9.	DISTRICT REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) establishes district reporting requirements for both automated data collections (those which involve the submission of data in an exclusively electronic format) and paper collections. In most instances, districts are given the option to submit paper collections in an electronic format.

There are two major data requirements which depend on the submission of electronically formatted information from school districts. The more extensive of these systems is the general data collection known as the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS). This data system gathers information about public education organizations, school district finances and staff, and students. A summary of the information types is shown in Table 9.1. There are 145 data elements in PEIMS for the 1996-97 school year, and all reporting requirements for the elements are documented annually in the TEA publication, PEIMS Data Standards. This large scale data collection is designed to meet a number of data submission requirements in federal and state law. The PEIMS system and its data requirements have been the subject of two advisory review committees. The Policy Committee on Public Education Information meets on a quarterly basis to provide advice to the commissioner concerning data collection policies and strategies. All major changes to PEIMS requirements are reviewed by this committee, which is comprised of representatives of school districts, regional education service centers, and legislative and executive state government offices. In addition, the Information Task Force provides technical reviews of proposed changes to PEIMS data standards, and reports to the Policy Committee on Public Education Information. This group is made up of agency, school district, and regional education service center staff, and has conducted sunset reviews in 1991-92, and again in 1996-97, of all PEIMS data elements to minimize reporting burdens on school districts. The second system used for gathering information in an electronic format is the Child Nutrition Program Information Management System (CNPIMS). This data collection system is designed to meet the administrative data requirements of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast reimbursement systems. It is designed for direct input from school districts through dial-up connections to an agency server. There are approximately five principal entry screens with about 30 data elements in the CNPIMS for the 1996-97 school year, and all reporting requirements for the elements are documented in the TEA publication, CNPIMS User's Manual, August, 1995. Total data requirements vary with the size of the school district, but monthly reimbursement claims require input of only eight fields.

Table 9.1 Information Types in The PEIMS Electronic Collection Organizations District name and assigned number Shared service arrangement types, fiscal agent, and identifying information Campus identification and certain program component information specific to that campus Finances Budgeted revenue and expenditures for required funds, functions, objects, organizations and programs Actual revenue and expenditures for required funds, functions, objects, organizations and programs Staff Identification information, including Social Security number and name Demographic information, including gender, ethnicity, date of birth, highest degree level, and years of professional experience Employment, including days of service, salary, and experience within the district Permits held by staff to perform certain job functions Responsibilities, including the types of work performed, its location, and, in some cases, the times of day Student Identification, including a unique student number, name, and basic demographic information Enrollment, including campus, grade, special program participation, and various indicators of student characteristics Attendance information for each six-week period and special program participation Course completion for grades 9-12 Graduated student information Dropout information

The Texas Education Agency proscribes paper collection instruments for certain information which cannot meet the development cycle or data architecture of the PEIMS data collection. In many cases, data requirements change with more frequency and with less lead time than the PEIMS system supports. In other cases, the information acquired is too variable to fit predetermined coded values, or requires a more open reporting format than electronic formats provide.

Paper collection requirements are presented in the TEA publication, Bulletin 742 - Data Submission to the Texas Education Agency. For 1996-97, Bulletin 742 has been the subject of an intensive sunset review to eliminate unnecessary collections and data elements. The review panel, the Texas Education Agency Data Approval Committee (TEADAC), is made up of agency staff from across the agency. In addition to conducting a sunset review of Bulletin 742, the committee is charged with developing ongoing reviews of new data requirements and establishing an educational program for agency staff to make paper collections more effective and less burdensome. The result is a much smaller set of paper collections, which are categorized in Table 9.2.

Table 9.2 Bulletin 742 Summary for 1996-97
Documents Listed in Bulletin 742 in 1995-96			100
Reductions from the 1995-96 Requirements
Documents eliminated			18
Documents no longer under the authority of TEA			26
Documents Reclassified as Standard Forms or Applications
Documents used as standard forms, not submitted to TEA			6
Applications or forms for doing business with TEA			30
28 Total Data Collections for 1996- 97
Federal Requirements			12
	Title I	2
	Eisenhower Professional Development	1
	Safe and Drug-Free Schools	1
	Emergency Immigrant Education	1
	Chapter 2	1
	Special Education	3
	Civil Action 5281	3
State Requirements			12
	Bilingual Education	1
	Safe Schools	1
	Special Education	3
	Transportation	2
	Career and Technology	1
	Other	4
Both Federal and State Requirements			4
	Adult Education	2
	Career and Technology	2

The sources of remaining data requirements are also shown in Table 9.2. The number of paper collections has been substantially reduced in part due to elimination of statutory requirements or the reassignment of functions to other agencies. The length of reports is difficult to assess because several reports vary in length according to the number of affected students, staff, or campuses. In the basic form, the 28 data collection instruments have 88 total pages of data entry.

Review of Bulletin 742 documents will continue on an ongoing basis. However, the agency has yet to make significant progress in defining the burden placed on school districts by ad hoc requests and surveys. Over the next year, the TEADAC will be concentrating on a thorough review of all agency units to identify any formal or informal data collection which takes place outside the scope of Bulletin 742 or electronic collections. In addition, it is expected that several data items will be proposed for inclusion in electronic collections to reduce the paperwork and improve the standards for data submission. TEADAC will also explore the development of policy and procedure manuals to better inform school districts.

A separate review committee will be examining the issue of federal reporting requirements to determine if the state's "Ed Flex" status will provide an opportunity to reduce data burdens on school districts.

Agency Contact Persons

Joe Wisnoski, School Finance and Fiscal Analysis, 463-8994 (General Questions)

Fred Brown, Customer Assistance and Training, 463-9800 (Bulletin 742)

Karen Cornwell, Planning and Strategic Services, 463-9800 (PEIMS Data Standards)

Jim Tamayo, Child Nutrition Division, 463-8979 (CNPIMS)

Other Sources of Information

1996-97 Public Education Information Management System Data Standards

Bulletin 742, 1996-97, Data Submission to the Texas Education Agency

Child Nutrition Program Information Management System User's Manual, August, 1995

Cover	Student Performance	Academic Excellence Indicator System	Status of the Curriculum	Deregulation and Waivers	District Reporting Requirements
Executive Summary	Student Dropouts	Grade Level Retention	District and Campus Performance	Administrative Cost Ratios	TEA Funds and Expenditures