GOVERNANCE REPORTING DEADLINE
NOVEMBER 1, 2002

GOVERNANCE REPORTING FORM DEADLINE The Charter School Annual Governance Reporting Form must be completed and turned into the Division of Charter Schools no later than Friday, November 1, 2002. See attached letter. Go to www.tea.state.tx.us/charter/forms/csforms.htm to download the form. Contact Ertha Patrick at 512-463-9575 with questions.

SPECIAL ED SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION FUNDS All charter schools should have received correspondence dated October 18, 2002 from Dr. Hancock outlining procedures for special education significant expansion funds. Please read the information carefully. The reporting system will be available from November 1, 2002 through November 21, 2002. If additional assistance is required, contact Debbie Conaway in the Division of Special Education at 512-463-9362.

UPDATED DEPOSITORY CONTRACT The depository contract form has been revised to align more closely with language in HB6. (If you have already submitted your depository contract, you DO NOT have to resubmit the new form.) Charter holders must deliver to TEA a copy of the depository contract(s) between the charter holder and any bank into which state funds, received on behalf of the charter school, are deposited. See attached updated depository contract form. For questions call Mary Gonzalez at 512-463-9095.

TEA AUTHORIZED EVALUATION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS Randomly selected charter schools will be expected to participate in annual evaluation activities conducted by the Texas Center for Educational Research. The attached letter from Susan Barnes, Assistant Commissioner, explains evaluation procedures for 2002-03 and subsequent school years.

UPDATE YOUR DISTRICT EMAIL ADDRESS The Charter School Division would like to update your district email address in AskTED. This email address will be available to the public. Please note that the district email address is the one that is to the main campus. This address may be different from the official superintendent email address, which is not used for general correspondence. The Official Email associated with the Superintendent's name has a lock on it, and it is only used with permission of the Commissioner or an Associate Commissioner. If you need to update this information, email Mary Alvarez at malvarez@tea.state.tx.us. Please include your county district number in your request.

SPECIAL EDUCATION CHILD COUNT Charter schools 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 may be available if your charter school has experienced a significant expansion of enrollment based on an event unlikely to occur on a regular basis. The child count should be reported in the Significantly Expanded Charter School Child Count screens on the automated 2002-2003 Web Standard Application System (WEB SAS) fir Special Education Programs. The reporting system will be available on the web from November 1, 2002, through November 21, 2002, and any child count information must be reported through the WEB SAS system during this period of availability. For assistance in completing the child count, contact your ESC special ed contact. If additional assistance is required, Contact Debbie Conaway in the Division of Special Ed at 512-463-9362.

September 30, 2002

TO THE CHARTER SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED

Subject: Charter School Annual Governance Reporting Form, Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws

Enclosed is a copy of the Charter School Annual Governance Reporting Form that must be completed and turned in to the Division of Charter Schools no later than November 1, 2002. The form is required as provided by Texas Education Code (TEC) § 12.119(b) and Texas Administrative Code (TAC) § 100.101 and has been revised to reflect recent amendments to statute. This form can also be accessed from the Charter Schools Division web pages, http://www.tea.state.tx.us./charter/.

As described in TAC § 100.1013, a copy of your schools' articles of incorporation and bylaws, or comparable documents must be submitted, along with the Governance Reporting Form. If a copy of articles of incorporation and bylaws are already on file with the Charter Schools Division, a copy of any amendments or changes must be submitted. Contact Ertha Patrick, 512-463-9575, with questions.

Sincerely,

Susan Barnes, Assistant Commissioner
Charter Schools Division

Enclosure

DEPOSITORY CONTRACT FOR FUNDS
OF OPEN-ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOLS UNDER TEXAS EDUCATION CODE, CHAPTER12, SUBCHAPTER D,

STATE OF TEXAS                            COUNTY OF_____________________________

County-District Number________________________________________

FEIN Number (Federal Identification Number) _______________________

Bank Routing Number _________________________________________

ARTICLE I. ___________________, hereinafter referred to as the "Depository," located at __________________________ County, State of Texas, being a bank as that term is defined in section 45.201 of the Texas Education Code, hereinafter referred to as "the Code", was duly selected by the governing body of the ___________________________ Charter School located in __________________ County, Texas, hereinafter referred to as the "School," to serve as the Depository of the school funds of the School received under Section 12.106, Texas Education Code, except those school funds permitted by law to be deposited or invested in accordance with Sections 2256.009-2256.016, Texas Government Code at the sole discretion of the governing board of the School. The action of the governing board of the school was duly taken and the Depository is to serve pursuant to this contract until its successor is selected and has qualified unless sooner terminated by Depository's failure to adhere to all requirements of the Code and of this contract.

ARTICLE II. This contract is executed by the School and the Depository in three copies, all of which shall be deemed originals.

TO BE COMPLETED BY SCHOOL AND VERIFIED BY BANK
(For all funds received from the Texas Education Agency)

Type of Account: __________ Checking ___________ Savings (Check One)

Transit Routing Number _________________________________________ (Must be 9 digits)

Account Number _______________________________________________ (Up to 13 digits)

AGREED AND ACCEPTED on behalf of the School this the ___day of___________________, 2002.

Signature of President of School Board _____________________________________________

Signature of Secretary of School Board _____________________________________________

A T T E S T:
AGREED AND ACCEPTED on behalf of Depository this the ___day of___________________ 2002.

Typed Name of Depository________________________________

Signature of Authorized Officer_____________________________

Title of Authorized Officer_________________________________

Acknowledgment

STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF _____________________

Before me, the undersigned authority in and for said county and state, on this day personally appeared
(insert name of bank officer)________________________________ known to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument on behalf of the Depository named therein, and known to me to be an officer authorized to execute the foregoing instrument on behalf of said depository, and acknowledged to me that (s)he executed the same as the act and deed of said Depository, for the purpose therein expressed and in the capacity therein stated.

Given under my hand and seal of office this the _____ day of _____________________________, 2002 .

ACCEPTED AND FILED AT TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY, AUSTIN, TEXAS

____________________ (Date), ___________________________ (Signature)
The School Financial Audits Division.

November 1, 2002

To All Charter Schools:

TEA has contracted with the Texas Center for Educational Research (TCER) to conduct the annual evaluation of Texas open-enrollment charter schools required by the Texas Education Code (TEC § 12.118). As part of the study, TCER will randomly select 62 charter schools to participate in these ways during the 2002-03 school year:

1. Charter school directors complete the Director Survey,
2. Teachers complete the Teacher Survey,
3. Students in grades 6 to 12 complete the Student Survey,
4. Charter schools provide 2002-03 student rosters for a parent survey, and
5. 10 of the 62 charter schools participate in case studies and provide students' grades.

Charter schools selected for the 2002-03 surveys and case studies will not be included in the possible survey sample in the next two evaluation years. Thus, all charter schools will participate once in a three-year cycle.

Thank you in advance for your charter schools' participation. If you have questions about the study, please contact Ertha Patrick at TEA (512.463.9575, epatrick@tea.state.tx.us) or Dr. Kelly Shapley at TCER (800.580.8237, kelly.shapley@tasb.org).

Sincerely,

Susan Barnes
Assistant Commissioner
Division of Charter Schools

Preparing Children, Promoting Excellence