January 2016 Committee on School Finance Permanent School Fund Item 1
Review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter A, Student Attendance Allowed, and Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting
January 28, 2016
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL FINANCE/PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: Texas Government Code, §2001.039, establishes a four-year rule review cycle for all state agency rules, including State Board of Education (SBOE) rules. This item presents the review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter A, Student Attendance Allowed, and Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting. Subchapter A addresses free attendance in general, and Subchapter B addresses requirements for student attendance accounting for state funding purposes.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the rule review is the Texas Government Code, §2001.039. The statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §42.004 and §12.106.
The Texas Government Code, §2001.039, requires all state agencies to review their rules at least once every four years.
The TEC, §42.004, requires the commissioner, in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education, to require reports necessary to implement and administer the Foundation School Program.
The TEC, §12.106, provides for charter schools to receive funding under certain conditions through the TEC, Chapter 42.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE last adopted the review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, in April 2012, finding that the reasons for initially adopting the rules continued to exist. Since that time, 19 TAC §129.21 was amended by the SBOE effective August 23, 2012 and December 31, 2014.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: The review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, will be presented to the SBOE for adoption at the April 2016 board meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The rule in 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapter A, addresses certain eligibility criteria students must meet for enrollment in public schools.
The rule in 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapter B, provides the student attendance accounting requirements school districts must follow and describes the manner in which student attendance is earned. The rule also provides a list of conditions under which a student who is not actually on campus at the time attendance is taken may be considered in attendance for Foundation School Program (FSP) funding purposes.
ANTICIPATED REVISIONS TO RULES: At a future meeting, staff anticipates presenting the discussion of an amendment to 19 TAC §129.21 that would allow paraprofessionals to take attendance when students are participating in approved off-campus programs.
RULE REVIEW: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) plans to file the review of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, with the Texas Register following the January 2016 SBOE meeting. The TEA will accept comments as to whether reasons for adopting 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, continue to exist. The official comment period will begin with publication of the notice of proposed review in the Texas Register.
The filing of the notice of proposed review soliciting comments as to whether the reason for adoption continues to exist would not preclude any amendments that may be proposed at different dates through a separate rulemaking process.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The rules in 19 TAC Chapter 129, Subchapters A and B, set forth uniform practices for attendance accounting, assuring consistent and fair administration of the state FSP.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
Staff Members Responsible:
Lisa Dawn-Fisher, Associate Commissioner
School Finance / Chief School Finance Officer
Amanda Brownson, Director
State Funding
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF, 22KB)
II. Text of 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter A, Student Attendance Allowed, and Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting (PDF, 26KB)