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.

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.

November 8, 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