Self-Reported Data Compliance Review
TEA’s Self-Reported Data Unit has recently issued several compliance reviews letters to LEAs throughout the state related to various self-reported data indicators used in the state accountability system. Notices were issued when an LEA was identified as having data that fell outside of an expected range. These data variances necessitated a more comprehensive review by SRDU that included asking each LEA for clarification and documentation in order to validate the data outliers and ensure that the preliminary accountability ratings were accurate. Additionally, instead of these LEAs receiving a final accountability rating when final ratings were issued in December 2022, these LEAs received a temporary “Not Rated: Data Under Review” designation on the txschools.gov website and in each LEA’s TAPR report. This temporary rating label change was required by the 2022 TEA Accountability Manual due to the ongoing data reviews. Importantly, the ongoing review and assignment of the temporary “Not Rated: Data Under Review” designation are NOT indicative of inaccurate data and do NOT signify that any wrongdoing occurred. In other words, at this time no misconduct is suspected by the LEAs that were issued SRDU compliance review letters. TEA is working as efficiently as possible to finish its review of LEAs’ responses and to determine the most appropriate final ratings for all LEAs that received the temporary “Not Rated: Data Under Review” designation. TEA will issue a final rating that will be visible on the TAPR Report and txschools.gov website once TEA’s reviews have been completed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1.What is a compliance review?
TEA’s compliance reviews are a collaborative review process with LEAs to ensure they are acting in accordance with state law and other regulatory requirements. TEA requests documentation and other information from LEAs by a particular deadline to review and determine whether there has been a violation and commonly works with the districts to bring them into compliance and/or to establish better local practices.
2. What could happen as a result of TEA’s compliance review? How might this impact my district’s accountability rating?
Generally, TEA may take any of the following actions as a result of a compliance review:
- TEA may close it's review with no further action if the Lea's response satisfies TEA's concerns.
- TEA may work with the LEA to complete corrective actions to ensure more accurate information is provided and/or appropriate policies are implemented in the future.
- TEA may refer the LEA to TEA's Special Investigations Unit
Because the "Not Rated: Data Under Review" accountability rating is a temporary rating, TEA will issue one of the following ratings after conducting it's compliance review (and any additional investigation deemed appropriate):
- Issue a "Not Rated: Data Integrity" accountability rating;
- Issue a rating consistent with the actual performance of the district (which may or may not change from the preliminary rating); or
- Lower the district's accountability rating as a result of the special investigation.
3. Is my LEA required to put the current TAPR Report on the district’s website?
LEAs with the temporary “Not Rated: Data Under Review” label are still required to post performance related information on their district’s website as specified in TEC §39.362. Updated performance reports will be available on TEA’s website for download shortly after the temporary label has been removed and the final rating has been issued. For more information on posting requirements in general, please see the Requirement for Posting of Performance Frequently Asked Questions page.