Information for Districts, Campuses, and Charter Schools Identified to Engage in School Improvement Interventions

 Key Points: 

• For 2020 state academic accountability, all districts and campuses will receive a label of Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster. However, districts and campuses shall continue to implement previously ordered sanctions and interventions. 
• A campus may have its 2020–2021 label updated from Comprehensive Reidentified to Comprehensive Progress based on revised exit criteria. 
• Any campus that was identified as Targeted Support and Improvement or Additional Targeted Support in 2019 solely on the performance of its all students group will be removed from school improvement lists. 
• Superintendents with a district or campuses identified for interventions must select and enter contact information for their District Coordinator of School Improvement (DCSI) in the contacts tab in ISAM by August 31, 2020. 
• Due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 emergency, LEAs will have the option to follow standard submission structure or delay initial submissions for the current year. 

The purpose of this correspondence is to provide information regarding requirements under Texas Education Code (TEC) Chapters 39 and 39A; Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 19, Chapter 97, Subchapter EE, Division 1; and agency resources to support the improvement of district and campus performance. 

2020–2021 Campuses Identified for Support and Improvement 

For 2020 state academic accountability, all districts and campuses will receive a label of Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster. As with other Not Rated labels, when a district or campus receives a Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster label, the district or campus shall continue to implement the previously ordered sanctions and interventions. 

Furthermore, while no ratings will be issued in 2020, an overall rating or domain rating of D or F in 2019 and an overall rating or domain rating of D or F in 2021 will be considered to be consecutive for the determination of multiple-year unacceptable status. 

If a campus has been ordered to prepare a turnaround plan and then receives a rating of Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster, that campus is strongly encouraged, but not required, to implement the approved turnaround plan. 

For 2020 federal accountability, campuses identified for school improvement under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2019 will continue to be identified under federal requirements and maintain interventions. The ESSA identifications include, Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), and Additional Targeted Support (ATS). 

A campus may have its 2020–2021 label updated from Comprehensive Reidentified to Comprehensive Progress based on revised CSI exit criteria. As adopted in Chapter 10 of the 2020 Accountability Manual, campuses that do not rank in the bottom five percent of the Closing the Gaps domain for two consecutive years and have increased a letter grade (for example, from F to D or from D to C) on the Closing the Gaps domain by the end of the second year are considered as having successfully exited comprehensive support and improvement status. Any campus identified as comprehensive in 2018 that was no longer in the bottom five percent, but still received an F rating in Closing the Gaps for 2019, will be considered as having met the exit criteria for one year and will be labeled as Comprehensive Progress for 2020–2021. 

The methodology used to identify campuses for Targeted Support and Improvement or Additional Targeted Support has been updated to exclude the all students group. Any campus that was identified as Targeted Support and Improvement or Additional Targeted Support in 2019 solely on the performance of its all students group will be removed from the 2020–2021 school improvement lists. 

Identification for Interventions 

The overall design of the accountability system evaluates performance according to three domains: student achievement; school progress; and closing the gaps, which are explained in the 2020 Accountability Manual. Districts, charter schools, and campuses must engage in intervention requirements, including identifying members of the Campus Intervention Team (CIT), for campuses only, conducting a needs assessment, and developing and implementing a Targeted Improvement Plan (TIP) if in the 2019 accountability ratings: 

• a campus or district/charter school, including those evaluated under alternative education accountability, receives an overall rating of F or receives a second consecutive overall rating of D (unacceptable performance); 
• a campus or district/charter school, including those evaluated under alternative education accountability, receives an overall rating or a performance rating in any domain of D (needs improvement); or 
• a campus receives a CSI, TSI, or ATS identification. 

In addition to the TIP, campuses with two consecutive unacceptable ratings have the option to implement the Commissioner-approved turnaround plan from the 2019-2020 school year. Campuses with three or more consecutive unacceptable ratings are required to implement their approved turnaround plan. Additional information about turnaround plans will be shared in future correspondence. 

To view the list of campuses identified for support and improvement, visit the 2020 Accountability Rating System webpage. 

For questions related to ratings or the identification of campuses for school improvement, please contact the Division of Performance Reporting at (512) 463-9704 or performance.reporting@tea.texas.gov. 

Intervention Requirements 

All districts and charter schools with campuses identified for interventions, either in the state accountability system or the federal accountability system, must determine who will serve as their District Coordinator of School Improvement (DCSI), per 19 TAC §97.1063(b)(1). The DCSI is a member of the CIT and is responsible for overseeing all intervention activities and submission requirements, including conducting a needs assessment and developing and implementing a TIP as outlined in the campus or district/charter school Intervention and Submission Calendar. If the DCSI is not the principal supervisor, then the principal supervisor must also be a member of the CIT, per 19 TAC §97.1063(b)(2). 

Campuses identified for interventions will identify a Campus Leadership Team, to include the principal and other campus leaders responsible for the development, implementation, and monitoring of the targeted improvement plan, that will work with the DCSI and Campus Intervention Team to fulfill campus intervention requirements. Districts identified for interventions will identify a District Leadership Team to work with the DCSI to fulfill district intervention requirements. 

To ensure that the DCSI selected by the district or charter school can fulfill the responsibilities described in the DCSI job description, the superintendent will complete a DCSI attestation statement as part of the TIP and upload the plan in the Intervention, Stage and Activity Manager (ISAM) application at the time of initial submission. Additionally, the Superintendent must enter the DCSI’s contact information in the contacts tab in ISAM by August 31, 2020. Due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 emergency, DCSIs will be contacted by a member of the School Improvement Division to discuss the option to delay initial submissions for the current year. 

Additional Resources, Training, and Technical Assistance 

Intervention and Submission Calendars for districts and campuses will be posted on the Division of School Improvement webpage by August 17, 2020. We encourage you to work closely with your regional ESC for technical assistance, resources, guidance, and training. Additional information regarding accountability, intervention requirements, and resources are found on the Division of School Improvement webpage. 

Contact Information: 

Texas Education Agency 
Division of School Improvement 
(512) 463-5226 
SIDivision@tea.texas.gov