(a) The language proficiency assessment committee (LPAC)
shall select the appropriate assessment option for each English language
learner (ELL) in accordance with this subchapter. For each ELL who
receives special education services, the student's admission, review,
and dismissal (ARD) committee in conjunction with the student's LPAC
shall select the appropriate assessments. The LPAC shall document
the decisions and justifications in the student's permanent record
file, and the ARD committee shall document the decisions and justifications
in the student's individualized education program. Assessment decisions
shall be made on an individual student basis and in accordance with
administrative procedures established by the Texas Education Agency
(TEA).
(b) Except as provided by subsection (c) of this section,
an ELL shall participate in the Grades 3-8 and end-of-course assessments
as required by the Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.023(c). Except
as specified in paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection, an ELL shall
be administered the general form of the English-version state assessment.
(1) A Spanish-speaking ELL in Grades 3-5 may be administered
the state's Spanish-version assessment if an assessment in Spanish
will provide the most appropriate measure of the student's academic
progress.
(2) An ELL in Grade 3 or higher may be administered
the linguistically accommodated English version of the state's mathematics,
science, or social studies assessment if:
(A) a Spanish-version assessment does not exist or
is not the most appropriate measure of the student's academic progress;
(B) the student has not yet demonstrated English language
proficiency in reading as determined by the assessment under §101.1003
of this title (relating to English Language Proficiency Assessments);
and
(C) the student has been enrolled in U.S. schools for
three school years or less or qualifies as an unschooled asylee or
refugee enrolled in U.S. schools for five school years or less.
(3) In certain cases, an ELL who receives special education
services may, as a result of his or her particular disabling condition,
qualify to be administered an alternative assessment instrument based
on alternative achievement standards.
(c) In accordance with the TEC, §39.027(a), an
unschooled asylee or refugee who meets the criteria of paragraphs
(1)-(3) of this subsection shall be granted an exemption from an administration
of an assessment instrument under the TEC, §39.023(a), (b), or
(l). This exemption will only apply during the school year an unschooled
asylee or refugee is first enrolled in a U.S. public school. An unschooled
asylee or refugee is a student who:
(1) enrolled in a U.S. school as an asylee as defined
by 45 Code of Federal Regulations §400.41 or a refugee as defined
by 8 United States Code §1101;
(2) has a Form I-94 Arrival/Departure record, or a
successor document, issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services that is stamped with "Asylee," "Refugee," or "Asylum"; and
(3) as a result of inadequate schooling outside the
United States, lacks the necessary foundation in the essential knowledge
and skills of the curriculum prescribed under the TEC, §28.002,
as determined by the LPAC.
(d) For purposes of LPAC determinations in subsection
(c) of this section, inadequate schooling outside the United States
is defined as little or no formal schooling outside the United States
such that the asylee or refugee lacked basic literacy in his or her
primary language upon enrollment in school in the United States.
(e) The LPAC shall, in conjunction with the ARD committee
if the ELL is receiving special education services under the TEC,
Chapter 29, Subchapter A, determine and document any allowable testing
accommodations for assessments under this section in accordance with
administrative procedures established by the TEA.
(f) An ELL whose parent or guardian has declined the
services required by the TEC, Chapter 29, Subchapter B, is not eligible
for special assessment, accommodation, or accountability provisions
made available to ELLs on the basis of limited English proficiency.
(g) School districts may administer the assessment
of academic skills in Spanish to a student who is not identified as
limited English proficient but who participates in a bilingual program
if the LPAC determines the assessment in Spanish to be the most appropriate
measure of the student's academic progress.
(h) Policies for including the academic performance
of an ELL in state and federal accountability measures, which will
take into account the second language acquisition developmental needs
of this student population, shall be delineated in the official TEA
publications required by Chapter 97 of this title (relating to Planning
and Accountability).
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