Legal Support for Student Performance
Texas Education Codes (TEC) provides legal support for student performance and covers
various aspects of education. The legal codes offer plans and procedures that educational leaders
are required by the state to implement in order to ensure student success. This paper will review
and summarize the sections from the TEC such as TEC 11.253 and 11.254 Campus Planning and
Decision-Making, TEC 21.351 and 21.352 Teacher Appraisal, TEC 21.354 Administrator
Appraisal, TEC 21.451 Professional Development, TEC 39.023, 39.0231, 39.024 Assessment of
Academic Skills, and TEC 28.001 and TEC 28.002 Curriculum/TEKS.
TEC 11.253 and 11.254, which includes Campus Planning and Decision-Making,
supports student performance by requiring school districts to maintain current policies and
procedures to ensure that effective planning and site-based decision-making occur at each
campus. This legal code also mandates principals to develop, review, and revise the campus
improvement plan for all student populations, including students in special education programs.
Implementation of a campus improvement plan supports student performance by assessing the
academic achievement for each student in the school using the academic excellence indicator,
setting campus performance objectives including special needs populations, identifying how the
campus goals will be met for each student, and determining the resources needed to implement
the plan. In addition, implementing a campus improvement plan enables setting timelines for
reaching the goals, measuring progress toward the performance objectives, establishing goals
and methods for violence prevention and intervention on campus, and providing a program to
encourage parental involvement at the campus. This legal code supports student performance by
establishing systemic communication measures, requiring the commissioner to oversee the
provision of training and technical support, and enforcing the agency to conduct annual statewide
surveys.
TEC 21.351 and 21.352 covers the Appraisal Process and Performance Criteria. This
legal code requires adopting an appraisal system that appraises teacher performance based on
observable, job-related behavior such as implementation of discipline management procedures
and the performance of teachers’ students. This code supports student performance by
prioritizing the advice of teachers in developing the appraisal process and performance criteria;
in addition to guaranteeing a conference between the teacher and the appraiser. TEC 21.352
encompasses the Local Role and requires each school district to use the appraisal process and
performance criteria developed by the commissioner or the district-and campus-level
committees. This legal code enables the board of trustees to reject an appraisal process and
performance criteria, but they may not modify the process or criteria. Additionally, this legal
code addresses that appraisals must be completed at least once during each school year and
stored in teacher’s personnel file. Teachers shall receive a written copy of the evaluation and
they are entitled to a second appraisal by a different appraiser.
TEC 21.353 contains information pertinent to Appraisal on Basis of Classroom Teaching
Performance. A teacher who directs extracurricular activities, in addition to performing
classroom teaching duties, shall be appraised only on the basis of classroom teaching
performance and not on performance in connection with the extracurricular activities. This legal
code supports student performance by specifying teachers’ roles, expectations, and
responsibilities. TEC 21.354 entails the Appraisals of Administrators and this code supports
student performance by appraising school administrators based on job-related performance. In
this legal code, the commissioner may consider the advice of teachers and administrators in
developing the appraisal process and performance criteria; however, each school district
appraises each administrator while considering the performance of the principal’s campus.
TEC 21.451 is the Professional Development code that supports student performance by
training faculty and staff based on standards developed by the district. The staff development
must be predominantly campus-based, related to achieving campus performance objectives, and
approved by the campus-level committee. The staff development may include training in
technology, conflict resolution, and discipline strategies; yet, staff development is designed for
educators, who work primarily outside the area of special education. The staff development code
supports student performance including instruction for students with disabilities and instruction
as to what is permissible regarding prayer in public school.
TEC 39.023 is an illustration of the Assessment of Academic Skills, which is also
referred to as Adoption and Administration of Instruments. This legal code supports student
performance by requiring adoption and development of an appropriate criterion-referenced
assessment instrument designed to assess essential knowledge and skills of students in reading,
writing, mathematics, social studies, and science. Under this legal code, TEA (Texas Education
Agency) is required to develop and administer criterion-referenced assessment to each student in
a special education program, who receives modified instruction determined by the student’s
admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee. In addition, TEA must adopt a secondary
exit-level assessment instrument designed to be administered to students in grade 11 to assess
essential knowledge and skills in mathematics, English language arts, social studies, and science.
The State Board of Education shall adopt a norm-referenced assessment to be administered to a
selected sample of students in the spring. Each assessment instrument must be reliable, valid, and
must meet any applicable federal requirements for measurement of student progress. The State
Board of Education shall adopt rules for the administration of the assessment instruments in
Spanish to students who are of limited English proficiency. This legal code supports student
performance by mandating reliable, valid assessment for students and creating procedures for
students who are exempt from testing.
TEC 39.0231 includes Reporting of Results of Certain Assessments and this legal code
supports student performance by ensuring that each assessment instrument administered is
scored and that results are returned to the appropriate school district not later than 10 days after
receipt of the test materials by the agency or its test contractor. TEC 39.024 is the legal code
entitled Satisfactory Performance and it supports student performance by requiring the State
Board of Education to determine the level of performance considered to be satisfactory on the
assessment instruments. TEA shall develop study guides for the assessment instruments to assist
parents, make available teacher training materials, and retain a portion of the total amount of
funds allotted to finance activities and intensive programs instruction.
Lastly, TEC 28.001 is the legal code referred to as Purpose and mandates all students to
demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to read, write, compute, problem solve, think
critically, apply technology, and communicate across all subject areas. Additionally, the
essential knowledge and skills shall prepare and enable all students to continue learning in
postsecondary educational, training, or employment settings. TEC 28.002 consists of a
description of the Required Curriculum. This legal code supports student performance by
requiring each school district to offer a foundation curriculum that includes English language
arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, which consist of Texas, United States, and world
history, government, and geography. In addition to a curriculum that includes languages other
than English, health, physical education, fine arts, economics, and career and technology
applications. The State Board of Education shall designate a well-balanced curriculum with
direct participation from educators, parents, business representatives, and employers to identify
the essential knowledge and skills of each subject. A well-balanced, flexible curriculum supports
student performance by meeting student needs.
Legal support for student performance grants educational stakeholders with the necessary
resources to achieve success. This paper provided a review and summarization of the sections
from the TEC such as TEC 11.253 and 11.254 Campus Planning and Decision-Making, TEC
21.351 and 21.352 Teacher Appraisal, TEC 21.354 Administrator Appraisal, TEC 21.451
Professional Development, TEC 39.023, 39.0231, 39.024 Assessment of Academic Skills, and
TEC 28.001 and TEC 28.002 Curriculum/TEKS.