|
|
|
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. Chapter 39, Education Code, is amended by adding |
|
Subchapter N to read as follows: |
|
SUBCHAPTER N. TEXAS COMMISSION ON ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY |
|
Sec. 39.451. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "commission" |
|
means the Texas Commission on Assessment and Accountability. |
|
Sec. 39.452. 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 Title 1 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 Technical 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. |
|
Sec. 39.453. 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. 39.454. COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT. A commission |
|
member 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. 39.455. 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 commission's administrative and |
|
operational expenses shall be provided by legislative |
|
appropriation made to the agency for that purpose. |
|
Sec. 39.456. 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 student 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) the correlation of accountability results with |
|
special student populations, including students who are |
|
educationally disadvantaged 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; |
|
(2) characteristics and measures of effective schools |
|
beyond state-required assessment instruments and ways to |
|
incorporate those characteristics and measures into a fairer |
|
accountability system; 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 Accountability Technical |
|
Advisory Committee and Accountability Policy Advisory Committee |
|
established by rule. |
|
(d) The commission may establish one or more working groups |
|
composed of not more than five commission members to study, |
|
discuss, and address specific policy issues and recommendations to |
|
refer to the commission for consideration. |
|
Sec. 39.457. REPORT. Not later than December 31, 2024, the |
|
commission shall prepare and deliver to the governor and the |
|
legislature a report that recommends statutory changes to improve |
|
the public school assessment and accountability systems. |
|
Sec. 39.458. PUBLIC MEETINGS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION. (a) |
|
The commission may hold public meetings as needed to fulfill the |
|
commission's duties under this subchapter. |
|
(b) The commission is subject to Chapters 551 and 552, |
|
Government Code. |
|
Sec. 39.459. COMMISSION ABOLISHED; EXPIRATION OF |
|
SUBCHAPTER. The commission is abolished and this subchapter |
|
expires September 1, 2025. |
|
SECTION 2. 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, 2023. |