By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 1867

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation of the Texas Commission on Assessment and Accountability.

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

SECTION 1. TEXAS COMMISSION ON ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY. (a) The Texas Commission on Assessment and Accountability 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 the following:

(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 in a grade and subject with a required state assessment and at least 10 years of teaching experience at a high-poverty campus;

(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 Accountability Technology Advisory Committee 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.

SECTION 2. PRESIDING OFFICER AND MEMBERS. (a) The governor shall designate the presiding officer of the commission.

(b) A member may not be an employee, contractor, consultant, or vendor of the Texas Education Agency or a Regional Education Service Center.

SECTION 3. 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.

SECTION 4. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND FUNDING. (a) Staff members of the Texas Education Agency shall provide administrative support for the commission. The agency, with assistance as necessary from the Higher Education Coordinating Board, shall provide data and analysis as requested by the commission, including data available in the Education Research Centers.

(b) Funding for the administrative and operational expenses of the commission shall be provided by appropriation to the agency for that purpose.

SECTION 5. 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 state-required assessments, and options to minimize those effects and combine assessments with classroom instruction; and

(5) privacy, security, and confidentiality protocols for student information in online instruction and 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 and measures of effective schools beyond state-required assessments and ways to incorporate those characteristics and measures into a fairer accountability system;

(2) the correlation of accountability results with student special populations, including educationally disadvantaged and not educationally disadvantaged, for each Domain Rating and Overall Rating, and the effect of enrollment in charter schools and magnet or other voluntary programs on the composition of campus student populations and accountability measures; and

(3) the appropriateness and effectiveness of current district and campus sanctions and any correlation with campuses or districts serving particular student populations.

(c) The commission shall include and consider recommendations made by the existing Accountability Technical and Policy Advisory Committees established by rule.

(b) 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.

SECTION 6. REPORT. Not later than December 31, 2022, 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.

SECTION 7. 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.