August 16, 2006
TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:
This letter is to advise you of how the Texas Education Agency
will implement the student transfer restrictions under the statewide
desegregation order (“CA 5281”) during the 2006-2007 school year.
Two court decisions involving the student transfer provisions of
CA 5281have recently been issued, one by the Fifth Circuit Court
of Appeals, (see footnote 1) and one by
the original Trial Court. Those decisions deal with the agency’s
implementation of the 1973 Modified Order that limits interdistrict
student transfers “which will reduce or impede desegregation, or
which will reinforce, renew or encourage…discriminatory treatment
of students on the basis of race, color or national origin…” In
response to the recent court decisions, the agency will implement
the transfer restrictions during the 2006-2007 school year as follows:
-
The
Student Transfer System (STS) will be reopened as of August 16,
2006. Any transfer approved by that system will be funded for
the entire school year. It is the district’s responsibility to
document the approval of a transfer by printing and retaining
both the Compliance/Noncompliance Report from the main menu and
the Approved Transfers Report from the reports menu. TEA is working
to better document transfers at the state level, but districts
should retain those two records until further notice. No changes
are being made in the requirements or treatment of hardship exemptions.
-
Districts
that are eligible for the sparsity adjustment under Section 42.105
of the Education Code will not be penalized for transfers that
do not generate additional state funds, regardless of the impact
on the racial composition of the receiving or sending district.
For example, a district with 100 resident students may accept
an additional 30 transfer students without penalty because those
additional students do not generate additional state funding (see
footnote 2).
-
Districts
may accept and be funded for additional transfers that are not
approved by the current STS system, so long as there is no indication
of intentional discrimination or segregative intent. TEA will
accept written complaints by school districts of intentional discrimination
or segregation on the basis of race, color, or national origin
in the acceptance of interdistrict transfer students. Districts
accepting additional transfers must document and retain any local
transfer policies used and any decisions to reject transfers for
evaluation in the event of a complaint.
-
All
interdistrict transfers must continue to be entered into the STS
system. Additional documentation of transfer policies and any
transfers rejected by districts accepting additional students
under #3 above should also be retained locally. TEA will sanction
districts that fail to comply with those requirements, including
withholding funds.
We recognize that some of the questions raised by the two decisions
are still unresolved. The guidance in this letter is limited to
the 2006-2007 school year only and is offered for the purpose of
allowing districts and parents to plan for the opening of the ‘06-‘07
school year. We will be working with the Texas Attorney General's
Office to develop procedures for subsequent years.
Finally, please be aware that funding of a transfer under CA 5281
is distinct from the student’s eligibility for participation in
UIL competitions. Please consult UIL rules for eligibility for those
co- and extra-curricular activities.
If you have further questions, you may contact Ms. Pamela Williams
by email at pamela.williams@tea.state.tx.us
or by telephone at (512) 463-9519.
Sincerely,
David Anderson
General Counsel
Footnote 1 - United
States, et al. vs. State of Texas et al., No 05-41205, dated
July 24, 2006.
Footnote 2 - Note that
eligibility for the Sparsity Adjustment is in some instances also
contingent on a minimum distance from another high school, or not
offering all grades. Only a district meeting all of the requirements
under Section 42.105 is eligible for the Sparsity Adjustment.
 |
