Review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter A, Student Attendance Allowed, and Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting, and Discussion of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC §129.21, Requirements for Student Attendance Accounting for State Funding Purposes
January 25, 2012
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL FINANCE/PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: Texas Government Code, §2001.039, establishes a four-year rule review cycle for all state agency rules, including State Board of Education (SBOE) rules. This item presents the review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter A, Student Attendance Allowed, and Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting. Subchapter A addresses free attendance in general, and Subchapter B addresses requirements for student attendance accounting for state funding purposes. This item also provides an opportunity for the committee to discuss proposed amendment to 19 TAC §129.21, Requirements for Student Attendance Accounting for State Funding Purposes.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the rule review is the Texas Government Code, §2001.039. The statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §42.004.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE last adopted the review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, in May 2008, finding that the reasons for initially adopting the rules continued to exist. Since that time, 19 TAC §129.21 was amended by the SBOE to be effective April 26, 2009 and February 22, 2010.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: The review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, will be presented to the SBOE for adoption at the April 2012 board meeting. The proposed amendment to 19 TAC §129.21 will also be presented to the SBOE for first reading and filing authorization in April 2012.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The rule in 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapter A, addresses certain eligibility criteria students must meet for enrollment in public schools.
The rule in 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapter B, provides the student attendance accounting requirements school districts must follow and describes the manner in which student attendance is earned. The rule also provides a list of conditions under which a student who is not actually on campus at the time attendance is taken may be considered in attendance for Foundation School Program (FSP) funding purposes.
ANTICIPATED REVISIONS TO RULES: The proposed amendment to 19 TAC §129.21 is shown in Attachment III. The proposed amendment would amend the rule to make it more logically organized, to delete obsolete provisions, and to update provisions describing conditions under which a student who is not on campus at attendance time may be considered in attendance. The proposed amendment would also remove language that duplicates statutory language and replace it with a reference to the applicable statute.
Any other necessary changes to 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, will be presented to the SBOE for first reading and filing authorization at the April 2012 meeting.
RULE REVIEW: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) plans to file the review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, with the Texas Register following the January 2012 SBOE meeting. The TEA will accept comments as to whether reasons for adopting 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, continue to exist. The official comment period will begin with the publication of the notice of proposed review in the Texas Register.
The filing of the notice of proposed review soliciting comments about whether the reason for adoption continues to exist would not preclude any amendments that may be proposed at different dates through a separate rulemaking process.
FISCAL IMPACT: The fiscal implications for the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §129.21 will be assessed subsequent to board direction provided at the January meeting.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The rules in 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, set forth uniform practices for attendance accounting, assuring consistent and fair administration of the state FSP. The proposed amendment to §129.21 would make the rule more logically organized, remove obsolete provisions, ensure that the rule reflected all the conditions under which a student who is not on campus at attendance time may be considered in attendance, and remove language that duplicates statutory language.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: Any procedural and reporting implications will be assessed subsequent to board direction provided at the January meeting.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: Locally maintained paperwork requirements will be assessed subsequent to board direction provided at the January meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: The official public comment period on the amendment to 19 TAC §129.21 will begin when the amendment is published as proposed in the Texas Register.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert Scott
Commissioner of Education
Staff Members Responsible:
Shirley Beaulieu, Associate Commissioner
Finance/Chief Financial Officer
Lisa Dawn-Fisher, Chief School Finance Officer
School Finance
Belinda Dyer, Division Manager
School Finance
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations
II. Text of Current 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter A, Student Attendance Allowed, and Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting
III. Text of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting, §129.21, Requirements for Student Attendance Accounting for State Funding Purposes