Proposed Rules Title 19

TITLE 19. EDUCATION

Part 2. TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY

Chapter 61. SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Subchapter BB. COMMISSIONER'S RULES ON REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

19 TAC §61.1028

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) proposes new §61.1028, concerning reporting of bus accidents. The proposed new rule would implement the requirements of the Texas Education Code (TEC), §34.015, as added by House Bill (HB) 323, 80th Texas Legislature, 2007, that charge the TEA with collecting from school districts annually information on accidents involving the districts' buses and reporting this information.

Proposed new 19 TAC §61.1028, Reporting of Bus Accidents, would implement the TEC, §34.015, by establishing applicable definitions and specific requirements for reporting bus accidents. School districts and open-enrollment charter schools would be required to report to the TEA annually the number of bus accidents. Each bus accident report must include the date of the accident; the type of bus involved; whether the bus was equipped with seat belts and, if so, what kind; the number of students and adults involved in the accident; the number and types of injuries sustained by the bus passengers; and whether injured passengers were wearing seat belts and, if so, what kind.

The proposed new rule would require school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report information on bus accidents to the TEA annually via an online bus accident reporting system. The requirement to report bus accident information may necessitate the keeping of local records or logs of these accidents.

Adam Jones, deputy commissioner for finance and administration, has determined that for the first five-year period the new section is in effect there will be no fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of enforcing or administering the new section.

Mr. Jones has determined that for each year of the first five years the new section is in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing the new section will be to make available to the public on the TEA website information on accidents involving school district and open-enrollment charter school buses. There is no anticipated economic cost to persons who are required to comply with the proposed new section.

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.

The public comment period on the proposal begins May 30, 2008, and ends June 30, 2008. Comments on the proposal may be submitted to Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez, Policy Coordination Division, Texas Education Agency, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701, (512) 475-1497. Comments may also be submitted electronically to rules@tea.state.tx.us or faxed to (512) 463-0028. A request for a public hearing on the proposal submitted under the Administrative Procedure Act must be received by the commissioner of education not more than 15 calendar days after notice of the proposal has been published in the Texas Register on May 30, 2008.

The new section is proposed under the Texas Education Code, §34.015, which authorizes the TEA by rule to determine the information to be reported for bus accidents. The TEC, §34.015, requires school districts to report annually to the TEA information regarding accidents involving the districts' buses and requires the TEA to publish reported information on its website.

The new section implements the Texas Education Code, §34.015.

§61.1028.Reporting of Bus Accidents.

(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Accident--Any accident as described by the Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 550, Subchapter B.

(2) School bus--A school bus is a motor vehicle that was manufactured in compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for school buses in effect on the date of manufacture and that is used to transport preprimary, primary, or secondary students on a route to or from school or on a school-related activity trip other than on routes to and from school. A school bus is a bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district that is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities; meets all applicable FMVSS; and is readily identified by alternately flashing lights, national school bus yellow paint, and the legend "School Bus." The term does not include a multifunction school activity bus, a school activity bus, or a motor bus.

(3) Multifunction school activity bus--A multifunction school activity bus is a subcategory of school bus. It must meet all FMVSS for a school bus except having traffic control devices, including flashing lights and stop arm, and it may not be painted in national school bus yellow. The multifunction school activity bus cannot be used to transport students from home to school or school to home or for any purpose other than school activities.

(4) School activity bus--A school activity bus is a bus designed to accommodate more than 15 passengers, including the operator, that is owned, operated, rented, or leased by a school district, county school, open-enrollment charter school, regional education service center, or shared services arrangement and that is used to transport public school students on a school-related activity trip, other than on routes to and from school. The term does not include a chartered bus, a bus operated by a mass transit authority, a school bus, or a multifunction school activity bus.

(5) Motor bus--The term "motor bus" does not include a vehicle that meets the definition of a school bus, a multifunction school activity bus, or a school activity bus. A motor bus is:

(A) a commercial, motor transit-type vehicle owned or leased by the school district or the school district's commercial contractor that is designed to transport 16 or more passengers including the driver on school activity trips; or

(B) a transit-type bus operated by a mass/metropolitan transit authority when the school district contracts with the authority in accordance with Texas Education Code, §34.008, to transport students to and from school.

(b) Reporting.

(1) School districts and open-enrollment charter schools shall report annually to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) the number of accidents in which their buses were involved in the past year. School districts and open-enrollment charter schools shall report the accidents in a manner prescribed by the commissioner of education. School districts and open-enrollment charter schools shall file annual accident reports to the TEA only in the period beginning July 1 and ending July 31 and shall include the following information in the report:

(A) the total number of bus accidents;

(B) the date each accident occurred;

(D) whether the bus involved in each accident was equipped with seat belts and, if so, the type of seat belts;

(E) the number of students and adults involved in each accident;

(F) the number and types of injuries that were sustained by the bus passengers in each accident; and

(G) whether the injured passengers in each accident were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident and, if so, the type of seat belts.

(2) A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall report a bus accident involving a school bus, a multifunction school activity bus, a school activity bus, or a motor bus if:

(A) the bus is owned, leased, contracted, or chartered by a school district or charter school and was transporting school district or charter school personnel, students, or a combination of personnel and students; or

(B) the bus was driven by a school district or charter school employee or by an employee of the school district's or charter school's bus contractor with no passengers on board and the accident involved a collision with a pedestrian.

(3) A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall not report a bus accident involving a school bus, a multifunction school activity bus, a school activity bus, or a motor bus if:

(A) the bus was driven by a school district or charter school employee or by an employee of the school district's or charter school's bus contractor, the accident occurred when no passenger other than the school district's or charter school's driver or bus contractor's driver was on board the bus, and the accident did not involve a collision with a pedestrian; or

(B) the accident involved a bus chartered by a school district or charter school for a school activity trip and no school district or charter school personnel or students were on board the bus at the time of the accident.

(4) A school district or open-enrollment charter school shall not report an accident that occurred in a vehicle that is owned, contracted, or chartered by a school district or charter school and is not a school bus, a multifunction school activity bus, a school activity bus, or a motor bus.

This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on May 19, 2008.

TRD-200802587

Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez

Director, Policy Coordination

Texas Education Agency

Earliest possible date of adoption: June 29, 2008

For further information, please call: (512) 475-1497

Chapter 97. PLANNING AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Subchapter AA. ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE MONITORING

19 TAC §97.1001

(Editor's note: In accordance with Government Code, §2002.014, which permits the omission of material which is "cumbersome, expensive, or otherwise inexpedient," the figure in 19 TAC §97.1001 is not included in the print version of the Texas Register. The figure is available in the on-line version of the May 30, 2008, issue of the Texas Register.)

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) proposes an amendment to §97.1001, concerning accountability. The section describes the state accountability rating system and annually adopts the most current accountability manual. The proposed amendment would adopt applicable excerpts of the 2008 Accountability Manual . Earlier versions of the manual will remain in effect with respect to the school years for which they were developed.

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 proposed amendment to 19 TAC §97.1001 would adopt excerpts of the 2008 Accountability Manual into rule as a figure. The excerpts, Chapters 2-6, 8, 10-13, and 15-17 of the 2008 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 2008 Accountability Manual by August 1, 2008. Ratings may be revised as a result of investigative activities by the commissioner as authorized under Texas Education Code, §39.074 and §39.075.

In 2008, 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 2008, the GPA system will award acknowledgment on up to 14 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; and Texas Success Initiative - Higher Education Readiness Component on ELA and/or Mathematics.

The proposed amendment would also modify subsection (e) to specify that accountability manuals adopted for school years prior to 2008-2009 will remain in effect with respect to those school years.

Criss Cloudt, associate commissioner for assessment, accountability, and data quality, has determined that for the first five-year period the amendment is in effect there will be no fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of enforcing or administering the amendment.

Dr. Cloudt has determined that for each year of the first five years the amendment is in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing the amendment will be to continue 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. There is no anticipated economic cost to persons who are required to comply with the proposed amendment.

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.

The amendment is proposed 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.

The amendment implements the Texas Education Code, §§39.051(c)-(d), 39.072(c), 39.0721, 39.073, and 29.081(e).

§97.1001.Accountability Rating System.

(a) The rating standards established by the commissioner of education under Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.051(c) and (d), shall be used to evaluate the performance of districts, campuses, and charter schools. The indicators, standards, and procedures used to determine ratings under both standard and alternative education accountability (AEA) procedures will be annually published in official Texas Education Agency publications. These publications will be widely disseminated and cover the following procedures:

(1) indicators, standards, and procedures used to determine district ratings;

(2) indicators, standards, and procedures used to determine campus ratings;

(3) indicators, standards, and procedures used to determine acknowledgment on Additional Indicators; and

(4) procedures for submitting a rating appeal.

(b) The standard and alternative procedures by which districts, campuses, and charter schools are rated and acknowledged for 2008 [~~2007~~] are based upon specific criteria and calculations, which are described in excerpted sections of the 2008 [~~2007~~ ] Accountability Manual [~~, dated May 2007,~~ ] provided in this subsection.

Figure: 19 TAC §97.1001(b) (.pdf)

[~~Figure: 19 TAC §97.1001(b)~~]

(c) Ratings may be revised as a result of investigative activities by the commissioner as authorized under TEC, §39.074 and §39.075.

(d) The specific criteria and calculations used in the accountability manual are established annually by the commissioner of education and communicated to all school districts and charter schools.

(e) The specific criteria and calculations used in the annual accountability manual adopted for school years prior to 2008-2009 [~~2007-2008~~ ] remain in effect for all purposes, including accountability, data standards, and audits, with respect to those school years.