The rule action presented in this item will be filed as adopted with the Texas Register under the commissioner's rulemaking authority. The adopted amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter AA, Commissioner's Rules, §129.1025, Adoption by Reference: Student Attendance Accounting Handbook, adopts by reference the 2009-2010 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook Version 2. The handbook provides student attendance accounting rules for school districts and charter schools. No changes were made to the rule or handbook since published as proposed.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY:

Texas Education Code, §42.004, and 19 TAC §129.21.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

March 3, 2010.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES:

Legal counsel with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has recommended that the procedures contained in each annual student attendance accounting handbook be adopted as part of the Texas Administrative Code. This decision was made in 2000 as a result of a court decision challenging state agency decision making via administrative letters and publications. Given the statewide application of the attendance accounting rules and the existence of sufficient statutory authority for the commissioner of education to adopt by reference the student attendance accounting handbook, staff proceeded with formal adoption of rules in this area. The intention is to annually update the rule to refer to the most recently published student attendance accounting handbook. Data from previous school years will continue to be subject to the student attendance accounting handbook as the handbook existed in those years.

Each annual student attendance accounting handbook provides school districts and charter schools with the Foundation School Program (FSP) eligibility requirements of all students, prescribes the minimum requirements of all student attendance accounting systems, lists the documentation requirements for attendance audit purposes, specifies the minimum standards for systems that are entirely functional without the use of paper, and details the responsibilities of all district personnel involved in student attendance accounting. The TEA distributes FSP resources under the procedures specified in each current student attendance accounting handbook. The final version of the student attendance accounting handbook is published on the TEA website each June or July. A supplement, if necessary, is also published on the TEA website.

The adopted amendment to 19 TAC §129.1025 adopts by reference the 2009-2010 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook Version 2. In the first version of the student attendance accounting handbook for the 2009-2010 school year, incorrect dates for data submission for districts operating year-round programs were provided in the subsection on data submission, and information on residential facilities was erroneously included in the subsection on juvenile justice alternative education programs (JJAEPs). These errors necessitated publication of a second version of the handbook.

Significant changes to the 2009-2010 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook Version 2 from the 2008-2009 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook Version 2 include the following.

Section 2

An explanation that attendance records and reports may be kept at an accessible, secure off-site location was added.

The term "bilingual/ESL participation code" was replaced with "bilingual program type code" and "ESL program type code."

Sections 2 and 3

Audit requirements specific to paperless attendance accounting systems were added.

Section 3

Explanations of eligibility codes were clarified.

An explanation that study halls do not qualify as instructional hours was added.

Information on the funding eligibility of students who have met all graduation requirements except passing state-required assessments was added.

A correction was made in the notes on maximum eligible age in subsection 3.2.3 to state that students receiving special education services who are at least 22 years of age and under 26 years of age on September 1 admitted for the purpose of completing the requirements for a high school diploma are not eligible for other weighted state funding. Previously, the note incorrectly stated "21 years of age" instead of "22 years of age" and did not include the phrase "on September 1."

A list of the residency criteria that make students eligible for attendance at Texas public schools was added to subsection 3.3.3.

A subsection on the entitlement of certain students to transfer to the district of a bordering state was added.

Information about circumstances under which students who are 18 years of age or older will be considered dropouts was added. Also, an explanation that a district's authority to revoke enrollment for certain students does not override the district's responsibility to provide a free appropriate public education to a special education student was added.

The list of information that must be transferred via the Texas Student Records Exchange system with each student moving from one Texas district to another was updated.

Information on circumstances under which students not present at the official attendance-taking time may be counted in attendance for funding purposes was added. The updated subsection on this topic explains that a student who is not present when attendance is taken may be counted in attendance for funding purposes if the student misses school to serve as an election clerk, if the student is at least 16 years old and has the principal's permission; misses school to appear at a governmental office to complete paperwork required for the student's application for United States citizenship; misses school to take part in a United States naturalization oath ceremony; is temporarily absent to attend a health care appointment related to services for autism spectrum disorder; or misses school to visit an institution of higher education (IHE) to determine the student's interest in attending the institution, if the student is a junior or senior.

An explanation that a student's attending school on a Saturday does not nullify any previously recorded absence was added.

Information on the minimum documentation required to be maintained in homebound logs was added.

Information on general education homebound (GEH) services for students with chronic illnesses or acute health problems was added, as was information on transitioning students with chronic illnesses from the GEH program to a school-based placement. Information on the GEH program and students with recurring chronic or acute health conditions was also added.

A clarification that a district calendar may be shorter than 180 days if the district has been approved to provide fewer instructional days through a flexible attendance program has been added, as was an explanation that under no circumstance may a district offer fewer than 170 instructional days.

The subsection on makeup days was changed to state that a district must build two makeup days into its calendar instead of that a district should build two makeup days into its calendar.

Information on waivers related to students taking dual credit courses at IHEs whose calendars do not align with the school district calendar was added.

Dates for submission and resubmission of attendance data by districts operating year-round programs were updated.

Section 4

The requirement that a student in a regional day school program for the deaf be in the program for less than 50 percent of the school day to be eligible for average daily attendance was deleted.

Requirements related to teachers providing instruction in mainstream settings was added.

Information on the minimum documentation required to be maintained in homebound logs was added.

Information on test administration and the homebound instructional arrangement/setting was added.

Information on the homebound instructional arrangement/setting and students with recurring chronic or acute health conditions was added.

An explanation that the instructional arrangement/setting code 41 or 42 is used to report a three- or four-year-old student with a disability who is receiving educational services in a prekindergarten setting but is ineligible for prekindergarten services was added.

Section 5

Charts with information on the coding of career and technical education students were added.

Section 6

The term "bilingual/ESL participation code" was replaced with "bilingual program type code" or "ESL program type code," as applicable.

Explanations of which participation codes to use in specific circumstances were replaced with the web address of a web page providing program type code tables.

The statement that students served only in the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD) cannot generate bilingual/ESL average daily attendance (ADA) was revised to state that students who are under age 3 and served only in the PPCD cannot generate bilingual/ESL ADA.

In subsection 6.2.1, a note about parental permission codes was removed.

The exit criteria chart in subsection 6.4.2 was updated with current-year information.

The flowchart in subsection 6.4.3 was replaced with the web address of a web page containing the flowchart.

Information on teacher certification requirements was updated.

Section 7

Explanations that the term "child" includes a stepchild and the term parent includes a stepparent were added.

Information on documentation requirements related to Head Start Program participation and eligibility for the National School Lunch Program was added.

The prekindergarten eligibility criteria related to a parent's membership in the armed forces were revised.

The program name "PK Expansion Grant Program" was updated to "PK Early Start Grant Program."

Section 9

Information on the need for pregnancy-related services students to get a medical release before returning to campus to take a state-required assessment was added.

Information on the minimum documentation required to be maintained in homebound logs was added.

Section 10

Information on which leaver code to use for certain students whose admission is revoked was added.

The term "performance ratings" was replaced with the term "accountability ratings."

An explanation that an out-of-school suspension may not exceed three school days was added.

Information on circumstances under which a county with a population greater than 125,000 would be considered a county with a population of 125,000 or less was added.

Information on types of expellable conduct was added.

Section 11

An explanation that, for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years, school districts will continue to be permitted to count the time that students spend in dual credit courses for state funding purposes even if the students are required to pay tuition, fees, or textbook costs was added.

In subsection 11.3.2, the term dual credit programs was replaced with the term college credit programs.

The subsection on the Optional Flexible School Day Program was updated to reflect recent statutory changes that expanded eligibility for the program.

A correction was made to the information in subsection 11.5.5 to state that a student receiving special education services who is at least 22 years of age and under 26 years of age on September 1 admitted for the purpose of completing the requirements for a high school diploma is not eligible for other weighted state funding. Previously, the information incorrectly stated "21 years of age" instead of "22 years of age" and did not include the phrase "on September 1."

The subsection on the High School Equivalency Program was updated to reflect rule changes related to how attendance in the program is calculated.

The subsection on the Electronic Course Pilot was deleted to reflect statutory changes.

The subsection on the Texas Virtual School Network was updated to reflect recent statutory changes that expanded the program.

Section 12

An appendix on ADA and state funding was added as Section 12.

Section 13

The glossary was made Section 13.

A definition of "2-through-4-hour rule" was added to the glossary.

The definitions of "High School Equivalency Program (HSEP)" and "Optional Flexible School Day Program (OFSDP)" were revised.

No changes were made to the rule or handbook since published as proposed.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The TEA has determined that there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the rule action. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses and microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in the Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.

PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT:

The adopted amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter AA, Commissioner's Rules, §129.1025, Adoption By Reference: Student Attendance Accounting Handbook, provides public notice of the existence of the current publications specifying attendance accounting procedures for school districts and charter schools.

PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS:

The rule places the specific procedures contained in the 2009-2010 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook Version 2 in the Texas Administrative Code. The TEA distributes FSP funds in accordance with the procedures specified in each annual student attendance accounting handbook. Data reporting requirements are addressed through the Public Education Information Management System.

LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS:

The handbook has long stated that school districts and open-enrollment charter schools must keep all student attendance documentation for five years from the end of the school year. Any new student attendance documentation required to be kept corresponds with the student attendance accounting requirement changes described previously.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

The public comment period on the rule action began November 20, 2009, and ended December 21, 2009. No public comments were received.

ALTERNATIVES:

None.

OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES:

None.

Staff Members Responsible:

Lisa Dawn-Fisher, Deputy Associate Commissioner, School Finance
Belinda Dyer, Director, Forecasting and Fiscal Analysis

For additional information, email rules@tea.state.tx.us.

Page last modified on 8/30/2011.