VanDeaver Commission Bill Also Ends A Through F Ratings For Districts

The text as introduced · 1,176 words

89R3104 ANG-F

By: VanDeaver
H.B. No. 1118

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation of a Texas Commission on Assessment and

Accountability.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 39A, Education Code, is amended by

adding Subchapter H to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER H. TEXAS COMMISSION ON ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Sec. 39A.351. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "commission"

means the Texas Commission on Assessment and Accountability.

Sec. 39A.352. TEXAS COMMISSION ON ASSESSMENT AND

ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) The commission is established to develop and

make recommendations for improvements to the current public school

assessment and accountability systems.

(b) The commission is composed of 19 members, consisting of:

(1) four members appointed by the governor;

(2) seven members appointed by the lieutenant

governor;

(3) seven members appointed by the speaker of the

house of representatives; and

(4) a member of the State Board of Education, as

designated by the chair of that board.

(c) The members appointed by the governor must have an

interest in public education and include at least:

(1) one person who is a current classroom teacher:

(A) in a grade and subject for which an

assessment instrument required under Section 39.023 is

administered; and

(B) with at least 10 years of teaching experience

at a school that receives federal funding under Title I, Elementary

and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et

seq.);

(2) one person who is a member of the business

community; and

(3) one person who is a member of the civic community.

(d) The appointments made by the lieutenant governor and the

speaker of the house of representatives must each consist of:

(1) three members of the applicable legislative

chamber;

(2) a superintendent in the public school system;

(3) an elected member of the board of trustees of a

school district;

(4) a parent of a student in the public school system;

and

(5) a public school district staff member who serves

on the Texas Accountability Advisory Group established by rule.

(e) In making appointments under Subsections (b)(1), (2),

and (3), the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the

house of representatives shall coordinate to ensure that the

membership of the commission reflects, to the extent possible, the

ethnic and geographic diversity of this state.

Sec. 39A.353. PRESIDING OFFICER AND MEMBERS. (a) The

governor shall designate the presiding officer of the commission.

(b) A commission member may not be an employee, contractor,

consultant, or vendor of the agency or a regional education service

center.

Sec. 39A.354. COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT. A member of

the commission is not entitled to compensation for service on the

commission but is entitled to reimbursement for actual and

necessary expenses incurred in performing commission duties.

Sec. 39A.355. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND FUNDING. (a) The

agency shall provide administrative support for the commission.

The agency, with assistance as necessary from the Texas Higher

Education Coordinating Board, shall provide data and analysis as

requested by the commission, including data available in the

education research centers established under Section 1.005.

(b) Funding for the administrative and operational expenses

of the commission shall be provided by legislative appropriation

made to the agency for that purpose.

Sec. 39A.356. RECOMMENDATIONS. (a) The commission shall

develop recommendations under this subchapter to address issues

related to the public school statewide assessment system,

including:

(1) test construction and administration methods that

ensure validity, readability, and fairness for all students;

(2) assessment options to inform instruction

throughout the school year;

(3) any disproportionate impact of assessments on

students receiving each tier of the compensatory education

allotment and other special populations, and appropriate policy

responses;

(4) the costs and instructional time devoted to the

administration of state-required assessment instruments, and

options for minimizing those costs and that time by combining

assessments and classroom instruction; and

(5) privacy, security, and confidentiality protocols

regarding the personal information of a student receiving online

instruction or assessment.

(b) The commission shall develop recommendations under this

subchapter to address issues related to the public school academic

accountability rating system, including:

(1) characteristics of and measures used by effective

schools beyond state-required assessment instruments and ways to

incorporate those characteristics and measures into a fairer

accountability system;

(2) the correlation of accountability results with

special student populations, including educationally disadvantaged

students and students who are not educationally disadvantaged, for

each domain rating and overall rating, and the effect of enrollment

in open-enrollment charter schools and magnet or other voluntary

programs on the composition of student populations of district

campuses and the application of accountability measures; and

(3) the appropriateness and effectiveness of current

district and campus sanctions and any correlation between sanctions

imposed and campuses or districts serving particular student

populations.

(c) The commission shall include and consider

recommendations made by the existing Texas Accountability Advisory

Group established by rule.

(d) The commission may establish one or more working groups

composed of not more than five members of the commission to study,

discuss, and address specific policy issues and recommendations to

refer to the commission for consideration.

Sec. 39A.357. REPORT. Not later than December 31, 2026, the

commission shall prepare and deliver a report to the governor and

the legislature that recommends statutory changes to improve the

public school assessment and accountability systems.

Sec. 39A.358. PUBLIC MEETINGS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a)

The commission may hold public meetings as needed to fulfill its

duties under this subchapter.

(b) The commission is subject to Chapters 551 and 552,

Government Code.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any other law, the commissioner

of education may not assign A through F ratings to an independent

school district or district campus under Chapter 39, Education

Code, following the 2024-2025 school year. Sanctions in effect

under Chapter 39A, Education Code, continue in effect after the

effective date of this Act but may not be increased, and additional

sanctions may not be imposed.

SECTION 3. For purposes of a sanction imposed by the

commissioner of education on an independent school district or a

district campus under Chapter 39A, Education Code, based on

multi-year performance measures, the 2024-2025 school year may not

be considered but does not interrupt a series of measures

continuing in effect from the 2023-2024 school year.

SECTION 4. Nothing in this Act prohibits the commissioner

of education from reducing or suspending an existing sanction based

on meeting performance standards adopted by rule or under Section

11.174, Education Code.

SECTION 5. (a) The commissioner of education shall apply to

the federal government for appropriate waivers or amendments to the

application of federal law as necessary to allow implementation of

this Act.

(b) The commissioner of education may take appropriate

measures to assess students and evaluate academic performance

following the 2024-2025 school year only to the extent required by

federal law.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.