1. Equitable Access to Excellent Educators

2. State Equity Plan Texas’s plan process (2015): Charge to all states:
Specific steps that the state education agency will take to ensure that students from low-income families and students of color are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, unqualified, or out-of- field teachers, and the measures that the agency will use to evaluate and publicly report the progress.
Texas’s plan process (2015):
Analyze data on experience and qualifications
Examined gaps between high and low-quartile poverty and minority

3. 2015 State Plan Contents
Analysis of state data identifying equity gaps
Stakeholder engagement information
Identification contributing factors of equity gaps
Theory of action for each contributing factor
Strategies to address each contributing factor
Ongoing monitoring and public reporting on progress
Timeline outlining the implementation of the strategies

4. Percentage of Teachers With Less Than One Year Experience, 2014
All Schools
Lowest Minority Quartile Schools (LMQ)
Second Lowest Minority Quartile Schools
Second Highest Minority Quartile Schools
Highest Minority Quartile Schools (HMQ)
Lowest Poverty Quartile Schools (LPQ)
Second Lowest Poverty Quartile Schools
Second Highest Poverty Quartile Schools
Highest Poverty Quartile Schools (HPQ)
ORIENT THEM TO THE GRAPHIC
DATA SOURCES:  Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) for the state
The TAPR Reports present a wide range of information on the performance of students in each school and district in Texas every year. The reports also provide extensive information on school and district staff, programs, and student demographics. The data we’re presenting come from the campus-level TAPR data for the entire state.
Highly Qualified (HQ) Report for the state
NCLB requires states to annually report the percentage of teachers who are not highly qualified to the U.S. Department of Education. Districts submit to TEA campus-level information concerning the number and percent of teachers and number and percent of classes taught by highly qualified teachers. This is collected annually through the Highly Qualified Compliance Report in the eGrants system. The data reported must reflect the “highly qualified” status of teachers at each campus in the district.
Percentages double going from lowest to highest quartile

5. Probationary Certificates
*Based on ECOS and PEIMS data

6. State Equity Gaps and Areas of Focus
Equitable Access Gap Focus:
Students from low-income or minority backgrounds are taught by novice or inexperienced teachers at higher rates than other students
High-Priority Areas of Focus:
Improve training and support for teachers
Continue to improve campus leadership
Revised Additional Area of Focus:
Work with districts to strengthen systems for recruiting, developing, and retaining excellent teachers and principals
These two root causes were selected as the most significant factors by stakeholders.

7. Key strategies:
Develop guidance and tools for districts to create and implement local equity plans this is why we are here today
Facilitate targeted training and PD for teachers, including teacher candidates
Facilitate campus leader training and support
Encourage training of and support for mentors of novice teachers.

8. Districts Equity Plans
For all Title I districts:
Specific steps that the district will take to ensure that students from low-income families and students of color are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, ineffective, or out-of-field teachers.

9. Our Vision for District Plans
Texas’s District Equity Plan Vision:
The value of the plan is in the process itself (analysis of what’s working and what isn’t working)
Engage stakeholders, self-assess, reflect, continuously improve processes to recruit, develop, and retain educators (growth)
Prioritize and sequence (eventually a 5 year plan?)

10. Our Vision for District Plans
There is no “equity” jail – the process is simply about identifying ways within the district that you can improve instruction and leadership on the campuses in question.
District strategies will inform how the state uses federal funds (Title II, Part A) to support district plans.

11. Plan Specifics
First plans would be due in fall of 2017 (end of October)
Ultimately, would be a five year plan with annual updates
Equity Plan Toolkit to help navigate the process (March )
ESC support to work through the process

12. Plan Specifics Gap analysis for Inexperience and Out-of-Field:
4 or more campuses – comparison of bottom quartile campuses with top quartile campuses or state average, whichever is greater
3 or less campuses – comparison of Title I campuses to state average
Gap analysis for Ineffective Teaching:
Districts will use multiple data points to determine gaps in student learning
Teaching performance
Student learning
Student engagement

13. Outcome Hopes
Equity planning fits within existing district planning processes
Approach is about continuous improvement, not a need to show no gaps
Opportunity to assess and improve how we all recruit, develop, and retain educators
Sheds coordinated light on where additional support is needed