September 2017 Committee on School Finance Permanent School Fund Item 4
Discussion of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting, §129.21, Requirements for Student Attendance Accounting for State Funding Purposes
September 14, 2017
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL FINANCE/PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides an opportunity for the committee to discuss a proposed amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting, §129.21, Requirements for Student Attendance Accounting for State Funding Purposes. The proposed amendment would update the rule to reflect changes made by Senate Bill (SB) 1152, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§12.106; 25.087, as amended by SB 1152, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017; and 42.004.
TEC, §12.106, provides for charter schools to receive funding under certain conditions through the TEC, Chapter 42.
TEC, §25.087, as amended by SB 1152, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, lists the excused absences under which a student shall be counted as if the student attended school for purposes of calculating the average daily attendance of students in the school district.
TEC, §42.004, requires the commissioner, in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education, to take such action and require such reports as are necessary to implement and administer the Foundation School Program (FSP) under the TEC, Chapter 42.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted §129.21 effective September 1, 1996, and last amended it effective August 21, 2016.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: The proposed amendment to §129.21 will be presented for first reading and filing authorization at the November 2017 SBOE meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Section 129.21 provides the student attendance accounting requirements school districts must follow and describes the manner in which student attendance is earned. The rule also provides a list of conditions under which a student who is not actually on campus at the time attendance is taken may be considered in attendance for FSP funding purposes.
SB 1152, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, amended the TEC, §25.087, to allow a student who is pursuing enlistment in the military or the Texas National Guard to be counted as present for funding purposes for up to four days as long as the district verifies the student's activities related to the pursuit of the enlistment.
The proposed amendment to §129.21, shown in Attachment II, would implement SB 1152 by updating subsection (j)(3) to add the TEC, §25.087(b-5), to the list of conditions for which an absent student may be counted present for funding purposes.
FISCAL IMPACT: The Texas Education Agency does not anticipate any additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed amendment; however, fiscal implications will be assessed and included when the proposed amendment is presented for first reading and filing authorization.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The proposed amendment would align the rule with statute and allow students to be counted present for state funding purposes if they are absent to pursue enlistment in the military or the Texas National Guard.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The TEC, §25.087, as amended by SB 1152, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, requires a school district to adopt procedures to verify a student's activities related to pursuing enlistment in the military or the Texas National Guard.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: Any locally maintained paperwork requirements resulting from the proposed amendment would correspond with and support the stated procedural and reporting implications.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: The official public comment period will begin when the proposal, approved for first reading and filing authorization by the SBOE, is published in the Texas Register.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
Staff Members Responsible:
Leo Lopez, Associate Commissioner
School Finance / Chief School Finance Officer
David Marx, Director
Financial Compliance
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF, 21KB)
II. Text of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 129, Student Attendance, Subchapter B, Student Attendance Accounting, §129.21, Requirements for Student Attendance Accounting for State Funding Purposes (PDF, 25KB)