February 2, 2000
TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:
SUBJECT: Information Concerning State Waivers for 2000-2001 and Beyond
The purpose of this letter is to advise all school personnel of the procedures for requesting expedited and general waivers beginning with the 2000-2001 school year. Also included is information regarding new waivers, discontinued waivers, and procedures for reporting days missed due to bad weather, natural disasters, or emergency situations. Information regarding class size waivers was sent to the districts in a separate letter. We hope this information will be useful to you in preparing your general waiver requests for the upcoming school year(s).
EXPEDITED WAIVERS
Expedited Waivers are frequently requested waivers. To reduce administrative effort, expedited waivers no longer require narrative or description (extensive documentation) but only the superintendent's signature, date of local board of trustees approval and comments of the site-based decision-making committee. Detailed instructions for submitting expedited waivers can be found on the Expedited/General State Waiver Form. A copy of the form is enclosed in this letter. The form and descriptions of expedited waivers also are available on the agency web site at www.tea.state.tx.us/special.pop/waivers/stategranted. Notice of approval is provided at the same address on the Agency's web site and in the Report on Waivers Granted section in the agenda materials distributed at each State Board of Education meeting.
GENERAL STATE WAIVERS
General State Waivers are infrequently requested waivers. Extensive documentation and narrative is required at the time of submission. Detailed instructions for submitting general state waivers can be found on the Expedited/General State Waiver Form. Notice of approval is provided by written letter to the district and is to be retained for audit purposes. Approval is also available on the Agency's web site at www.tea.state.tx.us/special.pop/waivers/stategranted and in the Report on Waivers Granted section in the agenda materials distributed at each State Board of Education meeting.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT WAIVERS
Staff development waivers in lieu of days of student instruction will continue to be available for the 2000-2001 school year. Up to three days for general-purpose staff development may be requested, as well as an additional day for reading/language arts and/or mathematics staff development. A waiver day for staff to attend conferences, such as the National Conference of Texas, is also available. All staff development waivers will be handled as expedited waivers. Additional information on staff development waivers is available on the agency web site at www.tea.state.tx.us/special.pop/waivers/stategranted.
ATTENDANCE WAIVER (NEW!)
Districts may request a new waiver to allow alternative education campuses to take attendance at flexible hours. The campus may choose to take attendance individually or collectively two to three times a day. This waiver allows the district to claim Average Daily Attendance (ADA) for students who would normally miss the attendance period due to family or work-related issues. Students must attend school daily with the same requirements of attendance, two hours for part-time students, four hours for full-time students. Campuses must maintain the seven-hour school day.
DISCONTINUED WAIVERS
To ensure that all students have access to instruction during the required 180-day school year, the following waivers will be discontinued at the end of the 1999-2000 school year. School districts with these waivers in effect have been notified under separate cover. Waiver days for staff development will remain an exception to this policy.
- Extended School Year waivers, (e.g., reducing the calendar for some students to provide extended or concentrated learning time for students in at-risk situations)
- Alternative Education Program (AEPs) waivers, (e.g., allowing non-disciplinary AEPs to receive full funding for attendance calculated on a reduced basis, including reducing the number of instructional days and/or allowing students to make up days on which they were not in attendance).
- Parent Involvement waivers, (e.g., allowing districts to reduce instructional days to allow teachers time to visit homes or meet with parents).
BAD WEATHER DAYS/EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
Note that days missed due to bad weather, natural disaster, or emergency situations are not considered as "waiver days." Although no longer required by statute, districts are encouraged to include two "bad weather" days in the school calendar. Excused days for bad weather will be considered only after the two days have been expended. In the event of a natural disaster, fire, gas curtailment or other emergency situation the commissioner will consider missed days on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Division of State Funding at (512) 463-9238 for questions on bad weather days or emergency situations.
Detailed descriptions of general waivers as well as notice of waiver approvals may be found on the Agency web site at www.tea.state.tx.us/special.pop/waivers/stategranted. For questions regarding waivers, please contact the State/Federal Waivers and Initiatives Unit at (512) 463-9630.
Sincerely,
Carol V. Francois
Associate Commissioner
for the Education of Special Populations
CVF:MDM
Enclosure
For further information on this topic, contact the State/Federal Waivers and Initiatives Unit at (512) 463-9630.