The Recent Requirement That Districts Document and Report Participation and Results Of

June 12, 2003

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT:Reporting Accountability Results for Certain Special Education Participants
(Texas Education Agency Data Collection Form SPE-112)

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) requestsdistricts and charter schools to report the performance results for students exempt from the state tests Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) or the State-Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA) for the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 school year. These exempted students receiving special education servicesare assigned a locally determined alternate assessment (LDAA) by the student’s admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee. Monitoring the performance results of all students is a major U.S. Department of Education compliance requirement to promote accountability and improvement in public law 105-17, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and in Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The deadline for submitting data for the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 school years is Friday, August 1, 2003.

According to 19 TexasAdministrative Code (TAC)§101.5(c):

• Students receiving special education services, enrolled in Grades 3-10, and who are not receiving any instruction in the essential knowledge and skills, are considered exempt according to state law (Texas Education Code (TEC) §39.027).
• Each exemption must be documented in the student's individualized education program (IEP) (34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §300.347(a)(5)(i) and (ii)), relating to the content of the IEP and participation in statewide or districtwide assessments.
• Each exempted student receiving special education services must take an appropriate locally selected assessment, as determined by the student's ARD committee.
• Student performance results on these alternate assessments must be reported to the TEA.

In addition, Texas schools must keep LDAA performance results in the student’s eligibility folder, so the data for reporting this collection is readily available and accessible to the ARD Committee as it makes decisions on future IEP development.

Data Collection for 2001-2002 School Year

All districts and charter schools are requested to use the attached forms to report data on students exempted from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) or the State-Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA) for the 2001-2002 School Year.

Form SPE-112A-02 is for reporting “No Students” for any campus with no eligible students who took an LDAA. Complete the County-District Number, District Name, and all Campus Number(s), and Campus Name(s) in the district in which “No Students” are reported.

Page 1 | To the Administrator Addressed

Form SPE-112B-02 is for reporting student data. The reported data elements are the same as the 2000-2001 LDAA Data Collection: 9-digit PEIMS ID number, last and first name of the student as reported in PEIMS, date of birth, enrolled grade, area(s) of exemption, area(s) assessed with a locally determined alternate assessment, and performance results.

Districts and charter schools may use both forms to fulfill this data request since they may have some campuses reporting “no students” and other campuses reporting students. For the 2001-2002 school year, districts will report on the following subject areas/grade levels:

*For the 2001-2002 School Year, the TEA is requesting data from Grade 10.

Data Collection for 2002-2003 School Year

All districts and charter schools are requested to use the attached forms to report data on students exempted from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) or the State-Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA) for the 2002-2003 School Year.

Form SPE-112A-03 is for reporting “No Students” for any campus with no eligible students who took an LDAA. Complete the County-District Number, District Name, and all Campus Number(s), and Campus Name(s) in the district in which “No Students” are reported.

Form SPE-112B-03 is for reporting student data. Although the format of the form has changed, the reported data elements are the same as the 2001-2002 LDAA Data Collection (with the exception of one additional response related to performance results): 9-digit PEIMS ID number, last and first name of the student as reported in PEIMS, date of birth, enrolled grade, area(s) of exemption, area(s) assessed with a locally determined alternate assessment, and performance results (additional response: “Insufficient data to determine performance”).

Districts and charter schools may use both forms to fulfill this data request since they may have some campuses reporting “no students” and other campuses reporting students. For the 2002-2003 school year, districts will report on the following subject areas/grade levels:

Submitting Paper Forms

Due to the amount of confidential information on the completed forms, do not submit completed forms via fax or e-mail. Please follow these submittal guidelines for your program:

Shared Services Member Districts

Complete and sign form(s) and mail them to your fiscal agent. Your fiscal agent will submit all completed forms for the shared services arrangement.

Fiscal Agent Districts

In addition to completing the form(s) for your district, the fiscal agent is responsible for gathering the forms from the shared services arrangement and mailing completed forms to the address below.

Single Member Districts

Large school districts are requested to submit information from campuses at one time. Complete and sign form(s) and mail by August 1, 2003, to:

Gene Lenz, Senior Director

Texas Education Agency

Division of Special Education

1701 North Congress Avenue

Austin, Texas78701-1494

Submitting Electronic Forms

A Microsoft Word version of data collection form SPE-112A-02 and SPE-112A-03 for reporting “No Students” is available for downloading and use off the TEA Division of Special Education’s Web page at . This form can be completed offline, printed, signed, and mailed to the Texas Education Agency by Friday, August 1, 2003.

A Microsoft Excel Version of data collection form SPE-112B-02 and SPE-112B-03 for reporting student data is available for downloading and use off the TEA Division of Special Education’s Web page at . Due to the amount of confidential information on the completed forms, e-mail submission of the Excel spreadsheet is not an option.

Mail diskettes by Friday, August 1, 2003, to:

Gene Lenz, Senior Director

Texas Education Agency

Division of Special Education

1701 North Congress Avenue

Austin, Texas78701-1494

When mailing a diskette, do notprint the Excel spreadsheet of the report to accompany the diskette. The spreadsheet is not designed for printing. There is a coversheet in the Excel spreadsheetthat can be printed,signed, and included with a diskette submission.

Technical Assistance

Education Service Centers (ESCs) are the first point of contact for technical assistance for completing LDAA data collection forms and related LDAA questions. Districts and charter schools are encouraged to contact their regional ESC LDAA contact. A listing of contacts is available on the TEA Web at:
A “Frequently Asked Questions” document regarding the completion of the forms is enclosed and available on the Web at: .

Reporting

Federal regulations (34 CFR §300.139) and state rules (19 TAC §101.5) require that student performance results on alternate assessments be reported to the public and theTexas Education Agency.

Reporting to the State

On an annual basis, the TEA will request the performance results for students who are exempt from state tests (TAAS/TAKS/SDAA) and whose ARD committee has assigned an LDAA. The reporting period for LDAA performance results will be the spring of each school year until noted otherwise.

The State will report data to the U.S. Department of Education and post data reports on the Web at . In the future, these reports on LDAA performance results will be similar in detail to performance reports for students taking the TAAS/TAKS/SDAA currently available to the public.

Future Data Collection Plans

Working in partnership with the districts in succeeding years, the Agency will continue to evaluate and improve the efficiency for collecting this data, since results for locally determined alternate assessmentswill continue to be included in the State’s annual reports of student performance for all students.

Your support, participation, and timely response to this data request are appreciated.If additional resources are needed to collect this data, please contact your education service center for technical assistance.

Sincerely,

Felipe Alanis

Commissioner of Education

FA:GL:drc

Enclosures

cc:ESC Executive Directors

ESC Special Education Directors

Special Education Directors