Fw: TEA Reviewing Commissioner's Rules, Seeks Public Input

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TEA Reviewing Commissioner's Rules, Seeks Public Input

TEA Begins Review of Commissioner's Rules, Seeks Public Input

Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner sent a letter to school administrators on April 9, 2010, asking them to participate in a review of all rules, requirements and guidance under his discretion. Disability advocates and other stakeholders can also provide input during this review of Commissioner's Rules, proposed Commissioner's Rules, and related TEA regulations and guidance.

In his letter, explained that he is "conducting this review to identify areas of concern and seek your (administrator’s) ideas about how to ensure that Commissioner Rules do not unnecessarily interfere with the ability of school districts to improve student performance or operate efficiently and effectively." He emphasized that any changes need to preserve the original intent of each rule. The commissioner also stated that his "goal is to reduce the number of unnecessary rules and to provide more freedom for districts to operate within the intent of the law."

A variety of opportunities will be offered to provide input, including:

Regional stakeholder meetings will be hosted by the 20 Education Service Centers. Groups that have an interest in public education are encouraged to convene meetings of their members to solicit feedback. A least one webinar will be held for people who cannot attend a meeting or forum.

TEA wants to obtain all feedback by July 23rd so that agency staff can summarize, analyze and respond to the input by the end of September. This will allow them to propose formal rule changes and legislative changes before the end of this year.

The "rules" eligible for this process include:

Existing Commissioner's Rules in 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapters 30, 53, 61, 62, 74-76, 89, 95, 97, 100-103, 105, 109, 129, 150, 153, 157, 161, and 176 Commissioner's Rules proposed for adoption Corresponding TEA regulations and guidance related to Commissioner's Rules

The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and other TAC rules of the State Board of Education will not be a part of this review.

Commissioner's Rules that are already adopted are at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/index.html. Proposed Rules that are being reviewed are at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=2388. Because rules are reviewed on a regular cycle, both sites should be used to locate and study Commissioner's Rules. These rules can be identified as the subchapters that begin with double letters.

The Commissioner's Rules have been divided up for review based on the following topics and dates. For each rule proposed for change, the agency will seek information including the perceived problem, the proposed change and rationale for the change.

The proposed topics and review dates are:

Accountability/assessment/accreditation (April 15 - May 15)

Funding/spending regulations/reporting/facilities (April 30 - May 30)

Curriculum /Instruction/Programs (May 15 - June 15)

Educators (June 1 - June 30)

Supplemental/support programs and services (June 15 - July 15)

Miscellaneous rules (April 15 - July 23)

For More Information

TEA has created a Web site at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/RulesReview which contains key documents for the review process and links to the documents being reviewed. It also provides an opportunity to give both individual and collective feedback. This site will be updated as new information becomes available.

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