Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) For purposes of this section, school
districts include open-enrollment charter schools.
(b) School districts are subject to general
supervision and monitoring activities for compliance with state law and federal
regulation, implemented by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) under 34 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR), §§300.600-300.609, and review of program
implementation and effectiveness within certain special populations of
students. Activities may include:
(1) random,
targeted, or cyclical reviews authorized under Texas Education Code (TEC),
§39.056, conducted remotely or on-site to identify problems implementing
state and federal requirements and to provide support for development of
reasonable and appropriate strategies to address identified problems;
and/or
(2) intensive or special
investigative remote or on-site reviews authorized under TEC, §
39.003 and §
39.004.
(c) Activities described in subsection (b) of
this section are applicable for compliance with requirements for reading
diagnosis in TEC, §
28.006, and dyslexia
and related disorders in TEC, §
38.003, and §
74.28 of this title (relating to
Students with Dyslexia and Related Disorders).
(d) Activities described in subsection (b) of
this section are applicable for compliance with requirements for program
effectiveness for emergent bilingual students in TEC, §
29.062.
(e) The commissioner of education shall
assign school districts an annual determination level based on performance
levels of certain special populations student groups under §
97.1001 of this title (relating to
Accountability Rating System) according to the following general criteria:
(1) the degree to which the district's
performance reflects a need for targeted or intensive supports, as indicated by
the seriousness, number, extent, and duration of the student performance,
program effectiveness, and/or program compliance deficiencies identified by the
Texas Education Agency (TEA);
(2) a
comparison of the district's performance relative to aggregated state
performance and state performance standards;
(3) a statistical distribution of districts
exhibiting a comparable need for targeted support; and
(4) the length of time the performance
standard has been in place and the length of time the district has exhibited
deficiencies under the standard.
(f) In addition to performance levels
determined under §
97.1001 of this title, the
commissioner may consider any other applicable information, such as:
(1) complaints investigation
results;
(2) special education due
process hearing decisions;
(3) data
validation activities;
(4)
integrity of assessment or financial data;
(5) longitudinal intervention history;
and
(6) other federally required
elements.
(g) The
standards used to assign districts to specific determination levels under this
section are established annually by the commissioner and communicated to all
school districts. Determination level categories for assignment include:
(3) needs intervention; and
(4) needs substantial intervention.
(h) In addition to determination
levels described in subsections (e) and (g) of this section, the commissioner
shall develop a system of cyclical monitoring to ensure every district
participates in general supervision activities. Based on a district's assigned
determination level, as part of its cyclical monitoring process, or as part of
compliance monitoring activities, a district may be required to implement
and/or participate in:
(1) focused
self-analysis of district data and program effectiveness;
(2) focused remote and/or on-site
review;
(3) required stakeholder
engagement;
(4) focused compliance
reviews;
(5) strategic support and
continuous improvement planning; and/or
(6) corrective action plan
development.
(i) The
commissioner shall notify in writing each district identified for review under
this section as a result of assigned determination level or cyclical selection
prior to requiring a district to implement or participate in any activities
included in subsection (h)(1)-(6) of this section.
(j) Actions taken under this section are
intended to assist the district in raising its performance and/or achieving
compliance under §
97.1001 of this title, statutory
requirements in TEC, §
§
28.006,
29.062, and
38.003, and §
74.28 of this title and do not
preclude or substitute for a sanction under another provision of this
subchapter.
(k) Actions taken under
this section do not preclude or substitute for other responses to or
consequences of program ineffectiveness or noncompliance identified by TEA,
such as those described in §
89.1076 of this title (relating to
Interventions and Sanctions) and expanded oversight, including, but not limited
to, frequent follow-up contacts with the district, submission of documentation
verifying implementation of intervention activities and/or an improvement plan,
and submission of district/program data.
(l) In exercising its general supervision
authority under 34 CFR,
§
300.149 and §
300.600, TEA has established a
process that provides for the investigation and issuance of findings regarding
credible allegations of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), Part B, or a state statute or administrative rule created
to implement IDEA, that arise from an area of concern. The following guidelines
shall apply to this process.
(1) "Area of
concern" means that TEA has been made aware of an allegation regarding a
violation of, or noncompliance with, a requirement of IDEA, Part B, or a state
special education law or administrative rule.
(2) "Credible allegation" means that TEA has
determined that an allegation arising from an area of concern is credible
enough to investigate further to determine if a violation or noncompliance has
occurred.
(3) Information and
awareness of an area of concern may arise directly from TEA or from external
sources.
(4) TEA will engage in a
process to determine if an area of concern is determined to be a credible
allegation, and, if determined credible, TEA will initiate an investigation to
determine if findings of noncompliance will be issued.
(5) TEA will generally not engage in the
process described in paragraph (7) of this subsection to determine if an area
of concern is a credible allegation if it is a media report, social media post,
or an anonymous report, unless TEA receives corroborating information and facts
that a specific violation of state or federal law or rule has occurred if the
allegation were to be confirmed true.
(6) When an individual or organization
reports a special education area of concern, TEA may direct the individual or
organization to the established dispute resolution processes. Depending on the
frequency or specificity of the type of allegation made, TEA may engage in the
activities described in paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(7) The process to determine if an area of
concern is a credible allegation, as described in paragraph (4) of this
subsection, may include one or more of the following actions:
(A) reviewing existing citations of
noncompliance or any noncompliance identified within the last two school years
on the same or similar alleged violation;
(B) reviewing filed state complaints that are
in process of being investigated or that have been substantiated within the
last two school years on the same or similar alleged violation;
(C) reviewing due process hearing decisions
issued within the last two years in which the hearing officer's final written
decision contains a finding of noncompliance on the same or similar alleged
violation;
(D) gathering evidence
from groups that represent or advocate for families and communities served by
the district;
(E) reviewing and
analyzing available student- or district-level data that relate to the alleged
violation;
(F) reviewing and
analyzing fiscal and program information, such as grant applications,
contracts, self-assessments, and other special education documents submitted to
TEA by the district; and
(G) any
other activity or measure used to gather evidence within TEA's general
supervision and monitoring authority.
(8) The investigation to determine if a
credible allegation will result in the issuance of findings as described under
paragraph (4) of this subsection will include contacting the school district
that is the subject of the allegation and requesting a response from the school
district. Additional investigative actions may include one or more of the
following:
(A) conducting interviews with the
district, staff, parents, or students;
(B) a referral for review or investigation by
any other appropriate unit or division within TEA;
(C) utilizing the review and analysis of the
activities conducted during the review under paragraph (7) of this subsection
to determine if noncompliance is found; and
(D) any other activity or measure within
TEA's general supervision and monitoring authority.
(9) TEA may apply any intervention or
sanction within its authority if noncompliance or a violation is substantiated,
including those described in subsection (h) of this section and §
89.1076 of this title.