The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has published the results of the Extracurricular and Cocurricular (ECC) Student Activity Accountability Indicator Study as directed by House Bill 22. In the executive summary, TEA notes that the ECC Advisory Committee believes that an ECC student activity indicator has the potential to meet accountability requirements, would yield additional positive outcomes for students, and can build on existing processes, such that implementation may be possible within five years. The estimated cost of the five-year ECC student activity indicator phase-in is $66.9 million. The estimated annual costs following the phase-in are $30.8 million, although there may be additional school finance implications. The study lists the following next steps:
- Gather additional ECC data and stakeholder feedback on the proposed ECC Performance Standards and support materials via district implementation to field-test and refine prior to potential statewide implementation.
- Contract with a research facility to study the reliability and validity of the field-test data and provide recommendations for implementation.
- Develop and launch a rigorous statewide data collection system, such as PEIMS, to provide sufficient data to develop implementation methodologies and model the corresponding data.
- Coordinate with U.S. Department of Education staff for approval of proposed ECC student activity indicator.
- Work with TEA and ESC staff to disseminate technical guidance and training on ECC implementation to districts.
- Develop agency data quality and monitoring processes to ensure ECC data reported by districts is valid, reliable, and supported locally with sufficient, auditable documentation.
