1. REMINDERS AND SIGNIFICANT CHANGES 2013–2014 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH) 1

2. 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

3. 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

4. Reminders Audit Requirements: Section 2  2.3.4 – Additional Required Documentation 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

5. Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.2. – 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) 5

6. Change Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.2.1.4 – Code 3 Eligible Transfer Student Full Day (Code 6 also) Reporting of legally transferred students through PEIMS:  A statement has been added that your district must report the transfer status of each student transferred into the district in the PEIMS fall data submission (p.39) 6

7. Change Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.2.1.5 Code 4 Ineligible Full-Day  3.2.1.6 Code 5 Ineligible Half-Day ADA eligibility of student who is required to pay tuition to obtain or hold a student Visa:  To reflect recent legislation, this type of student has been added to the list of those students who must be coded as ineligible for ADA (p. 40). 7

8. Reminders/Changes 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) p. 47 NEW  *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) p. 47 NEW 8

9. Change 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. 9

10. Reminders/Change Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.3.3 – Student Entitlement to Attend School in District of Residence Your district cannot refuse to serve a student who is entitled to enroll.  *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 p. 50 NEW 10

11. Reminders/Change Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.3.4 – 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 p. 51 NEW 11

12. Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.3.7 – 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 12

13. Reminders/Change 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 p.53 NEW See TREx Data StandardsTREx Data Standards 13

14. Change Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.6.3 – 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 p. 58 NEW 14

15. Changes Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.6.3 – Absences for Which Student May Be Considered Present for FSP (Funding) Purposes (Continued) *Certain absences for students in foster care (appointments, family visitations, court-ordered activities) NEW Election clerk (+ travel) *and student early voting clerk (*limited to 2 days per year; 2 days do not include travel days) NEW *Certain military deployments (limited to 5 days a year) NEW 15

16. Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.6.3.1 – 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" 16

17. Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.6.6 – 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 17

18. Reminders Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.6.5 – 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  3.6.8 – “Tardies” Tardies do not exist for state funding purposes 18

19. Changes Attendance Requirements – Section 3  3.7 – General Education Homebound (GEH) Eligibility criteria  *Required to provide instruction in core academic courses NEW 19

20. Changes CTE – Section 5  5.5.1 – PEIMS 101 Record (Fall & Summer) *As of 2011 the US Department of Education no longer funds Tech-Prep grants This note was added. 20

21. Change CTE – Section 5  5.7 – Career Preparation and Practicum Learning Experiences Practicum  Classroom instruction + time at training site or in lab  Specific to a cluster  Paid or unpaid  * Training plan is not required if student participating in unpaid practicum with teacher of record providing the training 21

22. 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) 22

23. Change Bilingual/ESL – Section 6  6.8 – Withdrawal/Reclassification/Exit Procedures *Once student has met exit criteria, district must notify parent and get parental approval for exit from program 23

24. Change Bilingual/ESL – Section 6  6.11.3 – LPCA Recommendation and Parental Approval Requirements *A student receiving bilingual/ESL program services without written parent or guardian approval is not eligible for bilingual/ESL funding.  6.11.5 - Documentation *Parental approval for exit from the program has been added to list of required documentation 24

25. Change Prekindergarten – Section 7  7.2 – Documentation of Eligibility 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 7.2.5.1) Foster care: Texas DFPS verification letter or *Form 2085FC 25

26. Reminders Prekindergarten – Section 7  7.5 Eligible Days Present and ADA Eligibility 26 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

27. Reminders Prekindergarten – Section 7  PK Program Type Codes 27 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.

28. Reminders Prekindergarten – Section 7  PK Funding Source Codes 28 CodeMeaning 1Tuition fees 2Local district share funding 3State grant funding 4Federal funding 9Other funding

29. Change PRS – Section 9  9.10 – Confinement and Earning Eligible Days Present *Students must receive instruction in core academic courses p. 220 29

30. Change Nontraditional Programs – Section 11  Nontraditional programs include: *college credit programs (including dual credit) Optional Flexible School Day Program (OFSDP) Optional Flexible Year Program (OFYP) High School Equivalency Program (HSEP) 30

31. *Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12 NEW  12.2 – Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN) Provides access to online courses that address Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills and meet national standards for quality online courses Includes:  Statewide catalog of online courses for grades 9–12  TxVSN Online Schools (OLS) program for grades 3–12 31

32. Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12  12.2.1 – Student Eligibility for the TxVSN Student eligible if:  the student, on September 1: is younger than 21 or is younger than 26 and has been admitted to complete diploma requirements;  the student has not graduated from high school; and  the student: is otherwise eligible to enroll in a public school in this state or meets the following criteria:  is a dependent of a US military member,  was previously enrolled in high school in Texas, and  no longer resides in Texas as a result of a military deployment or transfer 32

33. Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12  12.2.1 – Student Eligibility for Full-Time TxVSN Enrollment Student must meet one of the following three criteria:  the student was enrolled in a Texas public school in the preceding school year;  the student has been placed in substitute care in this state; or  the student: is a dependent of a US military member, was previously enrolled in high school in Texas, and no longer resides in Texas as a result of a military deployment or transfer 33

34. Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12  12.3 – Remote Instruction That Is Not Delivered Through the TxVSN Instruction provided through a technology that allows for real-time, 2-way interaction between student and teacher in different locations (e.g., interactive video conferencing Includes:  remote conferencing (attendance based on 2- through-4-hour rule)  remote homebound instruction (attendance based on hours of individualized instruction and homebound funding chart)  distance learning  Waiver required (except for distance learning) 34

35. Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12  12.3.1 – Remote Conferencing – Regular Education Students Student at off-campus location able to virtually participate in classes provided on the student’s campus Must be unable to attend school because of a temporary medical condition documented by physician Attendance based on 2-through-4-hour rule and whether student virtually present at attendance time Remote conferencing is not the same as homebound instruction 35

36. Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12  12.3.2 – Remote Conferencing – Special Education Students Situation in which:  student at off-campus location able to virtually participate in classes provided on the student’s campus or  student at on- or off-campus location receives instruction or services from an appropriately credentialed individual who is at a different location (e.g., speech therapy) ARD committee must determine appropriate Attendance based on 2-through-4-hour rule and whether student present/virtually present at attendance time Remote conferencing is not the same as homebound instruction 36

37. Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12  12.3.3 – Remote Homebound Instruction – Regular Education Students Student at home or hospital receives individualized remote instruction through homebound program All program requirements except in-person instruction must be met Attendance based on number of hours of individualized homebound instruction student receives and homebound funding chart Remote homebound instruction is not the same as remote conferencing 37

38. Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12  12.3.4 – Remote Homebound Instruction – Special Education Students Eligible student at home or hospital receives individualized remote instruction through special education homebound program All program requirements except in-person instruction must be met; ARD committee must determine appropriate Attendance based on number of hours of individualized homebound instruction student receives and homebound funding chart Remote homebound instruction is not the same as remote conferencing 38

39. Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12  12.3.5 – Distance Learning Only form of remote instruction that does not require waiver Student physically located at his or her home campus participates in a class provided at another campus in same district or another district at which students and a teacher are physically present 39

40. Virtual, Remote, and Electronic Instruction – Section 12  12.4 – On-Campus Online Courses Not Provided Through the TxVSN Not provided through TxVSN Teacher must be present in the room Regularly scheduled and not “drop-in”  12.5 – Self-Paced Computer Courses Not provided through TxVSN Teacher must be present in the room Regularly scheduled and not “drop-in” 40

41. Region 3 ESC Contact Information  Mary Beth Matula mbmatula@esc3.net  Charlyn Sciacca sciacca@esc3.net  Becky Pullin bpulling@esc3.net  (361)573-0731

42. Division Contact Information  Belinda Dyer  attendance@tea.state.tx.us attendance@tea.state.tx.us  Belinda.dyer@tea.state.tx.us Belinda.dyer@tea.state.tx.us  (512) 475-3451 42