The bill amends the Education Code to enhance accountability for public schools and streamline the process for challenging decisions made by the Texas Education Agency and the commissioner. Key provisions include the introduction of a new subsection (d-1) in Section 7.057, which limits school districts' ability to appeal decisions unless they are directly aggrieved. Additionally, Section 39.023(a-11) mandates that assessment instruments be validated by an independent entity, while Section 39.053 is revised to allow the commissioner to exclude unreliable indicators from performance evaluations. The bill also establishes a list of eligible industry certifications in a new Section 39.0531, aligning them with high-wage, in-demand occupations, and modifies the performance rating system to require overall and domain-specific ratings for each district and campus.

Further amendments include the requirement for performance ratings to be publicly available by August 15 each year, with the commissioner authorized to assign a "Not Rated" designation under certain conditions, such as during a state of disaster. This designation will not count against a district's consecutive years of unacceptable performance ratings. The bill also outlines the commissioner's responsibilities in adopting performance indicators and establishes a Local Accountability Grant Program to support local accountability systems. Additionally, it prohibits the use of certain funds for legal actions against the state unless authorized, and it requires claimants alleging ultra vires conduct to deposit attorney payments into an escrow account. The bill is set to take effect immediately upon receiving a two-thirds vote or on September 1, 2025, if not.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Education Code 7.057, Education Code 11.182, Education Code 39.053, Education Code 39.054, Education Code 39.0541, Education Code 39.0542, Education Code 39.151, Education Code 39.201, Labor Code 312.003, Education Code 39.102 (Education Code 7, Labor Code 312, Education Code 11, Education Code 39)