Weekly Update (1.7.2016)
TEA Information
2015-2016 Data Validation Monitoring Leaver Records Staging
The purpose of this letter is to provide districts, including charter schools, with 2015-2016 intervention staging information for data validation monitoring of leaver records (DVM-L).
Morath takes office as Texas Commissioner of Education; King appointed as Acting U.S. Secretary of Education
Mike Morath was administered the oath of office on Monday, January 4, 2016 in Austin to become the new Commissioner of Education for the State of Texas. John King has been appointed as the U.S. Acting Secretary of Education. Click for the meet John King video.
Texas’ Teacher Equity Plan gets federal approval
12/22/2015 Commissioner of Education Michael Williams announced that the Texas Education Agency has been notified that a federally required state plan to ensure equitable access to excellent educators has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education. The state’s 2015 Equity Plan is part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Excellent Educators for All initiative. The initiative is designed to ensure all students have equal access to a high-quality education.
“Regardless of where you attend school, educators who guide student learning remain the key ingredients to assuring a high-quality education and to closing the achievement gap,” said Commissioner Williams. “With that in mind, our state’s equity plan stresses ongoing support throughout an educator’s career and encourages opportunities for mentoring, campus support, and career advancement.”
Formally submitted this past summer, Texas Education Agency staff worked with the Texas Comprehensive Center (an affiliate of American Institutes for Research) and various stakeholders in developing a plan that focused on five key strategies that build upon the work TEA and districts have already begun, including:
· Develop guidance and tools for districts to create and implement local equity plans;
· Facilitate targeted training and professional development for teachers, including teacher candidates;
· Explore opportunities for reward, recognition, and career advancement for teachers;
· Facilitate campus leader training and support; and
· Encourage training of and support for mentors of novice teachers.
In announcing approval of the Texas plan (along with plans from eight other states and Puerto Rico), the U.S. Department of Education noted the state’s work toward supporting teacher preparation and development programs, increasing data-driven decision-making and committing to meaningful progress in eliminating identified equity gaps by publicly reporting their progress.
In July 2014, the U.S. Department of Education announced a comprehensive Excellent Educators for All initiative. States were asked to create comprehensive plans that put in place locally-developed solutions to ensure every student has equal access to effective educators. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico submitted plans for review by the department.
The plans are required by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). On Dec. 10, 2015, the President signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which reauthorizes the ESEA, into law.
The state’s 2015 Equity Plan can be viewed on the Texas Education Agency website at http://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/Laws_and_Rules/NCLB_and_ESEA/Title_I,_Part_A_-_Improving_Basic_Programs/State_Plan_To_Ensure_Equitable_Access_to_Excellent_Educators/
Reminder from the Division of Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting
Upcoming Deadline: Changes to Special Education SSA Membership
This is a reminder of an upcoming special education deadline that applies only to LEAs planning a change to their special education shared services arrangements (SSAs) for 2016–2017.
If you are not making a change to your LEA’s SSA, no notification to TEA is required.
Special Education SSA Configuration Changes
Notify TEA if you are making either of the following changes to your LEA’s SSA:
· Your LEA is participating in a new special education SSA.
· There is a membership configuration change to an existing special education SSA.
Once TEA receives your notification, the agency will send you further information on fiscal-related deadlines and requirements.
Notification Deadline
If you are making either of the configuration changes described above, you must notify TEA by February 1, 2016, in order for the agency to finalize IDEA-B planning amounts for the 20162017 school year.
The February 1, 2016, deadline is final and will not be extended. An LEA that fails to submit its notification by that deadline will not be permitted to implement changes to its SSA membership for 2016–2017.
Further Information
Refer to the Special Education—Shared Services Arrangement (SSA) Procedures for further information regarding this requirement.
Contact
If you have any questions, please email the Division of Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting at .
Summary of Finance Reports (SOF) Updated to Reflect Homestead Exemption from Senate Bill 1
The 2015-2016 summary of finance reports have been updated to reflect the impact of the mandatory homestead exemption increase. These updates include:
1. Reduced property values for the calculation of state aid and recapture. The revised property value can now be seen on line 14 of your district’s SOF. The lower value has the effect of increasing state aid in Tier I and Tier II as well as reducing recapture for those districts that pay it. State aid under the Existing Debt Allotment (EDA) and the Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA) will also increase as a function of reduced property values.
2. Reduced estimated maintenance and operations (M&O) tax collections in proportion to the property value reduction. The revised M&O collections can now be seen on line 19 of your district’s SOF. Note that this value will be replaced with district reported tax collections from the Tax Information Survey when we run the Near Final SOF next September and with the actual tax collections from the district’s J-1 schedule in the annual financial report when we run the final SOF in the following spring.
3. Calculated hold-harmless payments for lost M&O collections due to the implementation of the homestead exemption. This value can be seen in the “Other Programs” detail report on line 2 and is called “Additional State Aid for Homestead Exemption” (ASAHE). State aid calculated here is only the amount of calculated lost collections that are not compensated through increased state aid (in Tier I, Tier II and ASATR) or in reduced recapture. Note that the bulk of increased M&O funding will flow through the formulas rather than hold-harmless.
4. Calculated hold-harmless payments for lost I&S collections due to the implementation of the homestead exemption. This value can be seen on line 52 of the SOF and is called “Additional State Aid for Homestead Exemption for Facilities”. State aid calculated here is only the amount of calculated lost I&S collections that are not made up through increased state aid in IFA or EDA. The hold-harmless for I&S collections is now reflected on your EDA payment ledger.
You can access the updated SOF reports and payment ledgers here: https://wfspcprdap1b16.tea.state.tx.us/Fsp/Reports/ReportSelection.aspx
For questions, contact State Funding, Texas Education Agency
Phone: 512-463-0986
Fax: 512-305-9165
For All LEAs: Carryover Reports Now Available in GFFC Reports and Data Collections
TEA has published a report for each individual LEA detailing the amount of federal carryover funds that have been made available to the LEA. Your federal carryover amount report is now available through TEAL in the GFFC Reports and Data Collections secure application.
Accessing Your Report
Follow these steps to access your report:
1. Log onto TEAL.
2. Select GFFC Reports and Data Collections from the application list.
3. From the Report Title drop-down list, select Federal Funding Carryover Report.
4. From the School Year drop-down list, select 2015-2016.
Excess Carryover As Risk Indicator
Section 200.205 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations requires the US Department of Education to evaluate the risks posed by applicants before they can receive federal awards. As an applicant, TEA must demonstrate a satisfactory record of managing federal grants in order to be eligible to receive federal awards. One of the risks identified in 200.205(c)(3) concerns the potential for excess carryover.
Excess carryover can indicate poor planning, poor program implementation, poor fiscal management, or poor performance outcomes of federal grants.
TEA considers the following carryover amounts excessive:
· 50 percent or more, for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (IDEA-B) formula grant funds
· 25 percent or more, for grants authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and other IDEA grant funds
For Further Information
If you have any questions about your carryover report or excess carryover, please submit a request through the TEA Help Desk.
TETNs on Reimbursement Training for High Risk Grantees Designated by TEA
The following High Risk Reimbursement Training TETNs will provide guidance to high risk grantees expending federal grants administered by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) whom have been placed on a payment by reimbursement basis. Training will include guidance on the specific condition reimbursement process and detailed requirements for the reimbursement of grant expenditures. These TETNs will be provided by TEA and are open for districts and charters to register and attend at Region 4. Click on the link below to register.
If your district is a videoconferencing network member, you may be able to attend this meeting in your district. Contact your district videoconferencing coordinator, or the Region 4 videoconferencing team at .
Target Audience: High Risk Grantees designated by TEA
· TETN for Federal/State Programs - High Risk Reimbursement Training
Attend this TETN session to learn about updates in federal/state programs. Hear from Texas Education Agency staff about issues such as completing funding applications, securing TEASE designation and certification for the eGrants system, and receiving updates on program or performance requirements.
Session ID: 1218302
Schedule: Feb 17, 2016
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Region 4 ESC – TETN, 7145 West Tidwell, Houston, 77092
· TETN for Federal/State Programs - High Risk Reimbursement Training
Attend this TETN session to learn about updates in federal/state programs. Hear from Texas Education Agency staff about issues such as completing funding applications, securing TEASE designation and certification for the eGrants system, and receiving updates on program or performance requirements.
Session ID: 1218309
Schedule: Feb 3, 2016
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Region 4 ESC – TETN, 7145 West Tidwell, Houston, 77092
The TETN host is Tammy Michels, , 512-463-9918. If you have questions, contact Dr. Edna Forté, Accountability & Leadership Solutions, Federal & State Programs at 713.744.6358 or .
Commissioner of Education Rules, Commissioner of Education Rule Review, State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) Rules Filings and Change to Rule Review Plan, and State Board of Education Rules
A number of recent proposed rule reviews, proposals, and adoptions have been issued. Please see information at the end of this weekly update for activity over the winter break. Although not all COE or SBOE rules, reviews or actions are directly related to special education, several are or have implications for students who qualify for special education and related services.
IDEA B Maintenance of Effort
TEA is on track to complete 2014-2015 IDEA-B LEA MOE compliance reviews this spring using the following data:
· PEIMS financial data mid-year collection
· Summary of Finance (SOF)
· SPED student count (October snapshot)
· SHARS Reimbursement Reports.
Be sure to review the TTAA letter dated December 10, 2015, which explains two changes to the IDEA-B LEA MOE Guidance Handbook:
1. SOF data used in the calculation will be from the first “Near Final” report (for 2014-2015, it is dated 9/8/14).
2. Exceptions for “decrease in the enrollment of children with disabilities” will offer LEAs greater flexibility to justify/document a decrease in expenditures as a result of a “decrease in enrollment . . . “ – examples include re-assigning teachers to general education and closing a self-contained unit. TEA-approved exceptions of this kind will lower the MOE baseline/threshold going forward. Good news for LEAs!
TEA staff are working on finalizing website resources and training opportunities:
· Compliance Review Flowchart – will be posted to the IDEA-B LEA MOE website soon
· Compliance Report format for Preliminary and Final MOE reports
· TCASE Learning Lab sessions – January 20, 2016, from 10:45 – noon and 1:30 – 2:45
· Future TETNs – February 9th Session #1218535 and February 11th Session # 1218536, register at www.esc4.net
E-mail questions to
High Cost Funds Update
· Districts will submit HCF eligibility applications for high-need students with disabilities through the TEASE HCF Eligibility Application
o Only one HCF eligibility data entry person per district is allowed
o If districts have listed a person who is no longer approved by the superintendent to be the HCF eligibility data entry person, they need to have the approval for that person revoked (TEASE User Administration +) and a new application must be submitted through TEASE (Add/Modify Application Access)
o Districts that plan to submit HCF eligibility applications should ensure they have TEASE access now
· Costs must be documented in a high-need child’s IEP
o Only costs that are student-specific and are associated with the provision of FAPE are allowable
o Costs for items that equip classrooms or that will be used by multiple students are not allowable
· Documentation
o Districts must provide documentation for all HCF expenditures. Districts must submit the entire ARD/IEP document and include a cover sheet that references the page numbers of the document where the submitted costs in the eligibility application are documented.
o Districts should be prepared to submit time and effort and certification reports if the award funds the pro-rated salaries of any personnel.
Changes from 2014-2015
· Grants will be based on reimbursement
o Districts will submit HCF eligibility applications in the spring based on funds they have already used to provide FAPE to high-need students with disabilities.
o Previously districts submitted HCF eligibility applications in the fall based on estimates of funds they would need to provide FAPE to high-need students with disabilities.
· Limit on number of applications
o Districts may submit HCF eligibility applications for up to two percent (2%) of the students enrolled in special education from the fall 2015 snapshot.
o Considerations will be considered on a case-by-case if an LEA exceeds 2% of enrolled students with disabilities