Public Education Updates – Feb. 7th

On February 3, the re-opened school finance trial moved into its final week with continued testimony from experts regarding the financial equity in the Texas school finance system and what, if any, impact was made with legislative changes during the 83rd session. Testimony concluded on the morning of February 7 with closing arguments scheduled to take place later in the afteroon. State District Court Judge John Dietz made the preliminary ruling in 2013 that declared the current school finance system unconstitutional. If Judge Dietz still finds the school finance system unconstitutional, state officials are expected to appeal the ruling, and that appeal may go directly to the Supreme Court. A final ruling would probably come later this year. While the ruling is anticipated prior to the start of the 84th Texas Legislature in January 2015, some court observers believe that a special session could be delayed until after the regular session concludes in May 2015.

The Permanent School Fund (PSF), the second largest educational endowment in the country, reached a record high value in 2013 and posted the highest return of any major state of Texas investment fund for the fiscal year.

Created by the state in 1854 with a $2 million investment, the endowment topped $29 billion in market value by the end of December.

In fiscal year 2013, which ended Aug. 31, the fund earned a return of 10.16 percent. That was the highest return earned by any major state of Texas investment fund.  As a result of recent strong returns, the PSF was also the best performing major state fund over a three-year period ending on Aug. 31, 2013, with a return of 11.07 percent.

“Last year was a golden year for the Permanent School Fund,” said Pat Hardy, chair of the State Board of Education’s (SBOE) Committee on School Finance/Permanent School Fund. “The board’s careful and prudent investment of the fund’s increasingly diverse portfolio resulted in top-of-the-line returns and that’s great news for our public schools,” she said. Other members of that standing SBOE committee are Vice Chair Lawrence A. Allen, Jr. of Houston, David Bradley of Beaumont, Ken Mercer of San Antonio, and Thomas Ratliff of Mt. Pleasant. Ratliff is the vice chair of the SBOE. Holland Timmons is the PSF’s chief investment officer and oversees the PSF investment staff at the Texas Education Agency.

The PSF helps Texas schools and the state’s citizens in two ways. A distribution from the PSF is made every year to the Available School Fund (ASF), which helps pay a portion of education costs in each school district and state charter school. During the 2012-2013 biennium, more than $2 billion was distributed to the schools. Since 1960, it has distributed more than $23 billion to the schools. Since 2011, as a result of Senate Bill 6 which was passed in a special session of the 82nd Legislature that summer, fifty percent of the distribution to schools is dedicated to the Instructional Materials Fund (IMF). The money in the IMF is used by school districts and state charter schools to provide instructional materials.

The PSF also provides a guarantee for bonds issued by local school districts. This important support will soon be extended to state charter schools. As a result of the PSF maintaining the AAA bond rating through the global financial crisis, qualified districts are able to pay lower interest rates when issuing bonds.

At the end of 2013, the PSF’s assets guaranteed $55.2 billion in school district bonds, providing a cost savings to 810 independent school districts.

The State Board of Education (SBOE) voted 14-1 on Friday, January 31, to formally adopt new high school graduation requirements for Texas independent school districts and state charter schools. Member Martha Dominguez (D-El Paso) was the one dissenting vote. The requirements will go into effect twenty days from adoption.
 
This year’s current 8th graders will be the first class to begin high school with the new requirements adopted today. The SBOE finalized the provisions of the five endorsements specified in the authorizing legislation, HB 5: science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); business and industry; public services; arts and humanities; and multidisciplinary studies.
 
Since its original work session on HB 5 in August 2013, the SBOE has heard from many constituents and engaged in an ongoing and lively policy debate about the specific credit requirements for graduation under both the Foundation Plan and with the five endorsements. A significant issue throughout the rules development process was which math courses would be required in each plan, with the specific focus on Algebra 2. With the final approval today, students in the STEM endorsement must earn an Algebra 2 credit to complete the graduation requirements.  While Algebra 2 remains as a viable option for students who pursue each of the other endorsements, the SBOE approved two new advanced math courses, Algebraic Reasoning and Statistics, which will be equivalent to Algebra 2.
 
Members also voted to allow students to fulfill a speech requirement by demonstrating communication skills in a variety of classes and activities as determined by local school district policies.
 
The SBOE began reviewing and amending proposed rules on Wednesday and approved almost seventy amendments during deliberations this week. As a result the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has said it may take several weeks to post the final documents on the agency’s website.
 
The SBOE also approved changes to the credit by exam requirements and changes to the TAC Chapter 66 rules regarding the state adoption of instructional materials. These new rules will go into effect twenty days after adoption.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released budget updates for Federally funded grants following passage of the bipartisan omnibus budget package by the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate, in January 2014. 
 
To access the U.S. Department of Education fiscal year 2014 Congressional Action Table dated January 23, 2014, click on one of the links below:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget14/14action.pdf
http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget14/14action.xls

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has proposed new 19 TAC §101.3017, concerning student assessment. The proposed new section would require the release of state-developed assessments administered for the 2013-2014 school year before the end of that school year. The proposed rule would specify that the release of the assessments administered in the 2013-2014 school year would occur after the last time the assessments are administered in the 2013-2014 school year. The proposed new section would also specify that this release would exclude those assessments used for retesting or in subsequent administrations.
 
During the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years, the TEA is required to annually release all administered tests for those school years developed under the TEC, §39.023, after the last time the assessments are administered for the year. These releases exclude any assessment instruments used for retesting. Rule authority for the release of tests reverts back to the State Board of Education after the 2015-2016 school year.
 
The public comment period on the proposal begins January 24, 2014, and ends February 24, 2014. Comments on the proposal may be submitted to Cristina De La Fuente-Valadez, Rulemaking, Texas Education Agency, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701, (512) 475-1497. Comments may also be submitted electronically to rules@tea.state.tx.us or faxed to (512) 463-5337.

The TEA has also proposed an amendment to 19 TAC §101.3031 that addresses required test administration procedures and training activities to ensure validity, reliability, and security of assessments.

Attorney General Greg Abbott has published his response to a request for opinion from Sen. Robert Duncan and the Senate Committee on State Affairs. 
 
Duncan’s request was in regard to whether model lesson plans developed by the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative are subject to the records retention requirements applicable to local governments and/or those applicable to state agencies.
 
The following summary was included in the Attorney General’s response:
A court would have reason to defer to the conclusion of the State Library and Archives Commission that the model lesson plans maintained by Regional Education Service Centers are local government records subject to the local Government Records Act. In addition, Education Service Centers must comply with Government Code chapter 441, subchapter J with regard to the maintenance of model lesson plans. The State Library and Archives Commission's Local Schedule SD applies to the retention of lesson plans maintained by Regional Education Service Centers. Local Schedule SD requires that lesson plans be maintained for as long as administratively valuable. Any final disposition of lesson plans must comport with the absolute right of parents to access teaching materials used in the classroom of the parents' child pursuant to subsection 26.006(a) of the Education Code.

The Texas Education Agency recently announced that approximately 309,000 students in the Class of 2015 have taken all or most of the end-of-course (EOC) assessments required for graduation. Of that number, approximately 76 percent of students – who are currently in their junior year of high school – have already passed the assessments they have taken and are on track to graduate under requirements set by the Texas Legislature in House Bill 5.
 
The cumulative passing rates reflect results from the December 2013 administration of  EOCs. In addition, the increased percentages reflect students who have passed English I and English II EOCs based on HB 5 transition rules established by the commissioner of education.
 
The December test administration marked the last time that the reading and writing exams were given separately. Beginning in May, there will be a combined reading and writing exam.
 
For the December 2013 STAAR EOC administration, which largely involved retesters, passing rates were as follows:

• U.S. history – 67 percent passed (8,281 tested)
• Biology – 42 percent passed (46,366 tested)
• English I Reading – 37 percent passed (109,970 tested)
• English II Reading – 35 percent passed (52,039 tested)
• English II Writing – 33 percent passed (93,715 tested)
• Algebra I – 30 percent passed (67,020 tested)
• English I Writing – 15 percent passed (153,375 tested)

 
Under House Bill 5, the number of EOCs required to graduate was reduced from 15 to five. Students that have not passed English I or II reading or writing will be required to take the new combined assessments beginning in spring 2014.
 
The latest statewide summary reports are available athttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar/rpt/sum/yr13/ .