TEA has released a letter informing local educational agencies (LEAs) of an update to how determination levels (DLs) will be calculated for the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Special Education program area of Results Driven Accountability (RDA) that differs from what is stated in the 2025 and 2026 Accountability Manuals, adopted by reference in 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §97.1001.
As a result of the passage of House Bill (HB) 6 during the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, effective immediately, TEA is prohibited by Texas Education Code (TEC) §37.028 from withholding state funding or imposing a penalty on a school district based on the number of students who are removed for disciplinary reasons with the exception of enforcing the federal requirements related to the determination of significant disproportionality. As a result, starting with the 2025 RDA process, the following special education discipline indicators will be excluded from Performance Level (PL) Mean and DL calculations: “SPED OSS and Expulsion >10 Days Rate (Ages 3-21),” “SPED ISS >10 Days Rate (Ages 3-21),” and “SPED Total Disciplinary Removals Rate (Ages 3-21).”
TEA is implementing the following adjustments:
- The PLs identified in RDA special education indicators “SPED OSS and Expulsion >10 Days Rate, Ages 3-21,” “SPED ISS >10 Days Rate, Ages 3-21,” and “SPED Total Disciplinary Removals Rate, Ages 3-21” will not be used in PL Mean or DL calculations. The PL Mean is calculated to help inform the DL calculation.
- TEA will continue to calculate and display PLs for these indicators, but for informational purposes only. This approach ensures compliance with TEC §37.028 while preserving data transparency.
The letter can be accessed here. More information can be found here.
