(a) General provisions.
  (1) Each year, the commissioner of education shall assign to each school district an accreditation status under Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.052(b) and (c). Each district shall be assigned a status defined as follows.
    (A) Accredited. Accredited means the Texas Education Agency (TEA) recognizes the district as a public school of this state that:
      (i) meets the standards determined by the commissioner under TEC, §39.052(b) and (c), and specified in §97.1059 of this title (relating to Standards for All Accreditation Sanction Determinations); and
      (ii) is not currently assigned an accreditation status of Accredited-Warned or Accredited-Probation.
    (B) Accredited-Warned. Accredited-Warned means the district exhibits deficiencies in performance, as specified in subsection (b) of this section, that, if not addressed, will lead to probation or revocation of its accreditation status.
    (C) Accredited-Probation. Accredited-Probation means the district exhibits deficiencies in performance, as specified in subsection (c) of this section, that must be addressed to avoid revocation of its accreditation status.
    (D) Not Accredited-Revoked. Not Accredited-Revoked means the TEA does not recognize the district as a Texas public school because the district's performance has failed to meet standards adopted by the commissioner under TEC, §39.052(b) and (c), and specified in subsection (d) of this section.
  (2) The commissioner shall assign the accreditation status, as defined by this section, based on the performance of each school district. This section shall be construed and applied to achieve the purposes of TEC, §39.051 and §39.052, which are specified in §97.1053(a) of this title (relating to Purpose).
  (3) The commissioner shall revoke the accreditation status of a district that fails to meet the standards specified in this section. In the event of revocation, the purposes of the TEC, §39.051 and §39.052, are to:
    (A) inform the parents of students enrolled in the district, property owners in the district, general public, and policymakers that the TEA does not recognize the district as a Texas public school because the district's performance has failed to meet standards adopted by the commissioner under TEC, §39.052(b) and (c), and specified in subsection (d) of this section; and
    (B) encourage other districts to improve their performance so as to retain their accreditation.
  (4) Unless revised as a result of investigative activities by the commissioner as authorized under TEC, Chapter 39 or 39A, or other law, an accreditation status remains in effect until replaced by an accreditation status assigned for the next school year. An accreditation status shall be revised within the school year when circumstances require such revision in order to achieve the purposes specified in §97.1053(a) of this title.
  (5) An accreditation status will be withheld pending completion of any appeal or review of an academic accountability rating, a financial accountability rating, or other determination by the commissioner, but only if such appeal or review is:
    (A) specifically authorized by commissioner rule;
    (B) timely requested under and in compliance with such rule; and
    (C) applicable to the accreditation status under review.
  (6) An accreditation status may be withheld pending completion of on-site or other investigative activities in order to achieve the purposes specified in §97.1053(a) of this title.
  (7) The commissioner may withhold the assignment of an accreditation status to an open-enrollment charter school that is subject to TEC, §12.115(c) or §12.1141(d), or has otherwise surrendered its charter.
  (8) If an accreditation status is withheld pending completion of an appeal or review as provided by this section, the district's last issued accreditation status remains in effect until otherwise finalized or changed.
  (9) An accreditation status may be raised or lowered based on the district's performance or may be lowered based on the performance of one or more campuses in the district that is below a standard required under this chapter or other applicable law.
  (10) For purposes of determining multiple years of academically unacceptable or insufficient performance, the academic accountability ratings issued for the 2010-2011 school year and for the 2012-2013 school year are consecutive. An accreditation status assigned for the 2012-2013 school year shall be based on assigned academic accountability ratings for the applicable prior school years, as determined under subsections (b)-(d) of this section. Additionally, for purposes of determining multiple years of academically unacceptable or insufficient performance, the academic accountability ratings issued for the 2018-2019 school year and for the 2021-2022 school year are consecutive. An accreditation status assigned for the 2022-2023 school year shall be based on assigned academic and financial accountability ratings for the applicable prior school years, as determined under subsections (b)-(d) of this section.
  (11) If a lowered accreditation status is assigned and a sanction is imposed, the subsequent issuance of a new accreditation status does not affect the commissioner's authority to proceed with the previously imposed sanction.
  (12) Accreditation statuses are consecutive if they are not separated by an accreditation period in which the TEA assigned accreditation statuses to districts and charter schools generally. For example, if TEA does not assign accreditation statuses to districts and charter schools generally for the 2012-2013 school year, then the accreditation statuses issued for the 2011-2012 school year and for the 2013-2014 school year are consecutive. Additionally, if TEA does not assign accreditation statuses to districts and charter schools generally for the 2020-2021 school year, then the accreditation statuses issued for the 2019-2020 school year and for the 2022-2023 school year are consecutive.
  (13) If a rating of Not Rated or similar rating is issued to a school district, the commissioner may withhold the assignment of an accreditation status or withdraw a previously issued accreditation status. For purposes of determining multiple years of unacceptable or insufficient performance, the rating issued for the prior and subsequent school year are consecutive. The next accreditation status assigned shall be based on assigned accountability ratings for the applicable prior school years, as determined under subsections (b)-(d) of this section.
  (14) When an accreditation status is withheld because either a financial or academic accountability rating is not available or the district is not rated, the commissioner may, but is not required to, consider the rating that is issued when assigning subsequent accreditation statuses in order to achieve the purposes specified in §97.1053(a) of this title. If the commissioner elects not to consider a rating, then the previous and subsequent rating is consecutive.
(b) Determination of Accredited-Warned status.
  (1) A district shall be assigned Accredited-Warned status if the district is assigned:
    (A) for two consecutive school years, an unacceptable academic accountability rating as indicated in the applicable year's accountability manual adopted under §97.1001 of this title (relating to Accountability Rating System);
    (B) for two consecutive school years, a financial accountability rating of Substandard Achievement as indicated in the applicable year's financial accountability system manual adopted under §109.1001 of this title (relating to Financial Accountability Ratings);
    (C) for two consecutive school years, any one of the ratings referenced in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph; or
    (D) for one school year, a combination of ratings referenced in both subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph.
  (2) Notwithstanding the district's performance under paragraph (1) of this subsection, a district shall be assigned Accredited-Warned status if the commissioner determines this action is reasonably necessary to achieve the purposes of TEC, §39.051 and §39.052. Such action is generally required by the following circumstances:
    (A) to an extent established under subsection (e) of this section, the district has failed to comply with requirements related to:
      (i) the integrity of assessment or financial data used to measure performance under TEC, Chapter 39, 39A, or 48, and rules implementing those chapters;
      (ii) the reporting of data under TEC, §48.008, and §61.1025 of this title (relating to Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Data and Reporting Standards);
      (iii) other reports required by state or federal law or court order;
      (iv) awarding high school graduation under TEC, §28.025; or
Cont'd...