SCHOOL DIRECTORY UPDATE With the start of the 2002-2003 school year, the Resource Center will update the school directory on our website. Please look at our website, www.charterstexas.org, then click on School Directory to view your school information. Send any changes to the Resource Center by email, oneillp@texas.net, and we will update your information. If your school is not listed in the School Directory then follow the instructions on the attached memo that was originally sent to all operational schools in October, 2001.

CHARTER AMENDMENTS Please remember that charter amendment requests (form available at www.tea.state.tx.us/charter/forms/csforms.htm) must be accompanied by a board resolution signed by all charter holder governing body members who voted for the amendment. There is no form for the resolution. Forms and resolutions should be faxed to Kirsten Christophersen at 512-463-9732. If you have amendment questions, please call Kirsten at 512-463-9575.

AUDITS REQUIRED All charter schools and school districts are required to submit two supplementary annual audits (three total) to TEA this winter (for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002, or August 31, 2002). Due to provisions in House Bill (HB) 1144 and Senate Bill (SB) 702, schools must submit agreed-upon procedures audits of their leaver code data and their State Compensatory Education (SCE) programs. These audits are to be submitted in addition to the general annual audit submitted in the past. Letter and information addressing these changes were sent to schools, including charter schools, on September 13, 2001, and in the Legislative Briefing Book (for audits of dropouts). For copies of these documents, go to this sites: www.tea.state.tx.us/legal/briefbook.doc. The requirements for dropout audits, which have been published in draft form on the TEA Internet site for several months, will be published in final form under Update 10 of the Financial Accountability System Resource Guide. For questions, contact the School Financial Audits Division at 512-463-9095.

GENERAL APPLICATION AND ASSURANCES FOR FEDERAL PROGRAMS letter is attached.

TO: CHARTER SCHOOL DIRECTORS
FROM: Patsy O'Neill and Sally Friedli
DATE: August 20, 2002
PAGES: 1
RE: School Directory Information Update

The Resource Center receives numerous calls from parents everyday requesting information about Texas charter schools. In response to this demand, our website features a complete profile of each operational Texas charter school. Please complete this information as soon as possible. We hope to have all school profiles on our website by October 1, 2002.

If you did not enter this information last fall please submit your school profile information through our website. Please include your main campus and all site schools. The information we are requesting includes: Mission or Philosophy, Curriculum Design and Core Teaching Methods, and Distinctive Features of the School.

• Log onto www.charterstexas.org
• Click on School Directory on the menu bar to the left of the screen
• At the bottom of the next screen click where it reads, "Charter schools click here to add your school to our database."
• On the next screen type in
  Username: csrct
  Password: pub2512
  Then click: Login
• Fill in your school information, then click "Submit".

Thank you! You've successfully recorded your charter school profile onto our website. For questions call Sally Friedli at the Resource Center at 210-348-7890.

The following letter along with a copy of the General Application and Assurances for Federal Programs Administered by the U. S. Department of Education certification form DF/GA-001R02 was sent to each charter holder on or about July 22, 2002.

It is extremely important this form is signed in the original and returned to the designated address on the form not later than August 30, 2002. We urge charter school administrators to contact their charter holders to ensure a timely submission.

If you have any questions, please call Betty Richardson in the Division of Grants Administration at (512) 463-9269.

(Styled on TEA letterhead from the Division of Grants Administration)

Grants Administration URGENT ACTION REQUIRED DATE: July 22, 2002 TO: The Administrator Addressed FROM: Earin Martin, Senior Division Director SUBJECT: General Application of Assurances for Federal Programs Administered by the U. S. Department of Education Due to the enactment of the P. L. 107-110 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Title IX, Part C, Section 9306(a), and in accordance with the United States Code (USC) Annotated, Title 20, Education, Chapter 31, Subchapter III, Section 1232e, we must have certification/recertification of the General Application of Assurances for Federal Programs Administered by the U. S. Department of Education to include both laws. The form DF/GA-001R02 is required by federal law to be on file with the state in order to receive federal funds of any kind directly or through a shared services arrangement. Please read, sign, and return the attached form by August 30, 2002. All signatures must be in the original and faxed copies will not be accepted. Unfortunately, if the signed form is not received by the requested date, all federal payments to the local educational agency, public agency, nonprofit private agency, institution, organization or Indian tribe will be temporarily suspended until receipt of the signed form. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please call Betty Richardson at (512) 463-9269. Attachment: DF/GA-001R02