REMINDERS AND SIGNIFICANT CHANGES 2014–2015 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH) 1

Reminders Audit Requirements: Section 2  2.1 – General Audit Requirements  Attendance records must be provided within 20 working days of written request by TEA Failure to provide records will result in TEA’s keeping 100% of Foundation School Program (FSP) funding for the undocumented attendance Undocumented attendance = missing documentation or documentation so inadequate a reasonable person could not conclude from it that attendance occurred  Attendance records, including electronic records, must be kept for 5 years 2

Reminders Audit Requirements: Section 2  2.2 – Accounting System Requirements May be paper-based, partially automated/electronic, or “paperless” Must use Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) coding Must be able to reproduce required documentation on request for audit purposes  2.3 – Required Documentation Student Detail Report Campus Summary Report District Summary Report 3

Reminders/Changes Audit Requirements: Section 2  – Additional Required Documentation *Documentation of age, identity, and residency or enrollment eligibility - NEW Grade books Period absence reports (if used), signed and dated within 1 week of the attendance Documentation for excused absences Student schedules Official school calendar and approved waivers Updated/corrected copies of reports Any special program documentation Meanings of any locally defined attendance codes 4

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.2 Membership and Eligibility *More Clarification – NEW Both membership and eligibility to generate average daily attendance (ADA) are related to the amount of time that a student receives instruction each day. However, they are not the same. 5

Attendance Requirements – Section 3 A student is in membership in your district if the student is enrolled in the district and is either:  Scheduled to attend at least 2 hours of instruction each school day or  Participating in an alternative attendance accounting program. 6

Attendance Requirements – Section 3 A student who meets the criteria on last slide is in membership regardless of whether the student is eligible to generate ADA. A student who is eligible to generate ADA, and thus FSP funding, only if the student is in membership and also meets the ADA elgibility requirements described on the following slide. 7

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Average Daily Attendance (ADA) Eligibility Coding  0 - Enrolled, Not in Membership  1 - Eligible for Full-Day Attendance  2 - Eligible for Half-Day Attendance  3 - Eligible Transfer Student Full-Day  4 - Ineligible Full-Day  5 - Ineligible Half-Day  6 - Eligible Transfer Student Half-Day  7 - Eligible - Alternative Attendance Program  8 - Ineligible - Alternative Attendance Program 8

Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Funding Eligibility  2-through-4-hour rule Scheduled for and served for at least 2 hours for half-day eligibility Scheduled for and served for at least 4 hours for full-day eligibility Must be instructional hours Study hall does not count as instruction Sign-in does not count as instruction Repeated courses are not eligible for funding Study program to pass required state assessment to graduate if student has met all graduation requirements except passing assessment(s) 9

Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  Examples of Age and Identification Documentation  Birth certificate  Driver’s license  School ID, records, or report card  Military ID  Hospital birth record  Adoption records  Church baptismal records OR any other legal document that can establish identity  Statement of child’s date of birth issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS)  Additional requirements for students under 11 years of age: must show birth certificate OR other documentation + note explaining why unable to produce birth certificate (30 days for acceptable identification or 90 days if the student was not born in the US) 10

Reminder Attendance Requirements – Section 3  Determining PEIMS Immigrant Indicator Code The following questions are acceptable: 1.Is the student 3–21 years of age? 2.Was the student born outside of the United States? 3.Has the student attended a United States school for 3 full academic years? Note: The 3 years do not need to be consecutive. If the answer is yes to the first two questions and no to the third question, then the student should have an immigrant indicator code of 1. 11

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Discrepancies in Student Names/Failure to Receive Student Records Student enrolled under name different from documentation  Notify Missing Children and Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse Failure to receive student records in 30 days  Notify municipal police or sheriff’s department to determine whether student missing 12

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Student Entitlement to Attend School in District of Residence  A student is entitled to enroll in his or her district of residence  Residency requirements that apply to districts also apply to charter schools for purposes of deciding whether a student resides in charter school's boundaries  A student in Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) conservatorship can continue enrollment in a district even if placed in another district’s boundaries, regardless of student’s grade level 13

Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Homeless Students Homeless students may enroll in any district; proof of residency not required Once a student is identified as homeless, the student’s status does not change during the school year that the student was identified 14

Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Immunization DSHS website provides immunization requirements: quirements quirements In general, student enrolling must be immunized or have begun required immunizations Admission for 30 days pending documentation or initiation of vaccinations  Homeless students  Military dependents 15

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Students Who Have Received a GED Certificate or Have Been Court Ordered to Obtain a GED Certificate A student who has a GED certificate or who has been court ordered to obtain one is still eligible to enroll in your district or charter school to complete requirements for a high school diploma if the student chooses 16

Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  Texas Records Exchange (TREx) System If student previously enrolled in another district, your school district or charter school must request the student's records through TREx Sending district has 10 working days to comply Working days do not include days that the campus or district administrative offices are closed A student’s Texas Unique Student ID must be included in transferred information See TREx Data StandardsTREx Data Standards 17

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.5 – Compulsory Attendance PK and kindergarten, if enrolled Age 6 (or younger, if previously enrolled in first grade) through age 18 Age 18 or older, if voluntarily enrolled 18

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Time of Day for Attendance Taking  Board policy or superintendent procedures (if superintendent is delegated authority) may: allow for each campus to choose an alternate attendance-taking time for campus as whole, allow for each campus to choose an alternate attendance-taking time for certain groups of students as described in , or allow for both 19

Reminder Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Requirements for a Student to Be Considered Present for FSP (Funding) Purposes Attendance documentation from an electronic, radio-frequency, “smart card,” or similar device is not acceptable documentation 20

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Absences for Which Student May Be Considered Present for FSP (Funding) Purposes Dual credit – (students not scheduled to be on campus at all, alternate method of attendance required) Full-time Texas Virtual School Network – (students not scheduled to be on campus at all) Board-approved activity with adjunct staff member Board-approved short-term class provided by Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired or Texas School for the Deaf 21

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Absences for Which Student May Be Considered Present for FSP (Funding) Purposes (Continued) Mentorship for Distinguished Achievement Program Religious holy days (+ travel) Taps at military funeral Required court appearance (+ travel) Certain absences for students in foster care (appointments, family visitations, court-ordered activities) 22

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Absences for Which Student May Be Considered Present for FSP (Funding) Purposes (Continued) Election clerk (+ travel) and student early voting clerk (limited to 2 days per year; 2 days do not include travel days) Appearing at government office to complete paperwork for student’s US citizenship application (+ travel) Student’s own naturalization ceremony (+ travel ) Health care appointments for student *or student’s child (including for autism) (student must attend school for part of day) Visiting a university or college (juniors and seniors; limited to 2 days per year) Certain military deployments (limited to 5 days a year) 23

Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Early Graduation/Graduation Ceremonies and Attendance Early graduation: If student has met graduation requirements, no longer eligible to generate ADA Early graduation ceremony: 2-through-4-hour rule or alternative attendance program rules apply for school days after ceremony No "signing in" 24

Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Excused Absences for Compulsory Attendance Purposes Superintendent, principal, or teacher may excuse temporary absence for any reason acceptable to him or her  However, absence excused for compulsory attendance purposes only  Student may not be counted in attendance for funding purposes unless the student meets requirements in (Requirements for a Student to Be Considered Present for FSP Purposes)  Student must make up academic time lost to maintain 90 percent attendance 25

Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Attendance Accounting During Testing Days If standardized achievement tests or final exams are administered during attendance-taking period, take attendance just before, during, or just after exam Exemption from taking finals is not an exemption from 2-through-4-hour rule A student must either be provided appropriate number of hours of instruction or be counted absent 26

Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  – Instruction Provided Outside of the Regular School Day Saturday school attendance to make up absences for academic credit may not be counted for funding purposes  – “Tardies” Tardies do not exist for state funding purposes 27

Change CTE – Section 5  5.2 – Eligibility and Eligible Days Present *A statement has been added that CTE weighted funding may be earned for only 30 consecutive school days if a district has assigned a substitute teacher who is not appropriately certified to teach a CTE course. 28

Bilingual/English as a Second Language (ESL) – Section 6 Reminders  All three terms used interchangeably: Limited English proficient (LEP) student (SAAH) English language learner (19 TAC Chapter 89 rules) Student of limited English proficiency (TEC) 29

Prekindergarten – Section 7  7.2 – Eligibility  Student is: unable to speak and comprehend English (LEP) – must be identified by LPAC prior to generating funding - NEW educationally disadvantaged (eligible to participate in National School Lunch Program [NSLP]) homeless child of active duty member of US armed forces or reserves ordered to active duty child of member of US armed forces or reserves injured or killed while on active duty in foster care or was ever in foster care in Texas 30

Prekindergarten – Section 7  7.2 – Documentation of Eligibility English proficiency: Home language survey and test results Educationally disadvantaged: Evidence student eligible for NSLP:  Automatically eligible (Head Start, migrant, TANF) or  Eligible based on family income Homeless: Documentation that local homeless education liaison finds student meets NCLB definition of homeless Military parent: Military ID, statement of service, Department of Defense death certificate, Purple Heart orders or citation, missing in action documentation, or *copy of US Department of Veterans Affairs letter stating service member eligible for disability compensation (see ) Foster care: Texas DFPS verification letter or *Form 2085FC 31

Reminders Prekindergarten – Section 7  7.5 Eligible Days Present and ADA Eligibility 32 ADA Eligibility Code PK-eligible student served in PK classroom by PK teacher for ½ day 2 – half-day PK-eligible student served in PK classroom by PK teacher for full day 2 – half-day PK-ineligible student served in PK classroom by PK teacher for ½ day 5 – ineligible full-day PK-ineligible student served in PK classroom by PK teacher full day 4 – ineligible full-day Student eligible for PK and PPCD, served in PK classroom by PK teacher for ½ day and provided PPCD services for ½ day 1 – eligible full-day

Reminders Prekindergarten – Section 7  PK Program Type Codes 33 CodeMeaning 00Not applicable 01PK-eligible student participates in a PK program that provides instruction to the student at least 2 hours but fewer than 4 hours each day. 02PK-eligible student participates in a PK program that provides instruction to the student at least 4 hours each day. 03PK-eligible student participates in a PK program that provides instruction to the student at least 4 hours each day and receives special education services. 04PK-ineligible student participates in a PK program that provides instruction to the student at least 2 hours but fewer than 4 hours each day. 05PK-ineligible student participates in a PK program that provides instruction to the student at least 4 hours each day.

Reminders Prekindergarten – Section 7  PK Funding Source Codes 34 CodeMeaning 1Tuition fees 2Local district share funding 3State grant funding 4Federal funding 9Other funding

Change PRS – Section 9  – SPED, PRS, and Earning Eligible Days Present *If a special education student is provided special education homebound services during a week but is not provided PRS, the student may be counted present, but the student is NOT eligible to generate PRS weighted funding for the week. 35

Change Section 10 Alternative Ed Programs & Disciplinary Removals  – Students Required to Attend a JJAEP *A student who is absent on his or her first day of scheduled JJAEP attendance is reported absent at the campus at which he or she was enrolled before assignment to the JJAEP. 36

Region 3 ESC Contact Information  Mary Beth Matula  Charlyn Sciacca  Becky Pullin  (361)

Division Contact Information  Belinda Dyer    (512)