TEA Announces 2014-2015 Accreditation Statuses

According to a press release from the Texas Education Agency, dated Feb. 27, 2015,  accreditation statuses for school districts and charters across the state were released. Accreditation statuses are based on state academic accountability ratings (STAAR), 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, 1,161 (95 percent) received a status designation of Accredited for the 2014-2015 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 2014-2015 school year include: Accredited (1,161); Accredited-Warned (34); Accredited-Probation (9); Not Accredited-Revoked (3); and Pending (15).

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 2014-2015 school year, 20 school districts and 14 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 2014-2015 school year, seven school districts and two charter schools 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 2014-2015 school year, three school districts received a Not Accredited-Revoked accreditation status.

Note that the school districts 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 15 charter schools have been left pending due to revocation hearings currently under way, ongoing Texas Education Agency investigations, and/or pending litigation.

The 2014-2015 accreditation status for each school district and charter school can be found on the Texas Education Agency website at http://tea.texas.gov/accredstatus/.

A Pocket Edition of fast facts is also available in print and online from TEA.  Produced since 1991, the Pocket Edition reports a variety of state-level statistics on topics including:
• Students
• Accountability Ratings
• Personnel
• Finances
• Test Performance and Participation
• Graduates & College Admissions
• Attendance, Completion, and Dropouts.

The 2013-14 edition of the Pocket Edition may be found online at www.tea.texas.gov/
communications/pocket-edition. The Pocket Edition print edition is also available from the TEA Publications Office at a cost of $6.50 per 50 brochures. For an order form go
to: www.tea.texas.gov/publications/.

Also, the February edition of the Texas Education Today newsletter is posted. The issue contains information on the 2014-15 accreditation statuses, recent awards to high-performing teachers and schools, and the latest high school graduation rate rankings.