September 2014 Committee on School Finance Permanent School Fund Item 1
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
(First Reading and Filing Authorization)
September 19, 2014
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL FINANCE/PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item presents 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, for first reading and filing authorization. The proposed amendment would update statutory references in the rule text to reflect changes from the 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §25.087 and §42.004.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §129.21 would be 20 days after filing as adopted with the Texas Register in order to implement the latest policy in a timely manner. Under the TEC, §7.102(f), the State Board of Education (SBOE) must approve the rule action at second reading and final adoption by a vote of two-thirds of its members to specify an effective date earlier than the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted 19 TAC §129.21 effective September 1, 1996. The rule was last amended effective August 23, 2012.
A discussion item regarding the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §129.21 was presented to the Committee on School Finance/Permanent School Fund during its July 2014 meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The rule provides the student attendance accounting requirements school districts must follow and describes the manner in which student attendance is earned. The rule also specifies 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.
The proposed amendment to 19 TAC §129.21, shown as Attachment II, would update statutory references in the rule text to reflect changes from the last legislative session. Specifically, the amendment would update subsection (j)(3), which specifies conditions under which a student who is not on campus at the time attendance is taken may be considered in attendance for FSP funding purposes, to refer to statutory provisions added by the 83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, through Senate Bills 260 and 553. The provisions relate to excused absences to serve as an early voting clerk and excused absences to visit with a parent, stepparent, or guardian who has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or is immediately returned from deployment. The proposed amendment would also make a minor grammatical correction in subsection (h).
FISCAL IMPACT: The Texas Education Agency has determined that there are no fiscal implications to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed 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 proposed amendment to §129.21 would ensure that the rule reflected current statute.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The proposed amendment would have no new procedural and reporting implications.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The proposed amendment would have no new requirements related to locally maintained paperwork.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: The official public comment period will begin when the proposal is published in the Texas Register.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: A request for a public hearing on the proposal submitted under the Administrative Procedure Act must be received by the commissioner of education not more than 14 calendar days after notice of the proposal has been published in the Texas Register.
MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:
Approve for first reading and filing authorization 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.
Staff Members Responsible:
Lisa Dawn-Fisher, Associate Commissioner
School Finance / Chief School Finance Officer
Belinda Dyer, Director
Financial Accountability
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF, 26KB)
II. 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 (PDF, 24KB)