SUBSIDIZED SERVICES FOR SPECIAL ED

SUBSIDIZED SERVICES FOR SPECIAL ED We are pleased to announce that Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) is exploring options for new Special Education service arrangements for Houston-area charter schools. As one possibility, HCDE is considering starting a Charter School Special Ed Coop in Houston beginning in 2003. Because HCDE is a governmental agency with tax-based revenue, Special Ed services they provide are subsidized for any school located in Harris County. A free Special Ed needs assessment will be conducted by HCDE for any charter school that thinks they might be interested in this Coop.

The HCDE will co-host a planning meeting, to discuss the possibility of a Special Ed Coop, on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 1:30 p.m. at the HCDE office at 6300 Irvington Boulevard in Houston. This meeting will be co-hosted by the Resource Center and Association of Charter Educators (ACE). Susan Barnes, Patsy O'Neill, Barbara Graham, and Christi Martin will attend the meeting to help answer questions. Any school not in Harris County will not be eligible for subsidized Special Ed services, but is welcome to attend the meeting. Please RSVP by July 29^th to the Resource Center at 210-348-7890 or oneillp@texas.net.

ACADEMIC/ACCOUNTABILITY ACADEMIES The Charter School Resource Center's Academic/Accountability Academies 2002 will focus on assisting charters to prepare for the new Texas assessments (TAKS) and can provide excellent in-service for your teachers and administrators for the 2002-2003 school year. The schedule and registration form is attached. Please list workshop attendees individually on the registration form and fax to the Resource Center at 210-348-7899 . Each topic listed is a separate, all-day workshop beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 3:00 p.m. Register early as each workshop is limited to 45 participants. For questions call the Resource Center at 210-348-7890. Workshops will be provided at no cost to the charters.

HOUSTON WORKSHOPS The following Academic/Accountability Academy workshops are filled and we are no longer accepting registrations for these workshops:

Reading K-2	Tuesday, July 23
Math K-2	Wednesday, July 24
Writing 4-7	Friday, July 26

DATA REQUEST FORM FOR FEDERAL PROGRAM FUNDING Charter schools must submit the Charter School Data Request Form by Monday, July 15^th. Charter schools will not be eligible to receive any Federal Title money for school year 2002-2003 if the form is not received on time by the Division of Student Programs. Affected programs are Title 1, Part A; Title II, Part A; Title II, Part D; Title IV, Part A; and Title V, Part A for the upcoming school year. Call Dina Hernandez at 512-463-9374 with questions.

CHARTER SCHOOL ORIENTATION The Charter Schools Division at TEA is hosting a charter school orientation on Monday and Tuesday, July 22 and 23, 2002 in room 1-104 of the William B. Travis building at 1701 N. Congress Avenue in Austin. The orientation is a two-day program including presentations from many divisions across the Agency. A tentative schedule is attached. New charter schools are required to attend an orientation program before starting school. Staff members from existing schools are also welcome, as are ESC staff and other interested parties. Please let us know you plan to attend by registering on our webpage at www.tea.state.tx.us/charter/orientation.htm or calling 512-463-9575. There is no charge. Parking is available on the roof in Garage Q on San Jacinto between 16^th and 17^th streets. Due to increased security, you will need to provide your license plate number to staff immediately upon arrival. Cars parked on other floors of Garage Q or in other state garages may be ticketed and/or towed. Parking is also available in two U T parking garages off MLK Boulevard for approximately $7.00 per day.

SCHOOL BOARD TRAINING The Charter Schools Division at TEA will host a public meeting on Friday, August 2, 2002 to discuss proposed Commissioner's rules regarding charter school board training. The meeting will be from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in room 1-104 of the William B. Travis building at 1701 N. Congress Avenue in Austin. All interested parties are invited to attend. The Resource Center will schedule board training as soon as the Commissioner's rules are finalized.

CHARTER REPRESENTATION ON ESC BOARDS New commissioner's rules relating to charter school representation on the boards of directors of Regional Education Service Centers became effective on July 8. See the attached letter and rule for further information.

ALTERNATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY RATING If your 2002 Alternative Education accountability ratings are high enough and you wish to request a commended rating please see the attached document.

Tentative

CHARTER SCHOOL ORIENTATION
July 22 & 23, 2002

Room 1-104
Texas Education Agency
William B. Travis Building
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas

Monday, July 22

Tuesday, July 23

ATTACHMENT II
Text of Proposed New 19 TAC

Chapter 53. Regional Education Service Centers

Subchapter AA. Commissioner's Rules

§53.1002. Charter School Representation on Board of Directors.

(a) Charter school member. Notwithstanding the provisions of §53.1001 of this title (relating to Board of Directors), where a

(b) regional education service center (RESC) has at least one open-enrollment charter school , as defined by §100.1011(3) of this

(c) title (relating to Definitions), approved to operate [located] within its boundaries on or after June 1 , the commissioner of education

(d) shall appoint a representative of the open-enrollment charter schools in the region to serve as a non-voting member of the board of directors of that RESC as provided by this section.

(b) Term of office.

(1) A charter school member of an RESC board of directors shall be appointed for a one-year term. The term of office shall

(2) begin June 1, and may be extended for up to three years by the commissioner.

(3) If a vacancy occurs due to death or resignation of a charter school member of an RESC board of directors, a 30-day period

(4) shall elapse, after notice has been given to the board chair, before the vacancy is filled.

(3) At the beginning of the 30-day period, notice of any vacancy shall be given to the president of the governing body and the

(4) chief executive officer of each open-enrollment charter school in the education service center region and shall be posted in appropriate locations.

(5) A vacancy for the unexpired term of a charter school member of an RESC board of directors shall be filled by appointment

(6) by the commissioner of education.

(c) Appointment process.

(1) A charter school member of an RESC board of directors must be a United States citizen and a resident of the State of Texas,

(2) and must be at least 18 years of age. A person may be appointed to serve as a charter school member of more than one RESC board of directors.

(2) Any eligible person wishing to seek appointment as a charter school member of an RESC board of directors shall file an application between February 1 and February 20. The application shall be in the form of a letter seeking appointment to a specific RESC board of directors. The letter must:

(A) include a description of the applicant's qualifications to serve as a charter member of the RESC board of directors;

(B) enclose letters of support signed by representatives from at least one open-enrollment charter school in the

(C) education service center region; and

(C) supply contact information for the persons signing the letters of support.

(3) The application for appointment as a charter school member of an RESC board of directors may be filed by mail if sent

(4) by certified United States mail, return receipt requested, or by an overnight courier service. The envelope must be

(5) addressed to the Charter School Division, Texas Education Agency, 1701 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701-1494.

(5) Not later than May 31, the commissioner of education shall notify the board of directors of each qualifying RESC

(6) of the commissioner's appointee to serve as the charter school member of that RESC board of directors effective June 1.

(e) Transition period deadlines. Notwithstanding anything in this section, the following provisions shall govern where a charter

(f) school member of an RESC board of directors is appointed to a term of office that includes any of the period from June 1, 2002,

(g) through May 31, 2003:

(1) Any eligible person wishing to seek appointment as a charter school member of an RESC board of directors shall file an application during a period commencing on the tenth day following the effective date of this section and ending on the 30^th

(2) day following the effective date of this section. The application shall be filed in accordance with the process specified in subsection (c) of this section.

(3) Not later than the 90th day following the effective date of this section, the commissioner of education shall notify the board

(4) of directors of each qualifying RESC of the commissioner's appointee to serve as the charter school member of that RESC board of directors.

(3) The term of office of a charter school member of an RESC board of directors appointed under this subsection shall begin on

(4) the day the commissioner of education notifies the board of directors of the qualifying RESC of the commissioner's appointee to serve as the charter school member of that RESC board of directors and shall expire May 31, 2003.

NOTICE FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS RECEIVING AN ALTERNATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY RATING

Currently each campus has the following data for the 2002 accountability ratings:

TAAS Passing Rates - Spring 2002
Dropout Rate - 2000-2001
Attendance Rate - 2000-2001
TLI Growth - Students with 2002 scores and previous scores
Selected Indicator data at the campus level

Please review the campus data and decide if the data supports a Commended rating.
Standards to be a Commended campus with an alternative rating are as follows:

TAAS Passing Rate	at least 30% of "all students" and at least 30% of each student group at the campus must have passed both the reading and mathematics sections of the Spring 2002 TAAS Test
Dropout Rate	a campus 2000-2001 dropout rate of 6% or less for "all students" and for all student groups
Attendance Rate	a campus 2000-2001 campus attendance rate of at least 94% for "all students" and for all student groups
TLI Growth	85% of all students with current and previous TAAS scores must demonstrate an increase in TLI
Selected Indicator	See pages 34 and 35 in the 2002 Alternative Education Accountability Manual for indicator-specific criteria at http://www.tea.state.tx.us./alt.ed/curdatsub.html

If your ratings are high enough and you wish to request a commended rating, you must follow the process to appeal your current ratings. Please follow the directions on pages 38 and 39 of the 2002 Alternative Education Accountability Manual and on the Alternative Education Accountability web page. The deadline for appeal submissions is 5:00 p.m. CST Friday, August 16, 2002.

If you have any questions, please contact Roman Echazarreta, Echo Machuca, or Rosemary Manges at (512) 463-9642.