CHARTER ORIENTATION SESSION The Charter Schools Division at TEA is hosting a two-day Charter Orientation Session October 17 and 18, 2002, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. both days. Divisions from across the Agency will present important information about school operation and agency requirements. An agenda of presentations will appear in the Friday Fax® on October 11, 2002. The session is at TEA in the William B. Travis Building, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, in room 1-104. To register, please go to www.tea.state.tx.us/ charter/. Parking is available on a first come first serve basis on the roof (flat, open area) in Garage R at the east side of the Travis building at no cost. 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 R or in other state garages may be ticketed and/or towed. Parking is also available in two University of Texas parking garages off MLK Boulevard for approximately $7.00 per day.

START-UP GRANT RECIPIENTS / GENERATIONS 4, 5, & 6 Re ports indicate that several Generation 4, 5, and 6 grantees who have received federal start-up funds for the 2002-2003 school year, SAS-A526, have not spent the majority of the funds as agreed upon at receipt of the grant award. Due to the federal deadline set by the Department of Education, the greater part of these funds must be spent by September 30, 2002, or TEA will have to return the funds. This money needs to be spent quickly and appropriately. Refunds made to the federal government will likely result in smaller grant awards made to TEA in the future which, in turn, will mean less money available to students in Texas.

Please review your grant activities and award balances and plan to expend these resources to avoid any loss of funds. If you have programmatic questions, please contact Linda Freeman at 512-463-9575. For assistance with fiscal- related questions, contact a grant manager in the Division of Grants Administration at 512-463-9269.

SPECIAL EDUCATION CHILD COUNT Charter schools opening for the first time in 2002-2003 were mailed a packet containing detailed information for submitting special education child counts. The child count will be used to determine eligibility for 2002-2003 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (IDEA-B) allocations. These funds are available to newly opened charter schools that provide special education services to eligible students with disabilities based on current full and individual evaluations and individualized education programs (IEPs).

The child count should be reported in the Newly Opened Charter School Child Count screens on the automated 2002-2003 Web Standard Application System (WEB SAS) for Special Education Programs. The reporting system will be available on the web from October 1, 2002 through October 22, 2002, and any child count information must be reported through the WEB SAS system during this period of availability. Only newly opened charter schools for 2002-2003 will have access to the child count screens.

For assistance in completing the child count, contact your Education Service Center special education contact. If additional assistance is required, contact Debbie Conaway in the Division of Special Education at 512-463-9362.