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TEXAS
CHARTER SCHOOL CONFERENCE
 THE SEVENTH ANNUAL TEXAS CHARTER SCHOOL
CONFERENCE wiwill be May 5 & 6, 2003 at the Renaissance Hotel
in Austin. Confirmed keynote speakers include Dr. Howard Fuller, Institute
for the Transformation of Learning, and Dr. Felipe Alanis, Commissioner
of Education. This year we ask that you mail, not fax,
the registration form(s) with your check to the Resource Center. Conference
information and registration forms are attached.
Our registration table will be open on Sunday, May 4th from
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. To avoid long lines on Monday morning, please make
plans to check-in and receive your conference materials on Sunday evening.
A continental breakfast will be served each morning at 8:00 a.m. and the
General Session will begin at 9:00 a.m. each day.
We expect approximately 1,000 attendees, so please call 512-343-2626 to
make your hotel room reservations. To receive the $125 room rate with
up to four people in a room, let them know you are with the Charter School
Conference.
TEA
UPDATES
STATEWIDE EDUCATION NOTIFICATION SYSTEM
(SENS) The SENS is an information delivery system that provides
critical and time-
sensitive information sent from the TEA to Education Service Centers,
school districts and charter schools through a variety of communication
channels such as email, voice mail, phone, fax and pagers. Each charter
school was automatically set up in the SENS by TEA. LOGIN NAMES, PIN CODES
and a 15-page users guide were sent via email to each charter school in
September 2002. If you did not receive the login information or users
guide or need help in implementing the system, please contact your ESC
representative or email Dale Krueger at dkrueger@tea.state.tx.us
so the required information can be provided to your school.
SUBMISSION OF EXPANSION AMENDMENTS The
deadline for the submission of expansion amendments requests for the 2003-2004
school year is March 1, 2003. Expansion amendments include those that
would (1) expand grade levels served, (2) increase maximum enrollment
(3) add a campus, or (4) expand the geographic boundary. The amendment
request form is available at www.tea.state.tx.us/charter/forms/csforms.htm.
Print the form, fill it out, and fax it, along with any additional information
you would like to include, to Kirsten Christophersen in the Charter Schools
Division of TEA at 512-463-9732. Forms may also be mailed to the Texas
Education Agency, 1701 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701-1494. Call
Kirsten at 512-463-9575 if you have questions.
CHARTER SCHOOL 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 2003-2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, Part B (IDEA-B) allocations. These funds are available
to charter schools opening since November 1, 2002, that provide special
education services to students with disabilities based on current full
and individual evaluations and individualized education programs (IEPs).
Additional funds may be available if, since November
1, 2002, your charter school has experienced a significant expansion of
enrollment based on an event unlikely to occur on a regular basis. Any
expansion must have resulted in a significant increase in the number of
enrolled students for whom the charter school provides instruction. The
child count should be reported in the New and Significantly Expanded 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 February 3, 2003, through February 24,
2003, 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 education service center special education
contact. If additional assistance is required, contact Debbie Conaway
in the Division of Special Education at (512) 463-9362.
THE RENEWAL INFORMATION SESSION FOR
GENERATION THREE schools will be held at the Agency February
3, 2003, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in Room 1-100. More specific information
about application requirements and the general components of the renewal
review will be provided. Staff from Financial Audits, Legal, Special Education,
and the Charter Schools Division will present information and be available
for questions.
The February 3, 2003 information session is scheduled primarily to accommodate
schools whose applications are due February 28, 2003. Another session
is planned for early March. However, all Generation Three schools are
welcome and encouraged to attend the February 3 session. Attending a renewal
information session is not a requirement for application for renewal.
The tentative agenda is as follows:
| 9:00 - 9:20 |
Introduction |
| 9:20 - 10:20 |
Special Education |
| 10:30 - 11:30 |
Legal (i.e., governance structure, nepotism/conflict of interest) |
| 1:00 - 1:30 |
Financial Audits (business and financial management) |
| 1:30 - 3:30 |
Program Evaluation, Monitoring Follow-up, and other issues |
Please register for the information session via the Charter School Division
web pages, http://www.tea.state.tx.us/charter/rfa/htm,
or contact Johnny Galvan at 512-936-6688. Contact Ertha Patrick, 512-463-9575,
for any questions about renewal. Parking is available on a first come,
first serve basis on the roof (flat, open area) in Garage R directly behind
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 garages may be ticketed
and/or towed. Parking is also available in two UT parking garages off
MLK Boulevard for approximately $7.00 per day.
CHARTER SCHOOL REPRESENTATION ON ESC
BOARDS OF DIRECTORS 19 TAC Chapter 53, Regional Education
Service Centers, Subchapter AA, Commissioner's Rules, §53.1002,
Charter School Representation establishes provisions relating to
charter school representation as non-voting members of the board of directors
of each eligible Regional Education Service Center (RESC). Section 53.1002
(c) of the rule addresses the process for appointing charter school representatives.
An application from an eligible person shall be in the form of a letter
seeking appointment to a specific RESC board of directors, and must (1)
include a description of the applicant's qualifications to serve as a
charter member of the RESC board of directors; (2) enclose letters of
support signed by representatives from at least one open-enrollment charter
school in the education service center region; and (3) supply contact
information for the persons signing the letters of support. Any eligible
person wishing to seek appointment as a charter school member of an RESC
board of directors should file an application between February
1, 2002 and February 20, 2002 with the Charter School Division
of TEA. Applications may be filed by mail only if sent by certified United
States mail, return receipt requested, or by an overnight courier service.
The envelope must be addressed to the Charter School Division, Texas Education
Agency, 1701 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701-1494.
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