| (a) General provisions. (1) Each year, the commissioner of education shall assign to each school district an accreditation status under Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.071(b) and (c). Each district shall be assigned a status defined as follows. (A) Accredited. Accredited means the Texas Education Agency (TEA) recognizes the district as a public school of this state that: (i) meets the standards determined by the commissioner under TEC, §39.071(b) and (c), and specified in §97.1059 of this title (relating to Standards for All Sanction Determinations); and (ii) is not currently assigned an accreditation status of Accredited-Warned or Accredited-Probation. (B) Accredited-Warned. Accredited-Warned means the district exhibits deficiencies in performance, as specified in subsection (b) of this section, that, if not addressed, will lead to probation or revocation of its accreditation status. (C) Accredited-Probation. Accredited-Probation means the district exhibits deficiencies in performance, as specified in subsection (c) of this section, that must be addressed to avoid revocation of its accreditation status. (D) Not Accredited-Revoked. Not Accredited-Revoked means the TEA does not recognize the district as a Texas public school because the district's performance has failed to meet standards adopted by the commissioner under TEC, §39.071(b) and (c), and specified in subsection (d) of this section. (2) The commissioner shall assign the accreditation status, as defined by this section, based on the performance of each school district. This section shall be construed and applied to achieve the purposes of TEC, §39.071, which are specified in §97.1053(a) of this title (relating to Purpose). (3) The commissioner shall revoke the accreditation status of a district that fails to meet the standards specified in this section. In the event of revocation, the purposes of the TEC, §39.071, are to: (A) inform the parents of students enrolled in the district, property owners in the district, general public, and policymakers that the TEA does not recognize the district as a Texas public school because the district's performance has failed to meet standards adopted by the commissioner under TEC, §39.071(b) and (c), and specified in subsection (d) of this section; and (B) encourage other districts to improve their performance so as to retain their accreditation. (4) Unless revised as a result of investigative activities by the commissioner as authorized under TEC, Chapter 39, or other law, an accreditation status remains in effect until replaced by an accreditation status assigned for the next school year. An accreditation status shall be revised within the school year when circumstances require such revision in order to achieve the purposes specified in §97.1053(a) of this title. (5) An accreditation status will be withheld pending completion of any appeal or review of an academic accountability rating, a financial accountability rating, or other determination by the commissioner, but only if such appeal or review is: (A) specifically authorized by commissioner rule; (B) timely requested under and in compliance with such rule; and (C) applicable to the accreditation status under review. (6) An accreditation status may be withheld pending completion of on-site or other investigative activities in order to achieve the purposes specified in §97.1053(a) of this title. (b) Determination of Accredited-Warned status. (1) A district shall be assigned Accredited-Warned status if, beginning with its 2006 rating, the district is assigned: (A) for two consecutive school years, an academic accountability rating of Academically Unacceptable under §97.1001 of this title (relating to Accountability Rating System); (B) for two consecutive school years, a financial accountability rating of Substandard Achievement or Suspended--Data Quality under §109.1002 of this title (relating to Financial Accountability Ratings); (C) for two consecutive school years, any one of the ratings referenced in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph; or (D) for one school year, a combination of ratings referenced in both subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph. (2) Notwithstanding the district's performance under paragraph (1) of this subsection, a district shall be assigned Accredited-Warned status if the commissioner determines this action is reasonably necessary to achieve the purposes of TEC, §39.071. Such action is generally required by the following circumstances: (A) to an extent established under subsection (e) of this section, the district has failed to comply with requirements related to: (i) the integrity of assessment or financial data used to measure performance under TEC, Chapter 39 or 42, and rules implementing those chapters; (ii) the reporting of data under TEC, §42.006, and §61.1025 of this title (relating to Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Data and Reporting Standards); (iii) other reports required by state or federal law or court order; (iv) awarding high school graduation under TEC, §28.025; or (v) any applicable requirement under TEC, §7.056(e)(3)(C)-(I); or (B) after investigation under TEC, §39.074 or §39.075, the commissioner finds: (i) the district's programs monitored under §97.1005 of this title (relating to Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System) exhibit serious or persistent deficiencies that, if not addressed, may lead to probation or revocation of the district's accreditation; or (ii) the district otherwise exhibits serious or persistent deficiencies that, if not addressed, may lead to probation or revocation of the district's accreditation. (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of this subsection, a district shall be assigned Accredited-Warned status if the commissioner determines this action is reasonably necessary to achieve the purposes of TEC, §39.071. (c) Determination of Accredited-Probation status. (1) A district shall be assigned Accredited-Probation status if, beginning with its 2006 rating, the district is assigned: (A) for three consecutive school years, an academic accountability rating of Academically Unacceptable under §97.1001 of this title; (B) for three consecutive school years, a financial accountability rating of Substandard Achievement or Suspended--Data Quality under §109.1002 of this title; (C) for three consecutive school years, any one of the ratings referenced in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph; or (D) for two consecutive school years, a combination of ratings referenced in both subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph. (2) Notwithstanding the district's performance under paragraph (1) of this subsection, a district shall be assigned Accredited-Probation status if the commissioner determines this action is reasonably necessary to achieve the purposes of TEC, §39.071. Such action is generally required by the following circumstances: (A) to an extent established under subsection (e) of this section, the district has failed to comply with requirements related to: (i) the integrity of assessment or financial data used to measure performance under TEC, Chapter 39 or 42, and rules implementing those chapters; (ii) the reporting of data under TEC, §42.006, and §61.1025 of this title; (iii) other reports required by state or federal law or court order; (iv) awarding high school graduation under TEC, §28.025; or (v) any applicable requirement under TEC, §7.056(e)(3)(C)-(I); or (B) after investigation under TEC, §39.074 or §39.075, the commissioner finds: (i) the district's programs monitored under §97.1005 of this title exhibit serious or persistent deficiencies that, if not addressed, may lead to revocation of the district's accreditation; or (ii) the district otherwise exhibits serious or persistent deficiencies that, if not addressed, may lead to revocation of the district's accreditation. (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of this subsection, a district shall be assigned Accredited-Probation status if the commissioner determines this action is reasonably necessary to achieve the purposes of TEC, §39.071. (d) Determination of Not Accredited-Revoked status; Revocation of accreditation. (1) The accreditation of a district shall be revoked if, beginning with its 2006 rating, the district is assigned: (A) for four consecutive school years, an academic accountability rating of Academically Unacceptable under §97.1001 of this title; Cont'd... |
