Texas Education Code §39.053 requires each district’s board of trustees to publish an annual report that includes the AEIS report; campus performance objectives; a report of violent or criminal incidents; and, information received under Texas Education Code §51.403(e) from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The board of trustees shall hold a hearing for public discussion of the report, and they shall widely disseminate the report within the district.  This summary provides the information and access to information required by the statute, as well as supplemental information determined by the Board per BR (LEGAL).   

1. Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) Report. The AEIS report comprises the main part of the district’s annual performance report.  Districts must publish the AEIS report in the format prepared by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).  Districts may add narrative describing their schools; present additional data, charts, and diagrams; and give further explanation of the data prepared by TEA.  

 2. Campus Performance Objectives.  Texas Education Code §11.253 requires that each campus improvement plan set objectives based on the AEIS report and periodically measure progress toward the performance objectives.  The objectives must be approved by the local board of trustees and be made available to the public. 

3. Performance Ratings.  The annual performance report must include the district performance rating provided under Section 39.072(a) and the performance rating of each campus in the district provided under Section 39.072(c).   

 4. Comparable Ratings.  Comparable Improvement (CI) is a measure that shows how student performance on the TAKS reading/ELA and mathematics tests at a given school has changed (or grown) from one year to the next, and then compares that change to that of the 40 schools that are demographically most similar to the given, or "target" school.  

 5. Special Education Compliance Status.  Under Section 39.053(a), the annual performance report must include the district’s current special education compliance status with the agency. 

 6. Report on Violent or Criminal Incidents. Texas statute requires every district to publish a report on violent or criminal incidents at their schools.  This report is meant to be available for use and review by the public in the district; a copy does not need to be sent to TEA. It is a local responsibility to determine the format of this report and publish it.  The content of the report should reflect the requirements in statute. TEC §39.053.   Performance Report reads, in part:

(a) The annual report must . . . include:

(4) a statement of the number, rate, and type of violent or criminal incidents that occurred on each district campus, to the extent permitted under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.S. Section 1232g);

(5) information concerning school violence prevention and violence intervention policies and procedures that the district is using to protect students;

(6) the findings that result from evaluations conducted under the Safe and Drug- Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA) of 1994 (20 U.S.C.S. Section 710 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments; 

 7. District Unencumbered Surplus Fund Balance.  Also required to be included in the report is a statement of the amount, if any, of the district’s unencumbered surplus fund balance as of the last day of the preceding fiscal year and the percentage of the preceding year’s budget that the surplus represents.  

8. Reports of Student Enrollment and Academic Performance in Postsecondary Institutions. Texas statute requires every district to include with their performance report, information received under Texas Education Code §51.403(e) for each high school campus in the district. This information, provided to districts from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), reports on student enrollment and performance in postsecondary institutions during the first year enrolled after graduation from high school.  The THECB report is titled Annual TASP/Alternative (TASP/A) Test Report of Student Performance.   

To protect privacy, results are not published for individual high schools (or districts with a small number of students attempting the TASP/A test.  Districts are not required to report TASP/A results for individual high schools.   

 9. Public Hearings.

Within 90 days of receipt of the AEIS materials from TEA, the board of trustees shall hold a hearing for public discussion of the annual report.  Parents and property owners must be notified of the hearing. State law stipulates that notification MUST include “notice to a newspaper of general circulation in the district and notice to electronic media serving the district.” This notice can be in the form of a press release or other announcement, but it must be made available to local print and electronic media (i.e., radio and television). It must clearly state the date, time, and place of the hearing and explain the nature of the hearing. The hearing may be combined with a regularly scheduled meeting of the local board of trustees, but must be held at a reasonable time, when parents and taxpayers can attend. Within two weeks after the hearing, the Board shall disseminate the report in its public places, such as school offices, local businesses, and public places. 

 10. Disseminating the Report & Explanation to Parents and Staff. The annual report must be disseminated to the public. This can be accomplished by directing readers to the AEIS website, or for members of the public without internet access, through mail-outs or by having copies posted in public places such as each school office, local businesses, and public libraries.  

Districts are also required to notify parents (including anyone having lawful control of a student), property owners, and the local media of the AEIS hearing for public discussion. Beyond that, the superintendent may want to encourage principals to meet with staff to discuss their campus report; and, following public discussion, schedule presentations of the information at meetings of the local parent/teacher organization. The glossary on the following website is designed to provide all the basic information needed to understand the AEIS 2004-05 report: 

 http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2005/glossary.html. 

 11. Publishing a Summary Report – School Report Card (SRC): In addition to publishing its full annual report and having it available in public places, the district has the option to produce a shortened or summarized report, showing performance on key indicators. This summary must clearly indicate where and how to obtain a copy of the full report. Note that the School Report Card, produced by TEA, provides such a summary. 

As required by statute, these report cards must be disseminated to the “parent, guardian, conservator, or other person having lawful control of each student at the campus.”  The SRC must be disseminated to parents within six calendar weeks after notification from TEA that it is available. The winter holiday does not count toward the six weeks. The campus administration may provide the SRC in the same manner it would normally transmit official communications to parents and guardians, such as: including the SRC in a weekly folder sent home with each student, mailing it to the student’s residence, providing it at a teacher-parent conference, or enclosing it with the student report card.

A portion of House Bill 3297 (TEC Section 39.252) requires that districts post the most current AEIS reports on the district website by the 10^th instructional day of the school year.

 12. Annual Financial Management Report:  

The annual financial management report prepared by the District must include a description of the District's financial management performance based on a comparison, provided by TEA, of the District's performance on the indicators in Texas Administrative Code Title 19, Chapter 109.1002.