Texas Education Agency announces 2013-2014 accreditation statuses

[TexasTowelie]

[font color=green]Note: This information is from the state government Website and is not subject to copyright, so I am including the full release from TEA.[/font]

AUSTIN – The Texas Education Agency today released accreditation statuses for school districts and charters across the state. Accreditation statuses are based on state academic accountability ratings, the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (known commonly as School FIRST), data reporting, special program effectiveness, and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.

Of 1,222 Texas school districts and charters, 1,176 (96 percent) received a status designation of Accredited for the 2013-2014 school year. An Accredited status recognizes districts and charters as a public school that meets specific academic and financial standards.

Under the Texas Education Code, the commissioner of education annually assigns one of four accreditation statuses to each school district. Accreditation statuses for the 2013-2014 school year include: Accredited (1,176); Accredited-Warned (30); Accredited-Probation (3); Not Accredited-Revoked (3); and Pending (10).

An Accredited-Warned status means a district or charter exhibits deficiencies in academic and/or financial performance that, if not addressed, could lead to probation or revocation of its accreditation status. For the 2013-2014 school year, 13 school districts and 17 charter schools received an Accredited-Warned accreditation status.

An Accredited-Probation status means a district or charter exhibits deficiencies in academic and/or financial performance over a three-year period that must be addressed to avoid revocation of its accreditation status. For the 2013-2014 school year, three school districts received an Accredited-Probation accreditation status.

A Not Accredited-Revoked status means the Texas Education Agency does not recognize the district or charter as a Texas public school following multiple years of deficiencies in academic and/or financial performance. For the 2013-2014 school year, two school districts and one charter school received a Not Accredited-Revoked accreditation status.

Note that school districts and charters assigned an initial Not Accredited-Revoked status will have the opportunity for a record review at the Texas Education Agency, and ultimately the opportunity for a review at the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

The accreditation statuses of one school district and nine charter schools have been left pending due to revocation hearings currently under way, ongoing Texas Education Agency investigations, and/or pending litigation.

The 2013-2014 accreditation status for each school district and charter school can be found on the Texas Education Agency website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/accredstatus/ .

[font color=green]Jonesboro ISD, Rio Vista ISD and The Varnett Public School (Houston) received the Not Accredited-Revoked status. Brookesmith, La Marque and Trinity ISDs received the Accredited-Probation status. The Varnett Public School was in the news last August for misspending $5.3 million in federal funds on everything from first-class airline tickets to spa services (http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/houston-charter-school-misspent-5-3-million-in-federal-funds-state-report-finds.html/).

The list at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4_wide.aspx?id=25769809488 can be sorted by column by clicking the arrow to the right of the text in the column heading.[/font]

[TexasTowelie]

1. An additional note:

The accreditation status of Beaumont ISD was withheld since the investigation of financial and student attendance accounting and allegations of cheating on state exams was not completed.