Due to the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements that placed a 1%
cap on the alternate assessment participation rates for states, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is
in the process of submitting to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) a limited waiver to allow Texas
to exceed the 1% cap on the number of students who participate in the alternate
assessment for the 2018-2019 school year. Part of the waiver requires a
state to create a plan for providing support and training to school
districts and charter schools that focuses on ensuring admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committees
are making informed assessment decisions for students receiving special
education services. To meet this goal, the TEA Student Assessment Division is
reaching out to region service centers for assistance and will be providing this training and support to discuss how to analyze district/charter and regional data to improve outcomes for students.
TEA will provide participants with training which will include a process for reviewing data specific to each local education agency (LEA). Each district/charter school attending will receive training on five steps LEAs can take to ensure that ARD committees are making assessment decisions that result in the most appropriate assessment for each student. Parent resources will be discussed that support informing parents on assessment decisions regarding alternate assessments.