2020-2021 Assignment of Accreditation Statuses

The assignment of district and charter school accreditation statuses is authorized by Texas Education Code (TEC), Chapter 39, Public School System Accountability, and 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 97, Planning and Accountability, Subchapter EE, Accreditation 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 the Texas Administrative Code link available at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/index.html, and additional information regarding the assignment of accreditation statuses to districts and charter schools can be found on the Accreditation Status homepage of the Texas Education Agency (TEA or agency) website at http://tea.texas.gov/accredstatus/. 

On March 13, 2020, Governor Abbott issued a proclamation certifying that COVID-19 posed an imminent threat of disaster in the state and declaring a state of disaster for all counties in Texas. Subsequently, on March 16, 2020, the Governor waived the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) testing requirements for the 2019-2020 school year and ordered all schools temporarily closed on March 19, 2020. As a result, TEA labeled all districts and campuses Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster for the 2019-2020 school year. Because student performance is a key indicator in the state accreditation system, the TEA will suspend the assignment of accreditation statuses until the 2021-2022 school year under the authority of amended 19 TAC §97.1055. The amended rule, which became effective on February 24, 2020, may be viewed at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter097/ch097ee.html#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 2020-2021 school year are consecutive. 19 TAC §97.1055(a)(9) (effective February 24, 2021). In addition, the accreditation statuses issued for the 2019-2020 school year and for the 2021-2022 school year are consecutive. 19 TAC §97.1055(a)(11) (effective February 24, 2021). 

Districts, including charter schools, that would have been assigned a status of Accredited-Warned, Accredited-Probation, or Not Accredited-Revoked for the 2020-2021 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 at accred@tea.texas.gov. 

Sincerely, 

Jeff Cottrill 

Deputy Commissioner of Governance & Accountability