| (a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Optional Flexible Year Program (OFYP)--An OFYP
is a program authorized under the Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.0821,
that is approved by the commissioner of education to provide a flexible
year program to meet the educational needs of its students, including
providing intensive instructional services. A school district approved
by the commissioner of education to implement an OFYP may reduce the
number of instructional minutes for certain students.
(2) School district--For the purposes of this section,
the definition of a school district includes an open-enrollment charter
school.
(b) Eligibility. A student is eligible to participate
in the OFYP if the student meets one or more of the following criteria.
(1) The student did not or is not likely to achieve
a passing score on an assessment instrument administered under the
TEC, §39.023.
(2) The student is not eligible for promotion to the
next grade level.
(c) Program criteria.
(1) A school district may reduce the number of instructional
minutes during the regular school year for students who are not eligible
for participation in this program to no fewer than 71,400 minutes.
(2) A school district must provide at least 75,600
minutes of instruction to those students who meet the eligibility
criteria defined in subsection (b) of this section.
(3) A school district that provides transportation
services must continue to provide these services during the OFYP.
(4) A school district that provides meal services through
the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, or a
locally funded program must continue to provide these services during
the OFYP.
(5) A school district may require educational support
personnel to provide service as necessary for an OFYP.
(6) A school district may not reduce the number of
educators on staff on OFYP instructional days.
(7) A school district must schedule proposed OFYP instructional
minutes before the last approved state student assessment testing
window of the school year.
(d) Approval process. To implement an OFYP, a school
district must request prior approval from the commissioner of education.
(1) A school district must submit a letter to the Texas
Education Agency (TEA) division responsible for state funding describing
the proposed modifications to the instructional calendar, including
a description of the OFYP that will be provided under the TEC, §29.0821.
The letter must indicate the date on which the board of trustees approved
the modified instructional calendar. If the district is requesting
a waiver of staff development days or teacher preparation days, the
letter must also indicate that the request to waive staff development
days or teacher preparation days has been approved by the campus site-based
decision-making committee.
(2) A school district must submit to the TEA a copy
of its modified instructional calendar. The instructional calendar
must indicate the days and minutes scheduled as OFYP instructional
days. No approval will be granted that reduces the number of instructional
minutes to fewer than 71,400 minutes.
(3) Approval to modify the number of instructional
days is limited to one year. Requests for a school district to operate
an OFYP for subsequent years must be approved annually.
(4) The commissioner may require a school district
to provide an evaluation that demonstrates the success of its approach
as a condition of approval.
(e) Funding. For a school district that operates an
OFYP, the calculation of average daily attendance is modified to reflect
the approved instructional calendar. For students placed on a reduced
instructional calendar, the reported number of days of instruction
used as the divisor in calculating average daily attendance must reflect
the reduced number of days. For eligible students served through the
OFYP, the reported number of days of instruction used as the divisor
in calculating average daily attendance must reflect the scheduled
number of days in which instruction took place.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §129.1029 adopted to be effective November 20, 2008, 33 TexReg 9233; amended to be effective April 26, 2016, 41 TexReg 2957; amended to be effective July 8, 2018, 43 TexReg 4453 |
