1. USDE Decisions on 2006 Amendments to the Texas AYP Handbook

2. Amendments Rejected by USDE Full Academic Year Full Academic Year Safe Harbor Confidence Intervals Safe Harbor Confidence Intervals Safe Harbor Improvement on Other Measures Safe Harbor Improvement on Other Measures Special Education Student Group Special Education Student Group

3. Amendments Required by USDE Phase-in of Student Proficiency Standard TEA/USDE Flexibility Agreement –Related to the calculation of AYP for students with disabilities

4. Required Amendment #1 of 2 - Phase-in of Student Proficiency Standard Modify the Texas AYP to clarify the phase- in of the student proficiency standard under Critical Element 1.3. The SBOE set standards for student achievement in November 2002, as follows: 2005 – Panel Recommended (PR) 2004 – One SEM below PR 2003 – Two SEM below PR

5. Required Amendment #2 of 2 - 2005 Flexibility Agreement between TEA and USDE Update information in the Texas AYP Workbook for 2006 and 2007 AYP to incorporate provisions of the TEA/USDE agreement related to calculation of AYP for students with disabilities.

6. Flexibility Waiver Issues for Katrina/Rita Student/District/Campus Accountability

7. Flexibility Waiver Option #2 Texas is exercising Option #2 for a flexibility waiver as described in Secretary Margaret Spellings letter to chief state school officers on Sept. 29, 2005 Option #2 states that displaced students may be counted in a separate student group Under option #2, displaced students would not appear in any other student group (even All Students)

8. Hurricane Displaced Students Will be reported as a separate group for performance and participation. Will NOT be part of All Students or any other group. Will be evaluated for participation but not performance (report only). If district/campus misses AYP for displaced student participation ONLY, the USDE will review its AYP Status.

9. Revised AYP Release Schedule Due to USDE review of schools who miss AYP due to displaced student participation only, the release schedule for AYP is revised as follows: Preliminary TEASE Release: August 15 Preliminary Public Release: August 16 Parental Notification of SIP: no later than August 25 AYP Appeals Deadline: September 20 Final Release: mid-December

10. Districts Closed by Hurricane Rita In addition to flexibility under Option #2, if a district was closed 7 or more days due to Rita: –Determine AYP Status for district and its campuses –If the district/campus meets AYP, their status will be Meets AYP –If the district/campus misses AYP, their status will be changed to Not Evaluated

11. Districts Closed < 7 Days by Rita Districts who were closed by Hurricane Rita less than 7 days will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Districts must write an appeal letter in order to be considered. Districts will be expected to implement SIP requirements regardless of the outcome of appeals.

12. AYP Exceptions Process

13. AYP Exceptions Phase I: Mid-April to Mid-June Processed via RF Tracker registration Districts in RF Tracker who miss AYP in Reading/Math performance due to the 3% cap will be granted a total number of exceptions equal to the number of students who: took SDAA II, took SDAA II, tested below grade level, tested below grade level, met ARD expectations, and met ARD expectations, and had a code indicating the student lived in either a residential treatment facility or a group foster home. had a code indicating the student lived in either a residential treatment facility or a group foster home.

14. AYP Exceptions Phase II: Mid-August to Mid- September If state as a whole exceeds 3% after Phase I, State exceptions will be recalculated as exceeders until state is at 3%. If state is still under 3% after Phase I, other circumstance exceptions will be accepted. Submit other circumstance exceptions with appeal letter.