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The assignment of district and charter school accreditation statuses is authorized by Texas Education Code (TEC), Chapter 39,ÌýPublic School System Accountability, and 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 97,ÌýPlanning and Accountability, Subchapter EE,ÌýAccreditation Status, Standards, and Sanctions. The rules define the accreditation statuses of Accredited, Accredited-Warned, Accredited-Probation, and Not Accredited-Revoked and describe how accreditation statuses are determined and assigned.

These rules may be viewed at theÌýTexas Administrative CodeÌýlink available at /sites/default/files/ch097ee.pdf, and additional information regarding the assignment of accreditation statuses to districts and charter schools can be found on theÌýAccreditation StatusÌýhomepage of the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ (TEA or agency) website atÌý.

Recognizing the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and the unique challenges schools faced during the past school year, the agency did not issue A–F accountability ratings for the 2020–2021 school year. Pursuant to 19 TAC §97.1055(a)(13) when a rating ofÌýNot RatedÌýor similar rating is issued to a school district, the commissioner of education (Commissioner) may withhold the assignment of an accreditation status. The Commissioner has decided not to assign accreditation statuses until the 2022-2023 school year under the authority of 19 TAC §97.1055. For purposes of determining multiple years of academically unacceptable or insufficient performance, the academic accountability ratings issued for the 2018-2019 school year and the 2021-2022 school year are consecutive. 19 TAC §97.1055(a)(10). In addition, the accreditation statuses issued for the 2019-2020 school year and for the 2022-2023 school year are consecutive, per 19 TAC §97.1055(a)(12).

Districts, including charter schools, that would have been assigned a status of Accredited-Warned, Accredited-Probation, or Not Accredited-Revoked for the 2021-2022 school year due to the ratings assigned to the district in the state’s financial accountability system will receive separate correspondence from the TEA detailing required next steps.

We appreciate the ongoing support of districts during the COVID-19 public health crisis. If you have questions, please contact the Division of Accreditation and Enforcement at (512) 463-5899 or via e-mail atÌýaccred@tea.texas.gov.

Sincerely,

Jeff Cottrill
Deputy Commissioner of Governance & AccountabilityÌý

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