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, §129.1027, Optional Flexible School Day Program, updates the current rule to reflect statutory changes resulting from the 81st Texas Legislature, 2009. No changes were made to the rule since published as proposed.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY:

Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.0822.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

December 20, 2009.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES:

The TEC, §29.0822, authorizes the commissioner of education to adopt rules for the administration of optional flexible school day programs (OFSDPs) provided by school districts and open-enrollment charter schools for certain eligible students. Through 19 TAC §129.1027, Optional Flexible School Day Program, adopted to be effective July 4, 2007, and amended to be effective October 23, 2008, the commissioner exercised rulemaking authority, specifying in rule OFSDP general provisions, definitions, student eligibility, application requirements, attendance and funding criteria, program operation requirements, and review and evaluation provisions, as well as circumstances under which OFSDP authorization would be revoked or denied.

House Bill (HB) 1297 and HB 3646, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009, amended the TEC, §29.0822, to increase the number of students eligible for participation in OFSDPs. Specifically, the changes removed language limiting program participation to students in Grades 9-12 and added a criterion for student eligibility to allow students who would be denied credit for one or more classes as a result of attendance requirements to be eligible for participation.

To implement statutory changes, the adopted amendment to 19 TAC §129.1027 removes references to Grades 9-12 and expands eligibility to include students who would be denied credit as a result of attendance requirements. The adopted amendment also deletes the definition for school year; cross-references 19 TAC §97.1051, Definitions, for the description of innovative redesign; specifies the maximum allowable attendance for funding purposes; and updates references to TEC sections that were renumbered by HB 3, 81st Texas Legislature, 2009.

Additional changes relating to formatting and word usage have also been made.

No changes were made to the rule 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 Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.

PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT:

The adopted amendment would incorporate recent statutory changes that increase opportunity for students to participate in the OFSDP.

PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS:

School districts and open-enrollment charter schools will be required to report annually through the Public Education Information Management System which students participating in an OFSDP were participating to recover credits that they would otherwise be denied as a result of attendance requirements under the TEC, §25.092.

LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS:

Any locally maintained paperwork requirements resulting from the proposed amendment correspond with and support the stated procedural and reporting implications.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

The public comment period on the rule action began October 9, 2009, and ended November 9, 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.