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ACTION REQUIRED
BY MAY 10, 2001



April 27, 2001

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

The purpose of this letter is to bring attention to recent changes related to the procedures for student transfers as required by Court Order/Civil Action (CA) 5281. Note that on the second page at the end of the Requirements of Civil Action 5281 the funding for Chapter 41 and Chapter 42 districts is clarified. Also, please note that an additional Exemption/Hardship Code K allows exemptions for siblings of students who attended the receiving district prior to May 1 of the 2000-2001 school year.

You may access the revised Student Transfer Form ACC-041BR01 on the Texas Education Agency web page. This form may be accessed as an MSWord document or as an Adobe Acrobat file. The web pathway is: www.tea.state.tx.us Accountability and Accreditation, Equal Education Opportunity (EEO) Unit, Form ACC-041BR01.

The student count reported to PEIMS is used as the basis for determining the initial ethnic composition of the district. This figure includes all minority and majority student transfers who were in attendance prior to May 1 of the 2000-2001 school year. Consequently, a student that transfers into the district during the current year and has the effect of improving the district's ethnic composition does not contribute to the one percent/three percent change during the current year.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Sylvia Gonzales or Ms. Pam Williams at (512) 463-9519.

Sincerely,
Karen Case, Associate Commissioner
Quality, Compliance, and Accountability Reviews


Requirements of Civil Action 5281

Section A(1) of the statewide federal Court Order/Civil Action 5281 requires the Texas Education Agency to review all student transfers between school districts to determine whether:

"the cumulative effect, in either the sending or receiving school or school district, will be to reduce or impede desegregation, or to reinforce, renew, or encourage the continuation of acts and practices resulting in discriminatory treatment of students on the grounds of race, color, or national origin."

The order further states in Section A(3)(b) that:

"the defendants shall not approve transfers where the effect of such transfers will change the majority or minority percentage of the school population, based on average daily attendance in such districts, by more than one percent in either the home or the receiving district . . . ."

The Agency has determined that for school districts with student enrollment (ADA) of 300 or less, minor changes in student numbers result in major changes in percentages, often to the detriment of districts of that size. Therefore, as of this school year, such small districts may approve transfers where the effect of such transfers will change the ethnic percentage of the school population up to three (3) percent in either the sending or the receiving district. All other districts must adhere to the one (1) percent rule. All charter schools must adhere to the one percent rule. For Chapter 41 districts, the Agency will not recognize the ADA count for recapture purposes for new transfer students who place the district in violation of the court order. For Chapter 42 districts, the Agency will not recognize the ADA count for funding purposes for new transfer students who place the district in violation of the court order.

Student Transfer Analysis Report Information

Upon receipt of the Student Transfer Form ACC-041BR01, the Equal Educational Opportunity Unit will analyze the data and inform all districts/charter schools of the results by July of 2001. In the past, if your district was in non-compliance with the federal court order, your district may have received a letter to the effect that, in fairness to individual students already enrolled, your district could retain all student transfers enrolled in your district at that time but could not accept additional transfers until the district had complied with the federal court order. If you do not have on file a clearance letter from the EEO Unit indicating that you are currently in compliance with CA 5281, do not accept any new students (coded 5-J) for 2001-2002. The district will not receive state funds for those students.

 

A MS Word Version of this letter and enclosures is available on the EEO webpage at www.tea.state.tx.us/eeo.  

For further information on this topic, contact Dr. Sylvia Gonzales or Ms. Pam Williams at (512) 463-9519.

 

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