Local Accountability System

House Bill (HB) 22 (85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017) established the Local Accountability System (LAS) to allow districts and open-enrollment charter schools to develop local accountability system plans for their campuses. A district’s local accountability plan provides stakeholders with detailed information about school performance and progress over time. Once approved by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), it is expected that a plan be operational and relatively unchanged for three to five years.

A local accountability plan is created at the district-level to measure campus outcomes that are not included in the state accountability system. A local accountability plan is a coherent set of outcomes based on district needs and goals for student achievement. Outcomes are measured through defined components based on valid and reliable data sources.

As the first step, district staff should familiarize themselves with local accountability system guidelines and complete a notice of interest. District participation in the local accountability system requires attending TEA-sponsored virtual training sessions and creating a plan in collaboration with TEA. All local accountability plans must be approved by TEA.

Yes. The local accountability system is flexible enough to allow districts to incorporate goals, or activities arising from related initiatives, into the district local accountability plan. Many districts use, or adapt, plans developed from System of Great Schools, Lone Star Governance, Teacher Incentive Allotment, School Action Fund as well as other non-TEA initiatives.

Interested districts are required to attend a TEA-sponsored training and may spend several months developing a local accountability system plan, including collecting baseline data and communicating with stakeholders. The local accountability plan represents district priorities based on needs and goals for campus outcomes. Districts are required to use baseline data to set campus goals in the local accountability plan.

District commitment varies according to the individual characteristics and needs of districts. Interested districts are encouraged to attend a introductory webinar to learn more the local accountability system.

There is no fee to participate in the local accountability system, however, district expenses vary according to the individual characteristics and needs of districts. Participation requires attending virtual sessions sponsored by TEA, developing a district-wide local accountability plan for different school types/groups, collecting data from participating campuses, calculating outcomes, and providing TEA with campus-level data during the summer following the school year for which the plan is applicable.

At the end of each applicable school year, districts and open-enrollment charter schools assign overall and domain-specific letter grade ratings of A–F for each campus, according to performance outcomes, as outlined in the approved local accountability plan. Campuses with an overall rating of A, B, or C under the state accountability system for the applicable year of the plan may combine state and local accountability ratings with the state rating contributing at least 50% of the combined rating. 

A combined campus rating could change as a result of the local accountability system by going up or going down. 

Campuses that are not rated under the state accountability system are not eligible to combine state and local ratings. However, the local accountability data for paired campuses, and other campuses not rated under the state accountability system, may be displayed on TEA, district, and campus websites.

The local accountability system plan campus ratings do not affect the state accountability system district rating. District ratings are determined by campus state accountability system ratings only; these ratings do not include local accountability system ratings.