Charter FIRST Rating for Open-Enrollment Charter Schools and Charter Schools Operated by a Public Institution of Higher Education (IHE)

The purpose of the financial accountability rating system for charter schools, known as Charter Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), is to ensure that open-enrollment charter schools and charter schools operated by a public institution of higher education (IHE) are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and that they improve those practices. The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to better manage their financial resources in order to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.   

Correspondence

• Official Notification of 2020-2021 Final FIRST Ratings Based on 2020 Data
• Official Notification of 2020-2021 Preliminary FIRST Ratings Based on 2020 Data
• Official Notification of 2019-2020 Final Charter FIRST Ratings Based on 2019 Data
• Official Notification of 2019-2020 Preliminary Charter FIRST Ratings Based on 2019 Data

• 2011–2012 and newer Charter School - Financial Accountability Ratings (Select Year from Dropdown)  
• 2016-2017 IHE Charter FIRST Ratings based on 2016 data (PDF, 83 KB)
• 2009-2010 – 2013-2014 Charters FIRST Rating based on 2008-2009 – 2012-2013 Data (PDF, 1,092 KB)
• 2009-2010 – 2013-2014 Charters FIRST Rating based on 2008-2009 – 2012-2013 Data (Excel, 173 KB)  
• 2010–2011 Charter School - Financial Accountability Ratings     
• 2009–2010 Charter School - Financial Accountability Ratings

Financial Management Report Template for Use by Open-Enrollment Charter Schools and Charter Schools Operated by a Public Institution of Higher Education (IHE)

• Charter FIRST Annual Financial Management Report (PDF, 150 KB)
• Charter FIRST Annual Financial Management Report (Excel, 26 KB)

Charter School Annual Financial and Compliance (AFR) Data Submission

There is a new process for Charter Schools beginning with their FY2021 annual financial audit report data submission. This new process replaces the submission of the financial data on the Excel data templates which were emailed to TEA in previous years. This new process also requires that at least one person at the Charter School has TEAL Audit application access to close and finalize the submission.

You can find instructions for submitting the Charter School financial data feed in the Charter School Annual Financial Report Data Feed Standards under the section titled, Annual Financial and Compliance Report Submission-Charter Schools of the Financial Compliance Division's Electronic Submissions web page.

Law and Rules

Law:

• Texas Education Code, Chapter 39, Subchapter D

Commissioner's Rules:

• 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 109, Subchapter AA, Financial Accountability Ratings
• 19 TAC §97.1055, Accreditation Status