February 2015 Committee on School Initiatives Item 4
Review of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 229, Accountability System for Educator Preparation Programs, §229.4, Determination of Accreditation Status, §229.5, Accreditation Sanctions and Procedures, and §229.6, Continuing Approval
February 13, 2015
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the State Board of Education (SBOE) an opportunity to review the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rule actions that would amend 19 TAC Chapter 229, Accountability System for Educator Preparation Programs, §229.4, Determination of Accreditation Status, §229.5, Accreditation Sanctions and Procedures, and §229.6, Continuing Approval. As part of its report to the 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, the Sunset Advisory Commission recommended a management action that adopts procedures for educator preparation program (EPP) complaints that outline all phases of the EPP complaint process. Proposed new 19 TAC Chapter 228, Requirements for Educator Preparation Programs, §228.70, Complaints and Investigations Procedures, would add these procedures in rule, and, as a result, proposed amendments to Chapter 229 are necessary.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for 19 TAC §§229.4-229.6 is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §§21.045, 21.0451, 21.0452, and 21.0453.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the proposed amendments to 19 TAC §§229.4-229.6 would be March 22, 2015.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: None.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The TEC, §21.045, authorizes SBEC to adopt rules establishing standards to govern the approval and continuing accountability of all EPPs, including standards for the accreditation and renewal of approval of EPPs and of the certification fields EPPs offer.
Current SBEC rules in 19 TAC Chapter 229 describe some of the bases for and establish the process used for issuing annual accreditation ratings for all EPPs and for approving and renewing approval of EPPs.
The proposed amendments to 19 TAC §§229.4-229.6, shown in Attachment II, would clarify the authority of the SBEC under TEC, §21.045 and §21.0451, to adjust an accreditation status or take action regarding the approval or renewed approval of an EPP based on compliance with SBEC rules and/or TEC, Chapter 21. The proposed amendments would also update the rules to clarify the authority of the SBEC to assign an accreditation status of Not Accredited-Revoked after an EPP has completed one year of Accredited-Probation status. The proposed amendments would also clarify the ability of Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff to recommend SBEC action relating to the approval, renewed approval, or the accreditation of the EPP if the TEA staff finds that an EPP has failed to comply with SBEC rules and/or TEC, Chapter 21. The proposed amendments reflect discussions held during a meeting with the Educator Preparation Advisory Committee on August 22, 2014, and with other stakeholders at meetings in September and October 2014. Following the October 2014 SBEC meeting, additional stakeholder meetings were held in November and December 2014.
Since published as proposed, TEA staff and SBEC legal counsel recommend that references to Public Law 110-315, Sections 205-208, in 19 TAC §229.4(d)(2) and (e)(2) and §229.5(a) not be included in the adopted rules because the rules without the references would adequately address EPP accountability. In addition, language would be amended in 19 TAC §229.4(f)(2) to clarify that if SBEC makes the findings required by that rule, the SBEC may revoke an EPP's accreditation after the EPP has completed one year on probationary status and not at the same time the EPP is placed on probationary status.
SBOE Review of Proposed SBEC Rules
Under the TEC, §21.042, the SBEC must submit a written copy of each rule it proposes to adopt to the SBOE for review. The SBOE may reject the proposed rules by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the SBOE present and voting, but may not modify a rule. The rules take effect as rules of the SBEC if the SBOE fails to review the rules contained in this item by March 5, 2015, which is the 90th day after the date the SBOE first received the proposed rules.
FISCAL IMPACT: The TEA staff has determined that there is no additional fiscal impact on state and local governments and there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed amendments. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses and microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The public and student benefit anticipated as a result of the proposed amendments would be an accountability system that informs the public of the quality of educator preparation provided by each SBEC-approved EPP.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The proposed amendments would have no procedural and reporting implications.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The proposed amendments would have no locally maintained paperwork requirements.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: In accordance with the SBEC rulemaking process, a summary of comments received by the SBEC on its proposed rules will be shared with the SBOE under separate cover prior to this SBOE meeting.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:
Take no action on the proposed amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 229, Accountability System for Educator Preparation Programs, §229.4, Determination of Accreditation Status, §229.5, Accreditation Sanctions and Procedures, and §229.6, Continuing Approval.
Staff Members Responsible:
Ryan Franklin, Associate Commissioner
Educator Leadership and Quality
Tim Miller, Director
Educator Preparation Programs
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF, 27KB)
II. Text of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 229, Accountability System for Educator Preparation Programs, §229.4, Determination of Accreditation Status, §229.5, Accreditation Sanctions and Procedures, and §229.6, Continuing Approval (PDF, 40KB)