Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Assessment Program topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee delays decision on Chapter 101 assessment rule review until June
Summary
The Committee of the Full Board on Monday voted to delay action on the required four‑year review of 19 TAC chapter 101 (Assessment) and asked staff to return at the board’s June meeting with options — readopt, readopt with amendments, or repeal — and with legal analyses and documentation tying specific statutory provisions to agency practice.
The Committee of the Full Board voted to delay consideration of the four‑year rule review of 19 TAC chapter 101 (Assessment) and directed staff to return with options at the board’s June meeting.
Julie Cole, director of policy and publications for the Student Assessment Division, presented the chapter 101 review and explained the rule review process (statutorily required every four years) and how the commissioner’s more specific authority has shifted many assessment responsibilities to the agency. Committee members asked for legal analysis and cited attorney‑general guidance they said had previously narrowed the board’s operational role; several members requested written attorney‑general opinions and statutory cross‑references before adopting or repealing rules.
Members sought clarity about specific statutory provisions cited during discussion: Texas Education Code chapter 39 was referenced (including §§39.022 and 39.023 in discussion) and staff noted the agency’s current role in developing and adopting statewide assessments. Board members asked for documentation demonstrating how TEA implemented statutory requirements (for example, how the agency aligns assessment development with the board’s TEKS and the statutory directives cited by members) and asked legal staff for prior attorney‑general opinions under which the agency acted. Members also raised constitutional and data‑privacy questions related to voluntary participation by private schools and PEIMS reporting for private school students who use state assessments; staff said the board approves private‑school assessment costs annually in November and that cost calculations and procedures would return to the board as usual.
After debate the committee voted to postpone consideration and to request additional legal memoranda and implementation documentation; the committee will revisit the rule review in June and staff said TEA will prepare follow‑up materials on statutory authority, AG opinions, private‑school data issues and potential amendment or repeal options. The committee’s delay gives members time to review pending legislation and legal guidance that members said could affect the board’s rulemaking or oversight role.
