Categories:
- Enrollment and Services
to Homeless Students
- Immunization
- Confidentiality/FERPA
- PEIMS Coding
- Students with Special
Needs
- Assessment (Statewide
Testing)
- Teacher/Student Ratio
(22 to 1)
- Truancy
- Child Nutrition
- Emergency School
Board Meetings
- Textbooks
- Accountability Issues
- Migrant Student Issues
- Staffing Issues
- Bilingual / ESL
1. Enrollment and Services
to Homeless Students
1. Should Texas students enroll elsewhere
if their home district is closed?
The answer to this question is complex and dependent
on individual situations. If a family has lost or otherwise
cannot use their home due to the hurricane, the children
are homeless under the federal McKinney-Vento Act and
can immediately enroll elsewhere. Parents may wish to
wait until the circumstances of their local school district
and their housing become better known and should be
allowed a week to ten days to make those decisions.
If your school district is closed but will reopen under
an adjusted calendar and the child’s home is habitable,
the child is not homeless simply because his/her school
district is forced to follow a different calendar. If,
however, the child in this situation enrolls in another
district and then returns to their home district when
it reopens, the child will follow that calendar and
may ultimately go to school longer than 180 days. This
situation is no different than when a child moves from
one district to another during a normal family move. In its definition of 'homeless children and youths', Section 725 (2)(B)(i) of McKinney-Vento includes this type of situation. As homeless students, these students are eligible for free-lunch programs.
2. What are the kindergarten and pre-kindergarten
eligibility criteria for incoming homeless students?
In Texas, a student is entitled to enroll in kindergarten
if the student is 5 years of age or older on September
1 of the school year. Thus, a district will only receive
full-day ADA for students who meet this criterion. Note,
however, that because students evacuated due to hurricane
damage are classified as homeless, they are eligible
for pre-kindergarten services in accordance with the
terms of Section 29.153, Texas Education Code (TEC).
A school district or charter school may choose to enroll
a student evacuee who will turn 5 subsequent to September
1 in a grade level other than prekindergarten, but state
funding will in that instance be provided on half-day
basis only. Young children with disabilities ages 3-5
are eligible for special education services upon their
3rd birthday regardless of the date. Upon enrollment,
an IEP team will determine student services.
3. May incoming homeless students be
served separately from resident students?
Please remember that federal law prohibits segregating
homeless students from the general population. Separate “shelter
schools” cannot be used to provide services to
homeless students except in very limited circumstances.
The McKinney-Vento Act does allow some services to be
provided “for short periods of time” to
deal with health and safety emergencies or to provide “temporary,
special, and supplementary services to meet the unique
needs of homeless children.” Such arrangements
may be utilized for short-term services, but students
expected to remain in the district for a significant
period of time should be incorporated into the general
population.
4. What policies should districts follow
in determining that these are truly hurricane evacuees?
A school district or charter school may make reasonable
inquiries to establish that a student is homeless. A
student who is staying in a shelter or who recently
began sharing space with relatives qualifies as homeless.
It is reasonable to accept identification showing
that the parent is from the areas evacuated as evidence
that a student is an evacuee eligible for services as
a homeless student. A utility bill or similar documentation
should not be required under these circumstances.
5. What transportation requirements
apply to homeless students?
Under current state law, school districts are funded
for transportation based on the prior year. Districts
that transport eligible homeless students during the
current school year (FY08-09) will receive transportation
funding at settle-up in September 2009. School districts
may transport homeless students within two miles, but
there is currently no requirement to do so under federal
or state law, and no funding available for it unless
the school has a board policy for hazardous area service
in accordance with TEC 42.155(d).
6. Is Title I, Part A required to provide services to these students in homeless situations caused by the hurricane like any other homeless student?
Yes. All homeless students, including those students who meet the definition as a result of evacuating their homes due to the hurricane, must be served with Title I, Part A funds regardless of the campus they attend. Students enrolling in Title I-served campuses will receive their Title I services through the schoolwide or targeted assistance program on that campus. Students enrolling in non-Title I campuses are to receive Title I, Part A services from the district’s homeless student reservation.
7. If the district now has more students in homeless situations caused by the hurricane qualifying for Title I services on non-Title I campuses than the original reservation will fund, can the district amend its Consolidated NCLB application to increase the reservation?
Yes.
8. What if the district has not received a NOGA on the Consolidated NCLB application and therefore, is not able to submit the amendment in the eGrants system?
To expedite an amendment that is necessary due to an increased enrollment of homeless students caused by the hurricane, the Agency will allow districts to follow the process outlined below in order to be able to provide necessary services.
- The district will print the necessary schedules needing amending from the NCLB web site and complete them by hand in black ink.
- The district will then fax the amended schedules and a signed assurance (to be provided on the NCLB web site) to the Division of NCLB Program Coordination.
- NCLB Program Coordination staff will ensure the amendment is allowable and fax an approved “stamp-in” date back to the district as its auditable documentation for the amendment.
- The district will amend the schedules and submit the amendment electronically through eGrants within 30 days of receipt of the NOGA to the original application.
9. What types of activities or services are allowable uses of federal NCLB funds to assist these students in homeless situations caused by the hurricane?
Title I, Part A—All the students must be served with Title I, Part A funds regardless of the campus attended. The students may receive any traditional instructional services, as well as other non-traditional types of Title I services. The district should meet the needs of the student.
Title I, Part C—Migrant—While the move across school district lines in Texas as a result of the hurricane is not a qualifying move, if the student was identified as Migrant in his/her home LEA, the student is still eligible for any Migrant services while enrolled in a Texas school district.
Title II, Part A—The district may need to update its needs assessment. Changes in enrollments may have caused a need for hiring additional highly qualified teachers to reduce class size under Title II, Part A.
Title III, Part A—The district may need to update its needs assessment. Changes in enrollments may have caused a need for more language acquisition instructional programs, including hiring teachers and paraprofessionals in this area. The district may wish to redirect some Title III, Part A funds from professional development activities to language acquisition instructional services.
Title V, Part A—The district may need to update its needs assessment. Changes in enrollments may have caused a need for various allowable programs/activities/services under Title V, Part A, including supplies and materials.
10. What types of non-traditional Title I services are allowable to the students in homeless situations caused by the hurricane?
An LEA may use funds reserved under P. L. 107-110, Section 1113(c)(3)(A) to provide services to eligible homeless students in both Title I and non-Title I schools that are comparable to services provided to non-homeless students in Title I schools. Services provided should assist such students in meeting the State's challenging academic content and academic achievement standards.
An LEA has the discretion to use reserved funds to provide a homeless student with services that are not ordinarily provided to other Title I students and that are not available from other sources. USDE has stated that there is a difference between what Title I funds can support for homeless students compared with other Title I students.
In general, provided funds are not reasonably available from other public or private sources to provide such services, the district may use Title I, Part A funds for the following types of services to meet these students’ needs.
- Supplies and materials
- Eye glasses
- Clothing to meet a school's dress or uniform requirements
- Medical/dental services
- Immunizations
- Information and referrals to health and social services
The following expenses may not be paid using McKinney-Vento or Title I, Part A funds:
- Utilities
- Rent
- Hotel/motel rooms
- Medical expenses for parents
- Clothing for parents
- Physical exam required for student participation in athletics
- Athletics uniforms
11. Will additional NCLB funding be provided to cover additional costs associated with identifying and serving these students in homeless situations caused by the hurricane?
At this time, we are not aware of additional funds that will be provided either by the state or federal government.
12. What additional resources are available related to serving students in homeless situations caused by the hurricane?
Several resources are available at the following links.
Guidance for the Implementation of Title I, Part A—Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Education Agencies, questions 16, 39, 89, 109, and 142. http://www.tea.state.tx.us/nclb/newpolicy/title1a.pdf
Guidance for the Implementation of Title X, Part C—McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act, Services to Children and Youth in Homeless Situations, questions 1-45. http://www.tea.state.tx.us/nclb/newpolicy/homeless.pdf
Texas Homeless Education Office Resources http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/
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2. Immunization Requirements
1. How should a district or charter
school enforce immunization requirements?
You should assume any student previously enrolled in
a Texas public school meets current immunization requirements.
For any other student, the federal McKinney Act requires
admission of homeless students without regard to documentation
that would otherwise be required, including immunization
records.
3. Confidentiality/FERPA?
1. May public officials conducting
disaster relief activities be given access to student
records?
The health and safety emergency exception to Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act’s (FERPA’s)
general consent rule allows disclosure of education
records to appropriate parties in connection with an
emergency, if the knowledge of such information is necessary
to protect the health or safety of individuals. (34
CFR § 99.31(a)(10) and § 99.36) Under the
health and safety exception, school officials may share
relevant information with “appropriate parties,” that
is, those parties whose knowledge of the information
is necessary to protect the health and safety of the
student or other individuals. (34 C.F.R. § 99.36(a))
Typically, law enforcement officials, public health
officials, and trained medical personnel are “appropriate
parties” for purposes of this exception. You
may also consider entities that provide housing
and medical services to evacuees to be “appropriate
parties,” provided that disclosure of personally
identifiable information from education records is limited
to what is necessary to protect the health or safety
of the students or other individuals.
2. May school districts and charter
schools release the names of hurricane victims who have
enrolled in Texas schools to reporters or others who
do not need to the information for health and safety
related purposes?
No. This information would identify these students
as “homeless” and thus would violate FERPA.
School districts and charter schools should consult
with their legal counsel concerning requests by government
relief. Of course, every effort should be made to provide
information quickly when release is permissible under
FERPA.
4. PEIMS Coding
1. How are incoming students from
other states to be coded in PEIMS?
Students arriving from disaster areas and staying in
the area of Texas public school districts are enrolled
as if they are districts residents. Generally, they
are coded on the 101 STUDENT DATA –DEMOGRAPHIC
record, E1000 STUDENT ATTRIBUTION CODE as if they are
residents. The students are eligible for funding and
are coded on the 110 STUDENT DATA – ENROLLMENT
record, E0787 ADA ELIGIBLITY following the usual guidelines
for ADA eligibility outlined in the Student Attendance
Accounting Handbook. Please see the PEIMS Data Standards
web page (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/peims/standards/ESCs_v3.doc)
for additional information.
2. For Hurricane Ike evacuees that are enrolling in public school, what student identification number should be used for school enrollment?
Appropriate district staff should first check the identification information (name, date of birth, and student ID number), submitted on the student enrollment application, against the PID/PET databases in order to obtain the correct or verify student identification number that has already been reported for the student by another district. Giving this student a new identification number and submitting this student to TEA with a new identification number when one already exist for this student in the TEA databases will create a second unique PID entry for this student and lead to a PID error that will be displayed on a PID/PET discrepancy report for the district. If a school is enrolling an evacuee student from out of state and/or there is no Texas public school data history for the student, then the school district will have to enroll the student using the information on the student enrollment application until records can be obtained from the prior school to verify the identification information offered.
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5. Students with Special
Needs
1. What services will children with
special needs be eligible to receive?
A school district or charter school should make every
effort to ensure that students eligible to participate
in special education, gifted and talented, bilingual
or ESL services receive those services. Additional services
may be provided through the district/campus Title I
program. Further, any student who is in a homeless situation
is covered by the federal McKinney-Vento Act and is
eligible to receive free school meals.
6. Student Assessment
(Statewide Testing
Including TAKS)
1. Will incoming evacuee students
be required to take statewide assessments including
the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS)
during respective testing dates?
Students who enrolled in Texas public schools are expected
to participate in the Texas assessment program in the
same manner and to the same extent as resident public
school students.
2. How will the October exit level
Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) retests
be affected by the displacement of students from certain
Texas districts and from other states?
October exit level TAKS retests will be administered
on the schedule as provided in the 2008-2009 testing
calendar.
3. What should we do if our district is closed and we are unable to receive testing materials that are to be shipped in the next few weeks?
Pearson is holding materials for districts in areas known to be affected. These materials will be held pending notification from you that your district is accepting deliveries at the address on record with Pearson.
Please email AOCAnswers@support.pearson.com or call Pearson's Austin Operations Center at 800-252-9186 as soon as possible so we can have updated information on the status of your district's ability to receive shipments.
7. Teacher – Student
Ratio (22 to 1)
1. What options does a school district
have with respect to the 22-to-1 student/teacher ratio?
A school district with a significant influx of students
due to the hurricane may obtain a waiver of the 22-to-1
student/teacher ratio requirements by notifying the
agency of the need. There is no requirement to formally
apply beyond the conditions referenced in the commissioner's
letter of September 16, 2008 (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/taa/comm091608.html)
regarding issues related to the hurricane. Districts
will be asked to maintain documentation of the need
for a waiver and track when a waiver is no longer necessary.
Districts may provide notice by e-mailing, faxing, or
mailing a short statement indicating intent as follows:
Fax: (512) 463-8317
E-mail: philip.cochran@tea.state.tx.us
ATTN: Philip Cochran
Texas Education Agency
1701 North Congress Avenue, Suite 2 - 137
Austin, TX 78701
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8. Truancy
1. Will these students be subject
to truancy laws at some point?
All school-age individuals are subject to compulsory
attendance. However, evacuated students should be given
a reasonable period of time to determine whether they
will be returning to their former school district, or
will enroll in another district. Truancy charges should
not be filed until that determination
can be made.
9. Child Nutrition
1. Will school districts and charter
schools receive additional lunch program support for
these students?
A district with a significant influx of students may
increase its entitlement under the federal free and
reduced-price lunch program automatically to the extent
the students qualify as homeless.
10. Emergency School
Board Meetings
1. Can our school board hold an emergency
meeting?
The Texas Open Meetings Act allows emergency meetings
in response to circumstances that constitute an immanent
threat to public health and safety or reasonably unforeseen
circumstances. Information about open meetings generally
is available on the Texas Attorney General’s website
(Texas Open Meetings Handbook 2008, at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/AG_Publications/pdfs/openmeeting_hb2008.pdf.
Both emergency and telephonic meetings are possible
under emergency conditions (see pages 35-37 and 23-24,
respectively). You should consult with local counsel
to determine whether your circumstances warrant use
of an emergency or telephonic meeting.
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11. Textbooks
1. How do I report textbooks that
were damaged due to Hurricane Ike?
The textbook coordinator will report damaged textbooks
in the EMAT system on form TEX-012, Report on State-Owned
Textbooks That Have Been Destroyed. Districts must complete
the report of damaged textbooks as soon as possible
but not later than 60 days after the loss of textbooks.
Only one report per occurrence should be submitted.
When completing the TEX-012, first complete the drop-down
box that indicates how the textbooks were damaged and
then mark “Hurricane Ike” next to “Other.” The
form may be sent by fax to (512) 475-3612 or mailed
to Texas Education Agency, Instructional Materials and
Educational Technology, 1701 North Congress Avenue,
Austin, Texas 78701.
Braille and large print textbooks will be reported
as damaged in the EMAT system on form EVI-012, Report
on State-Owned EVI Products That Have Been Destroyed.
Districts must complete the report of damaged special
textbooks as soon as possible but not later than 60
days after the loss of textbooks. Only one report per
occurrence should be submitted. When completing the
EVI-012, first complete the drop-down box that indicates
how the textbooks were damaged and then enter “Hurricane
Ike” next to “Other”. The form may
be sent by fax to (512) 475-3612 or mailed to Texas
Education Agency, Instructional Materials and Educational
Technology, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas
78701.
2. What do we do with the books that
were damaged?
Districts must dispose of the damaged books locally.
3. Once districts report on textbooks
that have been damaged or destroyed, how do districts
order replacement textbooks?
To order replacement textbooks, the district must submit
an “Ike (Texas) Disaster” requisition in
the EMAT system.
4. How do we order instructional materials
for students from another Texas school district who
have been displaced by Hurricane Ike?
Please follow the procedures below:
a. Update the populations in EMAT to allow for
the increase in students. Please refer to the EMAT
Online Help link found at the top of the left-hand
side of the EMAT screen. Instructions are located
under the header, “Using EMAT for Requisitions,” and
under the title “Populations for Textbook
Requisitions.”
b. Create separate requisitions when ordering materials
for students displaced by Hurricane Ike. In EMAT under “Requisitions” and “Create,” open
the “Ike (Texas) Disaster” requisition.
Material for displaced students from Texas should
be ordered under “Ike (Texas) Disaster.”
c. Send a memo to the attention of Deanna Marotz
at deanna.marotz@tea.state.tx.us and
provide the following information:
For students from Texas: The number
of students, the school district, the county district
number, and county in Texas the students are from
and the “Ike (Texas) Disaster” requisition
number.
Please follow the procedures below for ordering special
textbooks:
a. Create separate requisitions when ordering special
textbooks for students displaced by Hurricane Ike.
In EMAT under “Requisitions (EVI)” and “Create”,
open the “Ike (Texas) Disaster” requisition.
Material for displaced students from Texas should
be ordered under “Ike (Texas) Disaster”.
b. Send a memo to the attention of Pat Hatcher at
pat.hatcher@tea.state.tx.us and provide the following
information:
For students from Texas: The number
of students, the school district, the county district
number, and county in Texas the students are from
and the “Ike (Texas) Disaster requisition number.”
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12. Accountability Issues
1. How will performance of students
displaced by Hurricane Ike during the 2008-09 school
year affect state and federal accountability ratings?
For both state accountability ratings and Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP), accountability decisions will
go through established decision-making processes. For
state accountability, this process includes an Educator
Focus Group that will meet in February and Commissioner's
Accountability Advisory Committee that will meet in
March. Final decisions from this process will be announced
in early April 2009. For AYP specific changes are reviewed
by the Texas Title I Committee of Practitioners and
submitted for approval to the USDE in mid-February 2009.
Over the next few weeks, districts will be notified
as soon as any decisions are made that potentially impact
the 2009 state and federal accountability systems.
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13. Migrant Student Issues
1. Should Migrant recruiters attempt to locate and identify potentially eligible migrant students among the newly-arriving students displaced by Hurricane Ike?
Yes, this should be done upon school enrollment.
2. How should Migrant recruiters attempt to identify and recruit these families?
As always, use the various strategies outlined in the 2008 Texas Manual for the Identification and Recruitment of Migrant Students. Examples are distributing the migrant-specific surveys, posting flyers at food banks and grocery stores, visiting clinics and referrals through emergency aid organizations.
3. Why should LEAs and ESCs attempt to locate and identify potentially eligible Migrant families?
LEAs (project districts) and ESCs (non-project districts and Shared Service Arrangements) must attempt to locate and identify families who are eligible for Migrant services in order to continue those services that may have been in place in their home states as well as to connect families to instructional and social services for which they are eligible.
4. If the family is identified as Migrant, what should the current address be on the COE if the family is living in a shelter or emergency housing?
The recruiter should record the name and the address of the shelter or temporary housing where the family is currently residing, i.e., YMCA, 312 Pine St.
5. What information should be entered on the New Generation System (NGS) for these Migrant students?
All COE information and any other available data that is outlined in the 2008 NGS Implementation Guidelines for School Districts and Education Service Centers.
14. Staffing Issues
1. Can a school district that is closed due to the hurricane continue to pay its teachers?
The Texas Constitution generally prohibits payments to staff beyond those that are legally required by the employment contract or agreement. However, two options are possible in extreme circumstances like Hurricane Ike. Under emergency circumstances, school district may apply to shorten the required number of days of service by a contract employee under Section 21.401 of the Education Code to coincide with a shortened district calendar. Districts should carefully consider this option to be sure that necessary services will still be required by the contract when school reopens. Alternatively, some district after Hurricane Rita passed resolutions determining that the district itself benefited from employee retention and paid contract and hourly staff on that basis. Either option should first be reviewed with local counsel and in light of local contract provisions and employment policies..
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15. Bilingual / ESL
1. Will we be given an extension for completing the initial Language Proficiency Assessment Committee responsibilities? We realize that September ___ was our deadline for completing initial LPACS (we started school on August ___ ); however, due to the natural disaster in the form of hurricane “Ike”, many school districts, were closed and classes were cancelled. All staff is to report to work on the ____, but the students won't come back to school until ___.
Would we just continue counting from the last day the district was open until the day it reopened?
YES. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) provided clarification for the four weeks as being 20 school days in the Framework for the LPAC Process Manual Section III LPAC Responsibilities, page 56, second paragraph which you can read below and view on the following URL http://ell.tamucc.edu/files/p1-233LPACProcessManual0907.pdf “When a student enrolls in school and indicates a language other than English on the Home Language Survey, the LPAC’s time requirements begin. Within four weeks of enrollment (or 20 school days), the LPAC should review documentation of the student’s language proficiency and academic status, and recommend placement in a Bilingual or English as a second language (ESL) program as required by state law. Parental permission must be acquired within the 20-day period. The LPAC must also recommend instructional methods and interventions and determine the state criterion-referenced assessment options at the appropriate time. If the parent denies the program, the LPAC may recommend the general education classroom.”
Since four weeks or 20 days actually means school days, then all the school districts that have suffered this natural disaster would have sufficient time to complete the requirements of the LPAC as stated in Texas Education Code 29.053 (b) due to the fact that those four weeks or 20 days are the number of days the school districts actually hold school.
2. The exceptions to the bilingual program and waivers to the ESL program forms are usually due to the agency on October 1. Will we have an extension in submitting these forms?
The Texas Education Agency had already changed the due date for the exceptions and waiver forms to be November 1. We expect that to be sufficient time for those districts that suffered this natural disaster and need to file and exception to the bilingual program or a waiver to the ESL program form and submit it to the agency.
3. We had a family of evacuees from the natural disaster Ike’s hurricane registering this morning at our school and they are living with somebody from our school. They said that their child was already attending school in the disaster area receiving Bilingual program services, but did not bring any records with them. We tried to call the school, but the schools are closed. What do we do?
The district should place them in bilingual programs if the district offers one and requests documentation when the school opens and if the student is planning to stay. If no documentation is available then the district should proceed as if this was an initial enrollment in Texas schools.
4. If the district chooses to redirect Title III, Part A funding to hire teachers or paraprofessionals, are there any limitations on those staff?
Yes, Title III, Part A statute only allows expenditures for instructional and professional development costs that are reasonable and necessary for improving the English proficiency and academic achievement of LEP children. In addition, the non-supplanting requirement in Title III, Part A statute requires that funds not be used to pay for costs that, in the absence of the Title III program, would have been paid for with other State, local, or Federal funds. Therefore, teachers or paraprofessionals hired under Title III, Part A must be assigned solely to classrooms to improve the English language proficiency and academic achievement of LEP children.
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