(a) Student eligibility. To be considered educationally
disadvantaged in order to be counted to generate the compensatory
education allotment pursuant to Texas Education Code (TEC), §48.104,
a student must meet the income requirements for eligibility under
the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), authorized by 42 United
States Code, §§1751, et seq. School districts and open-enrollment
charter schools may use the following approved methods for the purpose
of receiving the compensatory education allotment pursuant to TEC, §48.104:
(1) parent certification, where the parent or guardian
asserts meeting the income requirements for eligibility under this
subsection;
(2) direct certification, where the process by which
eligible children are certified for free meals without the need for
a household application based on household participation in one or
more federal assistance programs; or
(3) direct verification, where public records are used
to verify a student's eligibility for free or reduced-price meals
when verification of student eligibility is required.
(b) Student eligibility under the alternative method.
In order to calculate the formula transition grant pursuant to TEC, §48.277,
and §61.1011 of this title (relating to Formula Transition Grant),
for purposes of calculating the compensatory education allotment under
TEC, §42.152, as that section existed prior to House Bill 3,
86th Texas Legislature, 2019, school districts and open-enrollment
charter schools with one or more campuses not participating in the
NSLP may derive an eligible student count by an alternative method.
(1) To be considered educationally disadvantaged in
order to be counted for compensatory education funding using the alternative
method, a student must meet the income requirements for eligibility
under the NSLP.
(2) The total number of eligible students is the average
of the best six months' count of students in accordance with paragraph
(1) of this subsection. For school districts and open-enrollment charter
schools in the first year of operation, the count is taken from the
current school year. For all others, the count is from the preceding
school year.
(3) For the purposes of receiving compensatory education
funding under this subsection, school districts and open-enrollment
charter schools must apply and adhere to reporting procedures.
(A) The commissioner of education will make available
to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools appropriate
income eligibility guidelines and application and reporting forms.
The number of eligible students in accordance with paragraph (1) of
this subsection will be reported on a monthly basis to the Texas Education
Agency (TEA) in a manner and with a deadline specified by the commissioner.
(B) School districts and open-enrollment charter schools
must request prior approval from the commissioner to claim students
receiving a full-time virtual education through the state virtual
school network in their counts of educationally disadvantaged students.
The request must include a plan detailing the enhanced services to
be delivered to full-time state virtual school network students and
submitted in a manner and with a deadline specified by the commissioner.
(c) Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). School districts
and open-enrollment charter schools with one or more campuses using
the CEP must still determine each student's individual eligibility
status under the income guidelines for the NSLP for purposes of the
compensatory education allotment.
(d) Provisions for students participating in virtual
learning in the 2021-2022 school year. For the 2021-2022 school year,
students identified as educationally disadvantaged and designated
in the Texas Student Data System Public Education Information Management
System (TSDS PEIMS) with average daily attendance (ADA) eligibility
code 9, Enrolled, Not in Membership Due to Virtual Learning, will
generate state compensatory education funds and applicable weight
as determined by their census block group number.
(e) Recordkeeping. School districts and open-enrollment
charter schools that receive compensatory education program funding
pursuant to this section are responsible for obtaining the appropriate
data from families of potentially eligible students, verifying that
information, and retaining records.
(f) Auditing procedures. The TEA will conduct an audit
of data submitted by school districts and open-enrollment charter
schools that receive compensatory education program funding pursuant
to this section approximately every five years or on an alternative
schedule adopted at the discretion of the commissioner.
(g) Data source. The compensatory education allotment
will be based on each student census block group submitted by school
districts and open-enrollment charter schools in the TSDS PEIMS Fall
submission. A census block group number must be submitted for every
educationally disadvantaged student and each student coded with ADA
eligibility code 9, except those students who are homeless, not enrolled,
or otherwise ineligible for ADA or who reside in a residential facility
and whose parents live outside the district.
|
Source Note: The provisions of this §61.1027 adopted to be effective December 2, 2001, 26 TexReg 9619; amended to be effective May 17, 2016, 41 TexReg 3478; amended to be effective July 21, 2020, 45 TexReg 4971; amended to be effective April 19, 2022, 47 TexReg 2011 |