July 23, 2007
Proposal publication date: April 27, 2007
For further information, please call: (512) 475-1497
Subchapter AA. ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE MONITORING
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) adopts an amendment to §97.1001 and the repeal of §97.1002, concerning accountability. The amendment and repeal are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the June 1, 2007, issue of the Texas Register (32 TexReg 2969) and will not be republished. The amendment to §97.1001 adopts applicable excerpts of the 2007 Accountability Manual , dated May 2007. The repeal of §97.1002 repeals the separate rule relating to identification of technical assistance team campuses since this provision is addressed in the 2007 Accountability Manual.
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 2007 Accountability Manual , dated May 2007, into rule as a figure. The excerpts, Chapters 2 - 6, 8, 10 - 12, and 14 - 16 of the 2007 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), 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 2007 Accountability Manual in August 2007. Ratings may be revised as a result of investigative activities by the commissioner as authorized under TEC, §39.074 and §39.075.
In 2007, 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 2007, 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/or Mathematics; and Texas Success Initiative-Higher Education Readiness Component on ELA and/or Mathematics.
The repeal of 19 TAC §97.1002 is necessary since language from the current 19 TAC §97.1002 is included in the 2007 Accountability Manual ; therefore, the separate rule is no longer needed.
No changes were made to the rule or manual excerpts adopted as rule since published as proposed.
The public comment period on the proposal began June 1, 2007, and ended July 1, 2007. No public comments were received.
The amendment is adopted under the Texas Education Code, §§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. Texas Education Code, §39.1322, requires the commissioner of education to select and assign a technical assistance team to assist a campus in executing a school improvement plan, and any other school improvement strategies the commissioner determines appropriate, for a campus that is rated academically acceptable for the current school year but would be rated as academically unacceptable if performance standards to be used for the following school year were applied to the current school year.
The amendment implements the Texas Education Code, §§39.051(c) - (d), 39.072(c), 39.0721, 39.073, 39.1322, 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 6, 2007.
TRD-200702873
Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez
Director, Policy Coordination
Texas Education Agency
Effective date: July 26, 2007
Proposal publication date: June 1, 2007
For further information, please call: (512) 475-1497
The repeal is adopted under the Texas Education Code, §§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. Texas Education Code, §39.1322, requires the commissioner of education to select and assign a technical assistance team to assist a campus in executing a school improvement plan, and any other school improvement strategies the commissioner determines appropriate, for a campus that is rated academically acceptable for the current school year but would be rated as academically unacceptable if performance standards to be used for the following school year were applied to the current school year.
The repeal implements the Texas Education Code, §§39.051(c) - (d), 39.072(c), 39.0721, 39.073, 39.1322, 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 6, 2007.
TRD-200702874
Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez
Director, Policy Coordination
Texas Education Agency
Effective date: July 26, 2007
Proposal publication date: June 1, 2007
For further information, please call: (512) 475-1497