DALLAS (January 3, 2013)--Nearly two-dozen Texas school districts including the Round Rock ISD in Central Texas are seeking exemptions from some state and federal testing requirements as they push to design new student evaluation systems.

The schools are part of the Texas High Performance Schools Consortium, which the Legislature created in 2011 to develop new strategies for public schools.

The 23 consortium members say they need more flexibility to design an updated educational blueprint.

An update presented last month to the Texas Education Agency suggests developing a community-based assessment and accountability system.

Lawmakers convene this month and they and the TEA could act on the waiver requests.

Education Commissioner Michael Williams, in a Dec. 21 letter to Gov. Rick Perry and legislators, said he’s not declining or rejecting the recommendations at this time.

The consortium includes the Anderson-Shiro CISD, Clear Creek ISD, College Station ISD, Coppell ISD, Duncanville ISD, Eanes ISD, Glen Rose ISD, Guthrie ISD, Harlingen CISD, Highland Park ISD, Irving ISD, Klein ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Lancaster ISD, Lewisville ISD, McAllen ISD, McKinney ISD, Northwest ISD, Prosper ISD, Richardson ISD, Roscoe Collegiate ISD, Round Rock ISD and White Oak ISD.