Nora T. Rainey Texas Education Agency Office of School Finance Phone Number (512) Fax Number (512) Foundation School Program (FSP) Charter School Orientation

 TEASE Access and FSP Application  FSP System  FSP Estimate Report  FSP State Comp Ed (SCE) Report  FSP Calendar Tracks  FSP Six-Week Reports  FSP Staff Salary  Summary of Finances Settle-Up  FSP Payments  Recommendations for Success  Charter School Finance Web Page  State Funding Contact Information Agenda

 Texas Education Agency Secure Environment (TEASE) New user – go to new application page Add Foundation School Program Application Existing user – log in to your TEASE account and add application(s) Select the Add/Modify Application button on the upper right corner of screen  User Administration + application Required for Superintendents The Superintendent will use the User Admin + to approve all charter staff access  PEIMS Edit + application  Link TEASE account to TEA Login (TEAL) account TEASE Access and FSP Application

 All Charter users should be familiar with the attendance rules and guidelines found on the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook  All charter users should review online training each year menu_id2=789 menu_id2=789 Charter Schools Part 1: Overview and Estimates Entry Charter Schools Part 2: Calendar Tracks Charter Schools Part 3: Six-Week Reports  Attendance data submitted on this system is temporary and used to estimate state aid and flow state funds to charter school during school year  Six-week attendance data will be replaced by Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Summer submission(s)  There should not be a material difference between the attendance data submitted on the FSP system and the Summer PEIMS data FSP System

 Due 2 nd Friday in August  Required for new charter schools, new charter mergers and established charter schools with material increases or decreases in enrollment  FSP attendance data from prior school year is loaded and pre-approved; to make changes, scroll to the bottom of the page and hit the revise button  FSP Estimate data is the basis for payments until FSP Six-Week Reports are approved  Expansion amendments must be approved and effective by August 1  Enrollment in excess of approved maximum will not be allowed  Estimate average number of students expected to be enrolled during the first six-week attendance reporting period  Always include PK students as ½ of a student  Material increases will require detailed explanations Nine digit campus number Campus name and physical address of the facility where the additional students will be served Prior year enrollment at campus and estimated new year enrollment at campus Reason for the increase (adding grade level, expansion amendment, etc.)  The Total number of new students requested for all campuses must reconcile to the difference between the Total Number of Students Enrolled in the Prior-Year and New Values Column FSP Estimate Report

 Estimate due 2nd Friday in August  Charter school must participate in National School Lunch and Breakfast program (NSLBP) or in the FSP SCE alternative reporting program to be eligible for SCE funding  FSP SCE alternative reporting procedures can be found on the charter school finance web page  Waiver is required to participate in the alternative reporting program if charter school has greater than 10% of students eligible for free or reduced meals  FSP SCE alternative reporting (save monthly, annual report due October 15 )  Funding for at-risk students is based on the highest six month average from the prior federal fiscal year of students eligible for free or reduced priced lunch  For the school year the prior federal fiscal year is October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013  New charter schools may use current federal fiscal year, October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014 for first two years of operation  Actual data from NSLBP or FSP SCE alternative reporting program is updated to SOF each February  It is recommended that all eligible and established charter schools submit FSP SCE estimate each year FSP State Compensatory Education (SCE) Report

 Due 1st Friday in August  It is recommended that charter school refer to surrounding school district calendar(s) for planning purposes  It is recommended that each campus have its own calendar track  Calendars must contain a total of 180 days of instruction and waivers for maximum funding  Calendar must be divided into six approximately equal attendance reporting periods  Each calendar track requires six District Summary or Superintendent’s Reports to be submitted via the FSP system  Weekend days are allowed as instructional days only when all students are required to attend school Weekend days cannot to be used for students to make up absences or tutoring  Calendar must have two makeup days to ensure that the minimum number of instructional days are provided  FSP Calendar must be reconciled with calendar on the student attendance accounting software before Superintendent’s six-week reports are generated FSP Calendar Tracks

 Student Detail Reports  Campus Summary (Principal’s) Reports  District Summary (Superintendent’s) Reports Report required for FSP Six-Week reporting Due 10 calendar days after the end of latest track’s six week reporting period  Reports must comply with Student Attendance Accounting Handbook Section II, Audit requirements  All Six-Week Reports must be: Reviewed for accuracy and completeness Reconciled to each other Signed by the superintendent and record keeper at end of each attendance reporting period before data is entered into the FSP System  All Six-Week Reports should be readily available for review by Division of State Funding and Division of Financial Compliance FSP Six-Week Reports

FSP Staff Salary  Save Monthly, but annual report is due September 30  Only charter holders that participated in TRS Active Care in school year are eligible  Full-Time Staff & Part-Time Staff Only  Do not include administrators, teachers, librarians, counselors, or registered nurses  Estimated data based on prior year is used to calculate staff salary allotment for entire school year  Actual data not reflected on Summary of Finances until settle-up

Summary of Finances Report Settle-Up  PEIMS is the official attendance data used for state funding purposes  “Near Final” Summary of Finances Report-(October) Recalculate total FSP using charter and school district PEIMS data. 1st settle up payment to charter or reduce current year allocation  “Final” Summary of Finances Report-(April) Recalculate total FSP using school district tax collections 2nd settle up payment to charter or reduce current year allocation  Why “Surprise” Settle-Ups Occur - Student Detail reports are not being reviewed during the school year’s FSP six-week data submission process Student detail reports are not being reconciled to the Campus Summary (Principal’s) and District Summary (Superintendent’s) report Late FSP reports

Summary of Finances Report Settle-Up Summer PEIMS – Official Attendance Funding Data 2 nd FSP 6WK Supt Report 2 nd FSP 6WK Supt Report 3 rd FSP 6WK Supt Report 3 rd FSP 6WK Supt Report 6 th FSP 6WK Supt Report 6 th FSP 6WK Supt Report 4 th FSP 6WK Supt Report 4 th FSP 6WK Supt Report 5 th FSP 6WK Supt Report 5 th FSP 6WK Supt Report 1 st FSP 6WK Supt Report 1 st FSP 6WK Supt Report After Summer PEIMS Submission, Re-Run and Review all Six Week Attendance Reports Subject to PEIMS Attendance Audit

FSP Payments  Charters should do a monthly reconciliation  Obtain FSP reports for current and prior month: FSP TEA Track Projection Report Summary Summary of Finances Report for the last several months Current FSP Payment Ledger  Compare current month’s reports to prior month’s reports  Reconcile TEA Track Projection Summary report to Summary of Finances  Reconcile Summary of Finances to FSP ledger  Review ledger for prior year adjustments

FSP Payments  Payments are made beginning in September and ending in August  New Charter Schools receive 13 payments in the first year of operation September 15 th and September 25 th and 25 th of each month thereafter  Payments are direct deposited on the 25 th of each month or previous banking day if 25 th is a weekend or a holiday  Do not rely on payment amount alone to determine that funding data has or has not changed

Recommendations for State Funding Success  Submit data by due date  Contract with a proven student attendance accounting and PEIMS software vendor  Ensure that the software meets Student Attendance Accounting Handbook Standards  Ensure that the software can generate the all the Six-Week Attendance reports required for audit purposes  Ensure that all charter users have taken the FSP online training  Compare ADA and FTE calculations on FSP System to District Summary Attendance Report to make sure calculations are correct  If changes are made to the instructional calendar, update FSP system calendar and update the calendar on the student attendance accounting software  Compare current attendance period report to previous report(s)  Review Six-Week Attendance Reports for reasonableness and missing data  Reconcile Six-Week Student Detail Reports to Principal’s Reports and Principal’s Reports to Superintendent’s reports for each track  Review and reconcile the Summary of Finances Report, FSP Payment Ledgers and TEA Payment Reports every month  Review PEIMS submissions to determine if data is consistent with FSP TEA Track Projection Summary Report

Charter School Finance Web Page

Contact Information  State Funding Division (512) Fax  Amanda Brownson- Director (512)  Amy Copeland- FSP Operations Manager (512)  Nora T. Rainey - Charter School Finance Program Specialist (512)  Cassie Huggins - Bond Guarantee/NIFA Program Specialist/ QSCB/QZAB (512)  Al Johnson - Staff Salary Program Specialist and TEASE Access (512)  Danny Sanchez- Transportation Program Specialist (512)  Vacant - State Comp Ed, OFSDP, OFYP Program Specialist