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INFORMATION ONLY July 20, 2009 TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED: Re: Attendance, Admission, Enrollment Records and Tuition This letter summarizes several important statutes relating to attendance, public school admission, enrollment records, and tuition. Part I of the letter relates to attendance, Part II relates to public school admission, Part III relates to enrollment records, and Part IV relates to tuition. In each part, we have identified which statutes do or do not apply to open-enrollment charter schools. We hope you will find this summary helpful as you begin the 2009-2010 school year. I. AttendanceThe statutes described in this Part apply to open-enrollment charter schools in addition to school districts, except for §25.092 (Minimum Attendance for Class Credit).§25.085 (Compulsory Attendance)Compulsory attendance applies to students who are at least six years old as of September 1 of the applicable school year. The law requires a student to attend public school until the student’s 18th birthday, unless the student is exempt under §25.086. This requirement is enforced through §§25.093 and 25.094 (see page 5). Under §25.085(d), compulsory attendance applies to certain extended-year programs, tutorial classes, accelerated reading instruction programs, accelerated instruction programs, basic skills programs, and summer programs for students subject to certain disciplinary removals. Under §25.085(c), it also applies to students below the age for compulsory attendance during any period that the student is voluntarily enrolled in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten. Under §25.085(e), a person who voluntarily enrolls in or attends school after the person’s 18th birthday is required to attend each school day for the entire period the program of instruction for which the student is enrolled is offered. This state requirement is not enforceable through §§25.093 and 25.094. However, if the person has more than five unexcused absences in a semester, the school district may revoke the person’s enrollment for the remainder of the school year under this subsection. This authority to revoke enrollment, however, does not override the district’s responsibility to provide a free appropriate public education to a student who is eligible for special education services. Also, please note that a student whose enrollment is revoked under this provision is considered a dropout for accountability purposes. Under §25.085(f), the board of trustees of a school district may adopt a policy requiring a person described by Subsection (e) who is under the age of 21 to attend school until the end of the school year. Section 25.094 applies to a person subject to the policy, but §§ 25.093 and 25.095 do not apply to the person’s parent. Expelled StudentsThe exemption from compulsory attendance for students who have been expelled applies only in a school district that does not participate in a mandatory juvenile justice alternative education program (JJAEP). Generally, counties with populations greater than 125,000 are required to have JJAEPs. In those counties, expelled students are subject to compulsory attendance. Expelled students must attend the JJAEP, if they are placed there, or another educational program provided by the school district. If an expelled student from a county that does not have a JJAEP moves to a county that has a mandatory JJAEP, the new school district may honor the expulsion under Chapter 37 but must assign the student to either the JJAEP or another educational program provided by the school district for expelled students. An open-enrollment charter school may deny admission to a student expelled from a school district if its charter so provides. Notwithstanding the above-described exemption from compulsory attendance, a school district has a continuing obligation under federal and state law to provide a free appropriate public education to a student with a disability who has been removed for disciplinary reasons from his or her current educational placement, regardless of the population of the county in which the school district is located. 17 year-old in GED course 16 year-old in GED course §25.087 (Excused Absences) Before the most recent legislative session, a school district was required, under §25.087(b)(1), to excuse an absence only for observance of a religious holy day or for attending a required court appearance. The 81st Legislature amended §25.087(b)(1) to add several additional reasons for which an absence must be excused. The new reasons are that the student is serving as an election clerk, the student is appearing at a governmental office to complete paperwork required in connection with the student’s application for United States citizenship, or the student is taking part in a United States naturalization oath ceremony. The period of an excused absence under §25.087(b)(1) includes travel time. Under §25.087(b)(2), a school district must excuse a temporary absence for the purpose of an appointment with a health care professional if the student comes to school the day of the appointment, either before or after the appointment. According to new §25.087(b-3), an absence subject to this provision includes a temporary absence of student diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder for an appointment with a health care practitioner to receive a generally recognized service for persons with autism spectrum disorder. A student whose absence is excused under Subsections (b) - (c) described above may not be penalized for the absence, including under the attendance requirements for class credit under §25.092. Also, the district must allow the student a reasonable time to make up missed school work If an absence is excused under §25.087(b) - (c) and the student successfully completes the missed school work, the student is included in average daily attendance for that day. A student may not be included in average daily attendance for an absence that is excused for a reason that is not included under §25.087 (b) – (c). Under the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, a school superintendent may excuse a student’s absence for the purpose of visiting with a parent or legal guardian who is an active duty member of the uniformed services and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting. The 81st Legislature adopted the compact under new Chapter 162, Education Code. §§25.091 and 25.095 (Duties of School Attendance Officer) Section 25.091(b-1) authorizes a peace officer who has probable cause to believe that a child is violation of the compulsory school attendance law under §28.085 to take the child into custody for the purpose of returning the child to the child’s school campus. Section 25.095 requires school districts and charter schools to notify parents of attendance requirements at the beginning of the school year. Also, an additional notice is required after a student has a certain number of unexcused absences. Tardies are generally not considered absences for purposes of compulsory attendance enforcement. §§25.092 and 11.158 (Ninety Percent Rule; Fees) Section 25.092 conditions credit for a class on a student’s attendance for at least 90 percent of the days a class is offered. A student who is in attendance for at least 75 percent, but less than 90 percent, of the days a class is offered may be given credit if the student completes a plan approved by the principal that provides for the student to meet the instructional requirement of the class. If the student is under the jurisdiction of a court in a criminal or juvenile justice proceeding, the student may not receive credit by completing such a plan without the consent of the presiding judge. The board of trustees is required to appoint one or more attendance committees to hear petitions from students who do not regain credit through a plan approved by the principal. An attendance committee may grant credit due to extenuating circumstances. The board is also required to adopt policies establishing alternative ways for such students to make up work or regain credit lost because of absences. Under §25.092, a district may establish ways to make up work or regain credit that are workable in consideration of the circumstances. The section does not require that students spend a certain amount of time in a “Saturday school” or other educational setting equal to time missed during regular school hours. The district should be prepared with other options that give the student a reasonable opportunity to make up work or regain credit even under challenging circumstances, including excessive absences that occur late in the school year. Additionally, this law is not intended to penalize students for not attending a class before the student was enrolled in the class. Students, including migrant students or transfer students, who could not have attended a class before enrollment should not have the days of class that occurred before their enrollment counted against them for purposes of “the 90 percent rule”. As with any other student, to receive credit a student who enrolls after instruction for the year or semester has begun is required to demonstrate academic achievement and proficiency of the subject matter as required under §28.021 and 19 T.A.C. §74.26. If a district offers an educational program outside of regular school hours as a means for students to make up work or regain credit, under §11.158(a)(15) and (h), a district may charge a fee for such an education program under restricted circumstances. The school district may assess the fee only if the student returns a form signed by the student’s parent or other legal guardian stating that the fee would not create a financial hardship or discourage the student from attending the program. The fee may not exceed $50. Also, under §25.092(b) and (f), the board must provide at least one alternative for making up work or regaining credit that does not require a student to pay a fee under §11.158(a)(15). The availability of that alternative must be substantially the same as the availability of an educational program for which a fee is charged. §§25.093, 25.094, and 25.0951 (Compulsory Attendance Enforcement)There are three options for compulsory attendance enforcement, which are outlined in §25.0951. Section 25.093 is an offense for contributing to nonattendance, which is committed by a parent. Section 25.094 is an offense for failing to attend school, which is committed by a student. A district may file an action to enforce compulsory attendance in any justice precinct in the county in which the school is located or in which the person filed against resides. Alternatively, an action may be filed in municipal court or, in a county with a population of 2 million or more, in a constitutional county court. Section 25.093 provides for the deposit of one-half of a fine collected under that section to the credit of the open-enrollment charter, juvenile justice alternative education program, or school district that the child attends. The third option for enforcement is to proceed against the child in juvenile court as a “child in need of supervision” under §51.03 of the Texas Family Code. It is an affirmative defense under both the Texas Education Code and the Texas Family Code that an absence has been excused by a school official or the court. For the student, there is also an affirmative defense for absences that are involuntary. The affirmative defenses apply only if there are an insufficient number of absences remaining to constitute an offense. Under §25.0951(a), a complaint or referral for 10 or more unexcused absences within six months must be made within 10 school days from the date of the student’s 10th absence. A court shall dismiss a complaint or referral that is not made in compliance with §25.0951.
II. AdmissionSection 25.001 applies to an open-enrollment charter school for the purposes of determining whether the student meets the residency requirements for the open-enrollment charter school’s designated geographic boundary. Also, the eligibility standards for prekindergarten programs, summarized in this Part, apply to an open-enrollment charter school. For more information regarding open-enrollment charter school admissions, please see the final section of this Part. Section 25.001 sets out the circumstances under which a person, who is at least five years of age and less than 21 on September 1 of a school year, is entitled to admission in a school district. A school also may choose to admit under this section a person who is at least 21 years of age and under 26 years of age on September 1 of a school year in order for the person to complete the requirements for a high school diploma. There is additional information regarding students age 21 and over near the end of this Part (see page 12). A student’s entitlement to admission is established if any one (or more) of the bases for admission in §25.001 applies to the student. Most, but not all, of the bases require that the student live in the district. It is important to consider that most students are entitled to enrollment in at least one district regardless of with whom they live. The exceptions under §25.001(d) apply only if a student is a minor living in a different district than the student’s parent, guardian, or other person with lawful control under a court order (for discussion of these exceptions, see §25.001(b)(4) below). All nine subdivisions of §25.001(b), as well as §25.001(g) and (h), are discussed below. These provisions create entitlements to enroll. A district may choose to accept, as transfers, students who are not entitled to enroll in the district under §25.001. Under §25.036, a transfer is an annual agreement. The district may charge tuition under a transfer agreement to the extent permitted under §25.038. The acceptance of transfer students must be in compliance with Civil Action No. 5281 and must be reported to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Division of Program Monitoring and Interventions. Additional information regarding reporting transfers is available on the TEA website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/pmi/ca5281/. If a district legally admits a school age Texas resident, the district may include the student in its average daily attendance, unless the student is a high school graduate. An individual is eligible for the Foundation School Program if the individual is under the age of 21 on September 1 of the applicable school year and is not a high school graduate or if the individual is at least 21 years of age and under 26 years of age on September 1 of the school year and has been admitted to complete the requirements for a high school diploma. An individual who is eligible for special education services and is not a high school graduate is eligible for enrollment and funding through the end of the school year or until graduation, whichever comes first, if the individual is under the age of 22 on September 1 of the applicable school year. A student who is eligible for special education services, and who has graduated from high school by successfully completing his or her IEP and the other requirements of 19 T.A.C. §89.1070(c), but meets the age eligibility requirements, may receive additional educational services (and be eligible for enrollment and funding) if the student’s ARD committee determines that services need to be resumed. A student with a disability who has graduated in accordance with 19 T.A.C. §89.1070(b) or (d) is not eligible for special education services under state or federal law or for the benefits of the Foundation School Program. §25.001(b)(1) (Parent and Student in District) §25.001(b)(2) (Parent Only in District) §25.001(b)(3) (Student and Guardian or Person with Lawful Control in District) To determine a student’s entitlement under §25.001(b)(3), a district must determine if a court order exists that identifies a guardian or other person with lawful control residing in the district. A child is entitled to admission if a court orders the placement of the child with a person or in a facility in the district or if, pursuant to a court order, an entity such as the Department of Family and Protective Services or the Texas Youth Commission places a child in the district. If such a court order exists, the child is entitled to admission under this provision regardless of whether the student would be ineligible under the exclusions of §25.001(d), which are discussed below. §25.001(b)(4) (Student Only in District) The district is not required to admit a student under §25.001(b)(4) and (d) if the student: (1) has engaged in conduct or misbehavior within the preceding year that has resulted in:
(2) has engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct in need of supervision and is on probation or other conditional release for that conduct; or (3) has been convicted of a criminal offense and is on other conditional release. These exceptions apply only if a student is living in a different district than the student’s parent, guardian, or other person with lawful control of the child under a court order. The exceptions cannot be used to prevent a student eligible for admission under a different provision of §25.001 from being enrolled, including homeless students. Please consult this entire Part to determine if another basis for eligibility applies. Proof of ResidencyUnder §25.001(d), “[t]he board of trustees shall determine whether an applicant for admission is a resident . . . for purposes of attending the public schools” under that subsection and “may adopt reasonable guidelines for making a determination as necessary to protect the best interests of students (emphasis added).” This ability to adopt guidelines should not be misinterpreted as the ability to redefine the legal concept of residency established by our state law. The traditional, basic residence criteria are living in the district and having the present intention to remain there. See, Martinez v. Bynum, 461 U.S. 321, 330-333 (1983), Arredondo v. Brockette, 648 F.2d 425 (5th Cir. 1981). The board of trustees’ authority is to provide guidelines that will enable a student to substantiate his or her residency and enable the board to determine if the student is a resident of the district. Residency is not defined by an address on a driver’s license, a signature on a lease, or the address on a utility bill. These are indicators that may expedite verifying residency, but the absence of such indicators is not conclusive that the student is not a resident. Furthermore, the fact that a student is living in a household that is lease or owned by someone outside the student’s immediate family may be an indicator that the student is homeless and entitled to admission under §25.001(b)(5). §25.001(b)(5) (Homeless Student) 42 U.S.C. §11302 provides: 42 U.S.C. §11434a provides: (A) means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence (within the meaning of section 11302(a)(1) of this title); and (B) includes-- (i) children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement; (ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (within the meaning of section 11302(a)(2)(C) of this title); (iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and (iv) migratory children (as such term is defined in section 6399 of Title 20) who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this part because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii). § 25.001(b)(6) (Foreign Exchange Student) F-1 VisaUnder federal law, a nonimmigrant may not be granted an F-1 visa in order to pursue a public elementary or publicly-funded adult education program. Federal law permits a nonimmigrant F-1 immigration status for public secondary school if the aggregate period of study at the school will not exceed twelve months and the student reimburses the secondary school for the full unsubsidized per capita cost of the student’s education. Texas law does not authorize a school district to charge a student tuition under these circumstances. This conflict between the federal law and Texas law prevents a student from being able to meet the second condition for the issuance of an F-1 visa. The federal reimbursement requirement does not apply to foreign exchange students who hold J-1 visas. It applies only to nonimmigrant students who seek F-1 student status by obtaining an I-20 certificate of eligibility from a local educational agency. The ineligibility for an F-1 visa does not affect the entitlement to admission of a student actually residing in the district. Please remember that, under the United States Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, 102 S.Ct. 2382 (1982), a student’s immigration status is not a permissible basis for denying admission to a public school. §25.001(b)(7) (Student in Residential Facility) This provision entitles a student residing at a residential facility located in the district to admission. A “residential facility” is defined in §5.001(8) as follows: “Residential facility” means: (A) a facility operated by a state agency or political subdivision, including a child placement agency, that provides 24-hour custody or care of a person 22 years of age or younger, if the person resides in the facility for detention, treatment, foster care, or any noneducational purpose; and (B) any person or entity that contracts with or is funded, licensed, certified, or regulated by a state agency or political subdivision to provide custody or care for a person under Paragraph (A). Under §29.012, a residential facility is required to notify the school district in which the facility is located of the placement of a person three years of age or older. The facility is required to give the notice not later than the third day after the date of placement. A district should contact residential facilities in the district to coordinate implementation of this notice provision. In general, students placed in residential facilities are entitled to admission under other provisions of §25.001. However, §25.001(b)(7) provides a uniform admissions provision for children in such facilities. Additionally, the notice requirement should generate communication between the facilities and school districts that will promote efficiency in the provision of educational services to these children. §25.001(b)(8) (Adult Student) §25.001(b)(9) (Grandparent in District) §25.001(f) and (g) (Foster Care) §29.153 (Prekindergarten)
AppealA decision of a school district to deny admission may be appealed to the commissioner of education under §7.057(a). In an appeal under that section, the commissioner will review the record developed at the district level to determine if the decision is supported by substantial evidence. §25.001(b-1) and (b-2) (Students at least age 21 but under age 26) These older students are not eligible for placement in a disciplinary alternative education program or a juvenile justice alternative education program. If a student admitted under this discretionary authority engages in conduct that would require such placement for a student under age 21, the district shall revoke admission of the student into the public schools of the district. If a student admitted under this discretionary authority has not attended school in the three preceding school years, the student may not be placed with a student who is 18 years of age or younger in a classroom setting, a cafeteria, or another district-sanctioned school activity. However, the student may attend a school-sponsored event that is open to the public as a member of the public. An older student admitted under this authority is entitled to Foundation School Program funding under §42.003. However, a student with a disability is not eligible for either federal or state special education programs or funding unless the student was under the age of 22 on September 1 of the applicable school year. A student with a disability who no longer qualifies for special education due to the student’s age and who has not graduated must meet the regular state graduation requirements regardless of whether the student previously could have graduated under an individualized education program (IEP) with different requirements. Generally, students with disabilities will qualify for §504, but that law does not allow modification of graduation requirements or provide any additional funding. A public school may not deny admission based on the presence of a disability, prior special education status, or §504 status. Address Confidentiality Program (NEW) The ACP is available to a person who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The goal of the program is keep the victim’s location confidential through the use of a substitute address and mail-forwarding service. A substitute legal address (P.O. Box) is established for the participant and is displayed on a participation card issued by the Office of Attorney General. On presentment of a participant’s card, the statute and the rules require that state and local agencies accept the substitute post office address in lieu of the person’s actual address. The substitute address has no relation to the participant’s actual location within the state. Information regarding the ACP is available on the website of the Office of Attorney General at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/victims/acp.shtml and on the Texas Education Website at http://tea.state.tx.us/legal/AddConf.html. Open-Enrollment Charter Schools If more students apply to a charter school than can be accommodated, a charter school should allocate spaces through a lottery process if the school receives federal Charter School Program (CSP) funds or if its charter provides for a lottery process. If a charter school has first enrolled all eligible applicants from its designated geographic boundary but its enrollment has not reached the maximum number of students approved in its charter, it may admit students from outside its designated geographic boundary in accordance with the terms of its charter. III. Enrollment RecordsThe statutes described in this Part apply to open-enrollment charter schools in addition to school districts. §25.002 (Requirements for Enrollment) The prior school district should promptly provide records to the enrolling district that are needed for the appropriate placement and continued education of the student, including records relating to §504 or to special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Under §25.002, the prior district must provide the records not later than the 10th working day after the date a request for the records is received. This requirement also applies to the transfer of records to or from other public schools, including open-enrollment charter schools and JJAEPs. School districts and open-enrollment charter schools are required to participate in the electronic transfer of student records through the Texas Records Exchange (TREx). For more information regarding TREx, visit http://www.tea.state.tx.us/trex/. Records furnished by a parent or other person with legal control of a child under a court order must be furnished not later than the 30th day after the date the child is enrolled. The 30 day provision is duplicated in Subsection (g) in relation to a child taken into possession by the Department of Family and Protective Services under Chapter 262 of the Texas Family Code. A school district is specifically required to accept the child for enrollment without the records required under §25.002, but the department is required to furnish such records not later than the 30th day after the date the child is enrolled. A school district may not prohibit a student from attending school pending receipt of transcripts or records from the school district the student previously attended. 19. T.A.C. §74.26(a)(1). Additionally, the failure of a prior district or the person enrolling the student to provide identification or school records under §25.002 does not constitute grounds for refusing to admit an eligible student. However, if identifying records are not furnished within the 30-day period, §25.002(c) requires the district to notify law enforcement and request a determination of whether the student has been reported as missing. This requirement applies regardless of the student’s age. If a student is enrolled under a name other than the name in the identifying documents, the school district is required to notify the missing children and missing person’s information clearinghouse under §25.002(b). The notice is confidential. (Please note that a student must be enrolled under the student’s legal surname; see subsequent summary of §25.0021.) With respect to homeless students, a school district or open-enrollment charter school is required under federal law to enroll a homeless student immediately, even if the student is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment. Absence of parent or guardianDuring the 1995-1996 and 1996-1997 school years, a school district was required under §25.002(f) to notify the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DPRS) if a child was enrolled by a person other than the child’s parent, guardian, or other person with legal control of the child under a court order. The district was then to send parental communication regarding that child to DPRS or whomever DPRS directed. During the 1997 legislative session, the section was amended by removing the requirement to notify DPRS. The amendment did not remove the first sentence of §25.002(f), but that sentence is no longer effective because the referenced exception was removed. The district must determine with whom communication regarding the child is appropriate as the DPRS is no longer a default. The absence of a parent, guardian, or other person with legal control of a child under a court order is not grounds for refusing admission to which a child is entitled under §25.001. Regardless of whether or not a child’s parent, guardian, or other person with legal control of the child under a court order is enrolling a child, under §25.002(f) as amended in 2001, a district is required to record the name, address, and date of birth of the person enrolling a child. Immunization Records Under §38.019, a school district that maintains an Internet website is required to post prominently on the website lists, in English and Spanish, of the immunizations required for admission to public school, any additional immunizations recommended by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), and health clinics in the district that offer influenza vaccine. The district must also post a link to the DSHS website information relating to claiming an exemption from immunization requirements. This information is available at www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize/school/default.shtm. §25.0021 (Use of Legal Surname) Texas Code of Criminal Procedure School Records Requirements Enrollment Procedure 1. Request from the person enrolling the child the name of each previous school attended by the child. Records of Children Identified as Missing 1. Flag the child’s records that are maintained by the school. Removal of Flag Relationship to FERPA Relationship to Public Information ActArticle 63.021(c) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure requires that a school wait 21 days before mailing copies of flagged records to a requestor. However, the Public Information (or Open Records) Act provides that “[i]f an officer for public information cannot produce public information for inspection or duplication within 10 calendar days after the date the information is requested . . . , the officer shall certify that fact in writing to the requestor and set a date and hour within a reasonable time when the information will be available for inspection or duplication.” Due to this provision, a district should notify a requestor within 10 days that the records will be mailed on a certain date that is on or after the 21st day after the request is received. IV. TUITIONPrekindergarten: Eligibility for free prekindergarten is determined under §29.153. In addition to free prekindergarten, under §29.1531 a school district or an open-enrollment charter school may provide, on a tuition basis or using district funds, an additional half-day of prekindergarten for children eligible for classes under §29.153 or offer prekindergarten classes for children not eligible under §29.153. Tuition may not be charged under §29.1531 for a student, including an eligible student served a full day, whose attendance is funded through a prekindergarten grant awarded by the commissioner under §29.155. Other: Other than tuition for certain prekindergarten students discussed above, an open-enrollment charter school may not charge tuition. A school district may charge tuition only if it is specifically authorized to do so by statute or under the constitution. If your district is charging tuition for any purpose, please review the statutes to determine if there is authority for the tuition. Statutes authorizing tuition under certain limited circumstances include §§25.003 (Certain Children From Other States), 25.038 (Transfer Students), 25.039 (Contract for Education Outside District) , 25.041 (Children of State School Employees), and 25.042 (Children of Texas Youth Commission Employees). We hope this summary is helpful to you in preparing for the 2009-2010 school year. If you have questions about the statutory provisions summarized in this letter, you are welcome to call the Office of Legal Services at (512) 463-9720. Sincerely, David A. Anderson A county with a population greater than 125,000 is not required to have a JJAEP if its population was 125,000 or less according to the 2000 federal census and the county enters into the memoranda of understanding required under Section 37.011(a-1). H.B. 1425, Acts of the 81st Legislature, Regular Session, 2009. Applicability to a county court is only in a county with a population of two million or more and is due to the extension of jurisdiction of complaints under §§25.093 or 25.094 to constitutional county courts in a county of that population. For student attendance accounting for state funding, the number of excused days for travel under §25.087(b)(1) is limited to not more than one day to and one day from the site of the applicable event. 19 T.A.C. §129.21(k). “Generally recognized service” includes applied behavioral analysis, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. This point is outlined further in an Administrator Addressed letter dated November 13, 2001. The letter can be found at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/taa/legal011113.html. Additional statutes regarding delivery of a child to school by a law enforcement officer or a person authorized to take a child into custody include §§52.01(e), 52.02(a)(7), and 52.026(a), Texas Family Code. Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. DM-200 (1993). http://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinions/opinions/48morales/op/1993/pdf/dm0200.pdf Op. Tex. Att'y Gen. No. GA-0701 (2009). http://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinions/opinions/50abbott/op/2009/pdf/ga0701.pdf Other than tuition, the Education Code does not impose any conditions on the annual agreement and does not grant general authority to revoke the agreement during its term nor is such authority inferred. Therefore, in the opinion of the TEA Office of Legal Services, the failure to pay lawfully required tuition is the only basis for a district to terminate a tuition agreement during the school year to which the agreement applies. With regard to other issues that may arise during the applicable school year, such as unsatisfactory grades or disciplinary infractions, transfer students are subject to the same consequences as the district’s other students. On June 25, 2008, the Fifth Circuit issued a judgment in favor of two intervening school districts holding that the districts are not subject to the student transfer provisions in the Civil Action No. 5281 Modified Order or to the TEA’s regulations promulgated to enforce those provisions because the districts were desegregated before the initiation of the original litigation, were not parties to the original litigation, and had not been found to engage in discriminatory acts since their desegregation. Samnorwood Independent School District v. Texas Education Agency, No. 06-41347 (5th. Cir. 6/24/2008). The TEA has moved to modify the Civil Action No. 5281 order consistent with the Samnorwood decision. That issue is currently pending before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Until further notice from the agency, districts should continue to report transfers to the agency and could be subject to sanction for the failure to do so or for accepting transfers that are impermissible under the Modified Order. See also, §25.001(c) (board may require evidence of residency, may establish minimum proof of residency, and may make reasonable inquiries to verify eligibility for admission). Subsection (e) cross-references Subsection (b)(5), however, the current designation for the Subsection regarding foreign exchange students is (b)(6). Section 29.012 does not apply to a residential treatment facility for juveniles established under Section 141.059, Human Resources Code. See §29.012(e) as added by H.B. 3689, Acts of the 81st Legislature, Regular Session, 2009. “Educationally disadvantaged” means “eligible to participate in the national free or reduced price lunch program”. See §5.001(4). Stepchildren are expressly included pursuant to an amendment in H.B. 3643, Acts of the 81st Legislature, Regular Session, 2009. Additional information regarding prekindergarten eligibility is available on the TEA Early Childhood webpage at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/early/index.html and in the Prekindergarten section of the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/school.finance/handbook/index.html. 20 U.S.C. §7221i(1)(H); U.S. Dept. of Educ.,Charter Schools Program, Non-regulatory Guidance @ http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/cspguidance03.pdf. Certain close relatives who are not a child’s legal guardian may have express authority to enroll a child in school pursuant to an authorization agreement under Chapter 34, Family Code, which was enacted in S.B. 1598, Acts of the 81st Legislature, 2009. At this time, development of the required forms by the Department of Family and Protective Services is pending. For further information regarding immunization requirements, immunization exemptions, and immunization documentation, please contact the Department of State Health Services. Information about immunization and the department’s Immunization Branch is available at www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize/default.shtm. |