Volume 4, Number 49, December 14, 2001
A Publication of the Resource Center for Charter Schools
Phone 210-348-7890 Fax 210-348-7899
© Resource Center for Charter Schools All Rights Reserved

Patsy O'Neill, Executive Director; Jimmie Driver, Assistant Director;
Sally Friedli, Office Manager; and Sara Murphy, Administrative Assistant
                      

CHARTER SCHOOL CONFERENCE

SIXTH ANNUAL TEXAS CHARTER SCHOOL CONFERENCE
will be held on April 29 & 30, 2002 at the Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston. We are pleased to announce that Commissioner of Education Jim Nelson and Raul Yzaguirre, President of the National Council of La Raza, will be two of our keynote speakers. The Resource Center has secured contributions to reduce your conference cost, therefore, your registration fees are listed below. The registration fee includes five meals: breakfast and lunch on both days, and the evening dinner on Monday, April 29, on board the Paddlewheeler Boat. (The Resource Center spends more than $200 per person to host this conference.)

  • $100 Texas charter school staff, teachers & board members
  • $150 TEA & Region Service Center personnel
  • $200 All other attendees
  • $400 Vendors (Fee includes one registration and one vendor table. Fees for each additional person at the booth will be $200.)

For hotel reservations call the Moody Gardens Hotel at 888-388-8484. Let the hotel know you are with the Charter School Conference to qualify for the $125 rate, which can accommodate up to four people in one room for $125.

BOARD TRAINING
TEA legal staff announced this week that the new Commissioner's Rules regarding HB6 will not be finalized on January 1, 2002 as originally planned. However, after the rules have been approved, the Resource Center will proceed with our Charter School Board Training, which will then be in compliance with HB6. Topics will include all those required in HB6. Watch the Friday Fax® for the schedule of the no-cost Resource Center Board Training that will be offered in your area.

TEA CHARTER SCHOOL DIVISION WEBSITE UPDATED
The following information can now be found on the TEA charter school division website at www.tea.state.tx.us/charter.

  • House Bill 6 Resource Materials
    • Summary of Open-Enrollment Charter School Laws
    • House Bill 6 "To-Do" List for Current Charter Holders
    • Open-Enrollment Charter School Laws as Updated by House Bill 6
    • House Bill 6 Reference Document (compilation of Texas statutes that are referred to in HB 6)
  • Correspondence (recent To the Charter School Administrator Addressed correspondence)
  • The Fourth Year Program Evaluation (The third annual program evaluation for Texas charter schools includes demographics, staffing, expenditures, student performance information, and student and administrator survey results.)

TEXTBOOK QUESTION AND ANSWER
Eugene Rios, from the Textbook Administration at TEA, has forwarded another frequently asked Q & A to the Resource Center.

QUESTION: I just received some books I ordered through EMAT. One of them was badly damaged. I assume the damaged books can be returned to the depository but is there a form that needs to be filled out?

ANSWER: You will need to fill out a Shipment Error Report with the Depository that shipped the damaged books to you and fax that report to them. The depository will contact you directly and tell you what to do with the damaged books.