| (a) General provisions.
(1) Each year, the commissioner of education shall
assign to each school district an accreditation status under Texas
Education Code (TEC), §39.052(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, §39.052(b) and (c), and specified in §97.1059
of this title (relating to Standards for All Accreditation 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, §39.052(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, §39.051 and §39.052, 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, §39.051
and §39.052, 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, §39.052(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 39A, 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.
(7) The commissioner may withhold the assignment of
an accreditation status to an open-enrollment charter school that
is subject to TEC, §12.115(c) or §12.1141(d), or has otherwise
surrendered its charter.
(8) If an accreditation status is withheld pending
completion of an appeal or review as provided by this section, the
district's last issued accreditation status remains in effect until
otherwise finalized or changed.
(9) An accreditation status may be raised or lowered
based on the district's performance or may be lowered based on the
performance of one or more campuses in the district that is below
a standard required under this chapter or other applicable law.
(10) For purposes of determining multiple years of
academically unacceptable or insufficient performance, the academic
accountability ratings issued for the 2010-2011 school year and for
the 2012-2013 school year are consecutive. An accreditation status
assigned for the 2012-2013 school year shall be based on assigned
academic accountability ratings for the applicable prior school years,
as determined under subsections (b)-(d) of this section. Additionally,
for purposes of determining multiple years of academically unacceptable
or insufficient performance, the academic accountability ratings issued
for the 2018-2019 school year and for the 2021-2022 school year are
consecutive. An accreditation status assigned for the 2022-2023 school
year shall be based on assigned academic and financial accountability
ratings for the applicable prior school years, as determined under
subsections (b)-(d) of this section.
(11) If a lowered accreditation status is assigned
and a sanction is imposed, the subsequent issuance of a new accreditation
status does not affect the commissioner's authority to proceed with
the previously imposed sanction.
(12) Accreditation statuses are consecutive if they
are not separated by an accreditation period in which the TEA assigned
accreditation statuses to districts and charter schools generally.
For example, if TEA does not assign accreditation statuses to districts
and charter schools generally for the 2012-2013 school year, then
the accreditation statuses issued for the 2011-2012 school year and
for the 2013-2014 school year are consecutive. Additionally, if TEA
does not assign accreditation statuses to districts and charter schools
generally for the 2020-2021 school year, then the accreditation statuses
issued for the 2019-2020 school year and for the 2022-2023 school
year are consecutive.
(13) If a rating of Not Rated or similar rating is
issued to a school district, the commissioner may withhold the assignment
of an accreditation status or withdraw a previously issued accreditation
status. For purposes of determining multiple years of unacceptable
or insufficient performance, the rating issued for the prior and subsequent
school year are consecutive. The next accreditation status assigned
shall be based on assigned accountability ratings for the applicable
prior school years, as determined under subsections (b)-(d) of this
section.
(14) When an accreditation status is withheld because
either a financial or academic accountability rating is not available
or the district is not rated, the commissioner may, but is not required
to, consider the rating that is issued when assigning subsequent accreditation
statuses in order to achieve the purposes specified in §97.1053(a)
of this title. If the commissioner elects not to consider a rating,
then the previous and subsequent rating is consecutive.
(b) Determination of Accredited-Warned status.
(1) A district shall be assigned Accredited-Warned
status if the district is assigned:
(A) for two consecutive school years, an unacceptable
academic accountability rating as indicated in the applicable year's
accountability manual adopted under §97.1001 of this title (relating
to Accountability Rating System);
(B) for two consecutive school years, a financial accountability
rating of Substandard Achievement as indicated in the applicable year's
financial accountability system manual adopted under §109.1001
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, §39.051 and §39.052. 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, 39A, or 48, and rules
implementing those chapters;
(ii) the reporting of data under TEC, §48.008,
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
Cont'd... |
