| (2) B for above standard achievement. Beginning with
the financial accountability rating for rating year 2015-2016 and
all subsequent rating years, in accordance with the procedures established
in this section, a school district or an open-enrollment charter school
will receive a B rating if it scores within the applicable range established
by the commissioner for a B rating.
(3) C for standard achievement. Beginning with the
financial accountability rating for rating year 2015-2016 and all
subsequent rating years, in accordance with the procedures established
in this section, a school district or an open-enrollment charter school
will receive a C rating if it scores within the applicable range established
by the commissioner for a C rating.
(4) F for substandard achievement. Beginning with the
financial accountability rating for rating year 2015-2016 and all
subsequent rating years, in accordance with the procedures established
in this section, a school district or an open-enrollment charter school
will receive an F rating if it scores within the applicable range
established by the commissioner for an F rating.
(5) No Rating. Beginning with the financial accountability
rating for rating year 2016-2017 and all subsequent rating years,
in accordance with the procedures established in this section, a school
district receiving territory due to an annexation order by the commissioner
under the TEC, §13.054, or consolidation under the TEC, Chapter
41, Subchapter H, will not receive a rating for two consecutive rating
years beginning with the rating year that is based on financial data
from the fiscal year in which the order of annexation becomes effective.
After the second rating year, the receiving district will be subject
to the financial accountability rating system established by the commissioner
in this section.
(i) The commissioner may lower a financial accountability
rating based on the findings of an action conducted under the TEC,
Chapter 39.
(j) A financial accountability rating remains in effect
until replaced by a subsequent financial accountability rating.
(k) The TEA will issue a preliminary financial accountability
rating to a school district or an open-enrollment charter school on
or before August 8 of each year. The TEA will base the financial accountability
rating for a rating year on the data from the fiscal year preceding
the rating year.
(1) The TEA will not delay the issuance of the preliminary
or final rating if a school district or an open-enrollment charter
school fails to meet the statutory deadline under the TEC, §44.008,
for submitting the AFR. Instead, the school district or open-enrollment
charter school will receive an F rating for substandard achievement.
(2) If the TEA receives an appeal of a preliminary
rating, described by subsection (l) of this section, the TEA will
issue a final rating to the school district or open-enrollment charter
school no later than 60 days after receiving the appeal.
(3) If the TEA does not receive an appeal of a preliminary
rating, described by subsection (l) of this section, the preliminary
rating automatically becomes a final rating 31 days after issuance
of the preliminary rating.
(l) A school district or an open-enrollment charter
school may appeal its preliminary financial accountability rating
through the following appeals process.
(1) The TEA division responsible for financial accountability
must receive a written appeal no later than 30 days after the TEA's
release of the preliminary rating. The appeal must include adequate
evidence and additional information that supports the school district's
or open-enrollment charter school's position. Appeals received 31
days or more after TEA issues a preliminary rating will not be considered.
(2) A data error attributable to the TEA is a basis
for an appeal. If a preliminary rating contains a data error attributable
to the TEA, a school district or an open-enrollment charter school
may submit a written appeal requesting a review of the preliminary
rating.
(3) A school district or an open-enrollment charter
school may appeal any adverse issue it identifies in the preliminary
rating. However, the financial accountability rating system is required
to apply the rules uniformly. Therefore, an error by a school district
or an open-enrollment charter school in recording data or submitting
data through the TEA data collection and reporting system is not a
valid basis for appealing a preliminary rating and unlikely to negate
concerns raised by the indicator. The appeals process is not a permissible
method to correct data that were inaccurately reported by the school
district or open-enrollment charter school after those data were certified
as accurate. A request for exception to the rules for a school district
or an open-enrollment charter school is disfavored and likely to be
denied.
(4) The TEA will only consider appeals that would result
in a change of the preliminary rating.
(5) The TEA division responsible for financial accountability
will select an external review panel to independently oversee the
appeals process.
(6) The TEA division responsible for financial accountability
will submit the information provided by the school district or open-enrollment
charter school to the external review panel members for review.
(7) Each external review panel member will examine
the appeal and supporting documentation and will submit his or her
recommendation to the TEA division responsible for financial accountability.
(8) The TEA division responsible for financial accountability
will compile the recommendations and forward them to the commissioner.
(9) The commissioner will make a final ratings decision.
(m) A final rating issued by the TEA under this section
may not be appealed under the TEC, §7.057, or any other law or
rule.
(n) A financial accountability rating by a voluntary
association is a local option of the school district or open-enrollment
charter school, but it does not substitute for a financial accountability
rating by the TEA.
(o) Each school district and open-enrollment charter
school is required to report information and financial accountability
ratings to parents, taxpayers, and other stakeholders by implementing
the following reporting procedures.
(1) Each school district and open-enrollment charter
school must prepare and distribute an annual financial management
report in accordance with this subsection.
(2) Each school district and open-enrollment charter
school must provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the
report at a public hearing.
(3) The school district's or open-enrollment charter
school's annual financial management report must include:
(A) a description of its financial management performance
based on a comparison, provided by the TEA, of its performance on
the indicators established by the commissioner and reflected in this
section. The report will contain information that discloses:
(i) state-established standards; and
(ii) the school district's or open-enrollment charter
school's financial management performance under each indicator for
the current and previous year's financial accountability ratings;
(B) any descriptive information required by the commissioner,
including:
(i) a copy of the superintendent's current employment
contract or other written documentation of employment if no contract
exists. This must disclose all compensation and benefits paid to the
superintendent. The school district or open-enrollment charter school
may publish the superintendent's employment contract on its website
instead of publishing it in the annual financial management report;
(ii) a summary schedule for the fiscal year (12-month
period) of expenditures paid on behalf of the superintendent and each
board member and total reimbursements received by the superintendent
and each board member. This includes transactions on the school district's
or open-enrollment charter school's credit card(s), debit card(s),
stored-value card(s), and any other similar instrument(s) to cover
expenses incurred by the superintendent and each board member. The
summary schedule must separately report reimbursements for meals,
lodging, transportation, motor fuel, and other items. The summary
schedule of total reimbursements should not include reimbursements
for supplies and materials that were purchased for the operation of
the school district or open-enrollment charter school;
(iii) a summary schedule for the fiscal year of the
dollar amount of compensation and fees received by the superintendent
from an outside school district or open-enrollment charter school
or any other outside entity in exchange for professional consulting
or other personal services. The schedule must separately report the
amount received from each entity;
Cont'd... |
