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. Parking will be available on the roof of Garage R which is located on San Jacinto between 17th and 18th streets. If you wish to park in the garage, please provide the agency with your license plate number as well as your drivers license number at the time of registration. All interested parties are invited to attend. The Resource Center will schedule board training as soon as the Commissioner's rules are finalized.

2001-2002 STATE COMPENSATORY EDUCATION (SCE) allotment for charter schools not participating in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program (NSLBP) memo is attached from the Division of State Funding at TEA.

REMINDERS FROM DIVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION Information on LDAA data reports, 2002 IDEA-B federal special education tentative entitlements, and 2001-2002 IDEA-B Final Expenditure Reports is included in the attached memo from the Division of Special Education at TEA.

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

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

Taming Your Universe	Monday, July 29
Math 3 - 5	Monday, August 5
Reading K - 2	Tuesday, August 6
Reading 3 - 5	Tuesday, August 6
Math K - 2	Wednesday, August 7
Writing 4 - 7	Thursday, August 8

SUBSIDIZED SERVICES FOR SPECIAL ED Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) is exploring options for new Special Ed service arrangements for Houston-area charters. 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 to help answer questions. Any school not in Harris County will not be eligible for subsidized services, but is welcome to attend. RSVP by July 29th to the Resource Center at 210-348-7890 or oneillp@texas.net.

STUDENT TRANSFER SYSTEM (STS) will be available to charter schools August 19, 2002 through September 13, 2002. Charter schools must submit student transfer information during these dates in order for the system to determine compliance/noncompliance status. The system cannot function until every charter school in the state submits this information. The system will be closed September 13, 2002 at 4:30 p.m. to ensure that all charter schools have submitted transfer data, to compare data from charter schools and districts, and to calculate compliance/noncompliance. It will reopen September 30, 2002, at which time charter schools will be informed of their status and may resume data entry.

To access STS and submit your 2002-2003 student transfers, you must have a TEASE USER ID. To apply for a TEASE USER ID, please complete the TEASE USER ID application form at www.tea.state.tx.us/eeo and link onto STS Application Request, which includes a data confidentiality statement that you must complete, sign, and fax to the number on the form. You will be notified via e-mail of your TEASE USER ID and password prior to August 19. Once you have your TEASE USER ID and can access the Student Transfer System, you will find step-by-step procedures for submitting student transfer information and technical assistance. Please note that failure to report will result in noncompliance with the federal court order. Contact Pamela Williams at 512-463-9519 for questions.

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.

WINFREE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL R.O.P.E.S. TRAINING Fulfill PE requirements, raise student achievement and self esteem, and increase student involvement with the least amount of money, staffing and space with R.O.P.E.S. Training. All materials and curriculum will be provided for you with an enrollment fee of $350. The training will take place July 29 - 31, 2002. Call Tripp Jackson at Winfree Academy at 972-251-2424 for more information.

The Locally Developed/Selected Alternate Assessment (LDAA) data report collects performance results for students with disabilities receiving special education and related services that do not participate in the TAAS or SDAA. A letter from the Division of Special Education, dated July 2, 2002, was sent to eighty-one (81) charter schools that missed the February 1, 2002, deadline. A paper submission is required from every local education agency (school districts and charter schools) even if no students with disabilities participated in the LDAA.

The Agency requests that the report be returned to the attention of Gene Lenz, Senior Director, Texas Education Agency, Division of Special Education, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701-1494, by the deadline of August 5, 2002.

Please note:

• If you have no students to report, complete the top portion of the form requesting district/campus information and enter "None" in the first field "9-digit PEIMS ID Number."
• An electronic Microsoft Excel version of this data collection form is available for downloading on the Special Education Web page at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/ldaa.
• Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on the submission of this report can be accessed on the Special Education Web page at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/ldaa.
• Due to the amount of confidential information on the completed forms, the Agency cannot accept submissions via e-mail or fax.
• Large school districts are requested to submit information from all campuses at one time. Questions regarding Data Collection Form SPE-112 should be directed to the Division of Special Education at (512) 463-9414.

2002-2003 IDEA-B TENTATIVE ENTITLEMENTS

The 2002-2003 IDEA-B federal special education tentative entitlements are available for application @ http://barton.tea.state.tx.us/websas. Expenditures cannot be encumbered for these funds until an application is approved by the Division of Special Education. For technical assistance with the on-line, web-based application, please contact the Special Education Director at your ESC (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/escinfo/director.html).

The 2001-2002 IDEA-B Final Expenditure Reports (FER) are due on or before August 15, 2002. Roll forward funds will not be available for amendment on the 2002-2003 funds until this FER is submitted. For technical assistance with the on-line, web-based application, please contact the Special Education Director at your Regional Education Service Center (ESC) (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/escinfo/director.html).

Please note that the Basic Monthly Claims for January 2002 through September 2002 are due to the Division of State Funding by November 15, 2002 for those schools that have not been submitting these claims on a monthly basis.

Charter schools that have not been submitting these forms on a monthly basis have been receiving SCE funding based on the charter school's initial funding estimate. If the Basic Monthly Claims for January through September 2002 are not received by the deadline, the SCE allotment will be reduced to zero. This may result in a substantial "Final" settle-up for the 2001-02 school year. Furthermore, since the SCE allotment is based on the prior year's Basic Monthly Claims, the SCE allotment will also be reduced to zero for the 2002-03 school year. Charter schools that did not participate in NSLBP were allowed to use current year counts for the 2001-02 school year only.

For additional guidance, please refer to the letter dated January 3, 2002 from Mr. Joe Wisnoski, Assistant Commissioner for School Finance and Fiscal Analysis. This letter was mailed out to all schools that do not participate in the NSLBP. The letter can be downloaded at the following URL:

Please note that an information package for the 2002-03 school year will be mailed in August to all charter schools that are not participating in the NSLBP. This information package will include the 2002-03 Basic Monthly Claim Form and the Letter to Households to Qualify the District for Compensatory Education Funding. As a suggestion we recommend that the Letter to Households to Qualify the District for Compensatory Education Funding be included in your enrollment/orientation package at the beginning of the school year. Doing so will ensure that the charter school has the necessary documentation to support SCE funding for the 2003-04 school year. If the charter school will not participate in the NSLBP in the 2002-03 school year and you do not receive this information package by August 15, 2002, please contact Kathryn Jones at (512) 463-9238.