Tex. Education Code § 39.0544 — TX Code / Code ed / Chapter 39 / Section 39.0544
§ 39.0544. LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.
Status: in_force

(a) The commissioner shall adopt rules regarding the assignment of campus performance ratings by school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. The rules:

(1) must require a district or school, in assigning an overall performance rating for a campus, to incorporate:

(A) domain performance ratings assigned by the commissioner under Section 39.054; and

(B) performance ratings based on locally developed domains or sets of accountability measures;

(2) may permit a district or school to assign weights to each domain or set of accountability measures described in Subdivision (1), as determined by the district or school, provided that the domains specified in Subdivision (1)(A) must in the aggregate account for at least 50 percent of the overall performance rating;

(3) must require that each locally developed domain or set of accountability measures:

(A) contains levels of performance that allow for differentiation, with assigned standards for achieving the differentiated levels;

(B) provides for the assignment of a letter grade of A, B, C, D, or F; and

(C) meets standards for reliability and validity;

(4) must require that calculations for overall performance ratings and each locally developed domain or set of accountability measures be capable of being audited by a third party;

(5) must require that a district or school produce a campus score card that may be displayed on the agency's website; and

(6) must require that a district or school develop and make available to the public an explanation of the methodology used to assign performance ratings under this section.

(b) The commissioner shall develop a process to approve a request by a school district or open-enrollment charter school to assign campus performance ratings in accordance with this section. Under that process, a district or school must obtain approval of a local accountability plan submitted by the district or school to the agency. A plan may be approved only if:

(1) after review, the agency determines the plan meets the minimum requirements under this section and agency rule;

(2) at the commissioner's discretion, an audit conducted by the agency verifies the calculations included in the plan; and

(3) subject to Subsection (d), a review panel appointed under Subsection (c) approves the plan.

(c) The commissioner shall appoint a review panel for purposes of Subsection (b)(3) that includes a majority of members who are superintendents or members of the board of trustees or governing body of school districts or open-enrollment charter schools with approved local accountability plans.

(d) The requirement under Subsection (b)(3) applies only after performance ratings are issued in August 2019 and only if at least 10 school districts or open-enrollment charter schools have obtained approval of locally developed accountability plans.

(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school authorized under this section to assign campus performance ratings shall evaluate the performance of each campus as provided by this section and assign each campus a performance rating of A, B, C, D, or F for overall performance and for each locally developed domain or set of accountability measures. Not later than a date established by the commissioner, the district or school shall:

(1) report the performance ratings to the agency; and

(2) make the performance ratings available to the public as provided by commissioner rule.

(f) From money appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, the agency shall establish a grant program to assist at least one school district in each education service center region in developing a local accountability plan that complies with the requirements of this section.