SECTION 97.1059. Standards for All Accreditation Sanction Determinations

(a) The commissioner of education shall impose district and campus accreditation sanctions under this subchapter individually or in combination as the commissioner determines necessary to achieve the purposes identified in §97.1053 of this title (relating to Purpose).

(b) In making a determination under subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner shall consider the seriousness, number, extent, and duration of deficiencies identified by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and shall impose one or more accreditation sanctions on a district and its campuses as needed to address:

(1) each material deficiency identified by the TEA through its systems for district and campus accountability, including:

(A) an accreditation status under §97.1055 of this title (relating to Accreditation Status);

(B) an academic accountability rating under §97.1001 of this title (relating to Accountability Rating System);

(C) a financial accountability rating under §109.1001 of this title (relating to Financial Accountability Ratings) or a financial audit or investigation;

(D) program effectiveness under §97.1071 of this title (relating to Special Program Performance; Monitoring, Review, and Supports) or other law;

(E) the results of a special investigation under Texas Education Code, §39.003;

(F) the results of an investigative report under Chapter 157, Subchapter EE, of this title (relating to Informal Review, Formal Review, and Review by State Office of Administrative Hearings); complaint investigation; special education due process hearing; or data integrity investigation, including an investigation of assessment or financial data;

(G) an inability to implement effective change to improve the performance of students in the district or at the campus; or

(H) other information related to subparagraphs (A)-(G) of this paragraph.

(2) any ongoing failures to address deficiencies previously identified or patterns of recurring deficiencies;

(3) any lack of district responsiveness to, or compliance with, current or prior interventions or sanctions; and

(4) any substantial or imminent harm presented by the deficiencies of the district or campus to the welfare of its students or to the public interest.

(c) If the commissioner identifies a district and one or more of its campuses for accreditation sanction under subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner may elect to combine activities to be undertaken at the district and campus levels as needed to achieve the purposes of each sanction.

(d) When making any campus-level determination under this subchapter, the commissioner shall also consider the district-level performance of the district on applicable academic, fiscal, and compliance standards.

(e) The commissioner must review at least annually the performance of a district for which the accreditation status or academic accountability rating has been lowered due to insufficient student performance and may not raise the accreditation status or rating until the district has demonstrated improved student performance. If the review reveals a lack of improvement, the commissioner shall increase the level of state intervention and sanction unless the commissioner finds good cause for maintaining the current status.

Source Note: The provisions of this §97.1059 adopted to be effective January 6, 2008, 33 TexReg 150; amended to be effective July 28, 2010, 35 TexReg 6523; amended to be effective February 5, 2015, 40 TexReg 437; amended to be effective November 17, 2016, 41 TexReg 9012; amended to be effective January 28, 2018, 43 TexReg 452; amended to be effective January 11, 2022, 47 TexReg 26