SECTION 97.1053. Purpose

(a) The provisions of Texas Education Code (TEC), Chapters 39 and 39A, and this subchapter shall be construed and applied to achieve the purposes of accreditation statuses assigned under TEC, §39.051 and §39.052, and the purposes of accreditation sanctions, which are to:

(1) inform the parents of students enrolled in the district, property owners in the district, general public, and policymakers of the academic, fiscal, and compliance performance of each district or campus on the standards adopted by the commissioner of education under TEC, §39.052(b) and (c), and/or listed in §97.1059 of this title (relating to Standards for All Accreditation Sanction Determinations);

(2) encourage the district or campus to improve its academic, fiscal, and/or compliance performance by addressing each area of deficiency identified by the commissioner of education;

(3) enable the parents of students enrolled in the district, property owners in the district, general public, and policymakers to assist the district or campus in improving the district or campus performance by addressing each area of deficiency identified by the commissioner;

(4) encourage other districts or campuses to improve their performance so as to avoid similar action and to retain their accreditation; and

(5) improve the Texas public school system by eliminating poor academic, fiscal, and compliance performance by districts and campuses on the standards listed in §97.1059 of this title.

(b) The accreditation status assigned a district under §97.1055 of this title (relating to Accreditation Status) generally reflects performance under the state academic accountability rating system and financial accountability rating system beginning with the district's 2006 ratings. However, performance under these systems for earlier years shall be considered for purposes of accreditation statuses and sanctions under this subchapter. Accordingly:

(1) consideration of or failure to consider any rating of the district under §97.1055 of this title does not preclude consideration of that rating when determining accreditation sanctions under this subchapter; and

(2) when determining accreditation sanctions under this subchapter, the commissioner shall consider the entire ratings history of the district and its campuses to the extent it is material.

(c) The provisions of TEC, Chapters 39 and 39A, and this subchapter apply in the same manner to an open-enrollment charter school as to a district.

Source Note: The provisions of this §97.1053 adopted to be effective January 6, 2008, 33 TexReg 150; amended to be effective November 23, 2008, 33 TexReg 9462; amended to be effective July 28, 2010, 35 TexReg 6523; amended to be effective February 5, 2015, 40 TexReg 437; amended to be effective January 28, 2018, 43 TexReg 452