TEA AUTHORIZED EVALUATION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS The Texas Center for Educational Research has selected the following charter schools to participate in the survey portion of the annual evaluation. These charter schools must submit student rosters with parent contact information by March 3, 2003. The attached letter describes the information needed.

Texas Center for Educational Research
_______________________________________________________________
P.O. Box 679002, Austin, Texas 78767-9002                                      512-467-3632

January 29, 2003

To Whom It May Concern:

The Texas Center for Educational Research is conducting the external evaluation of Texas open-enrollment charter schools for the State Board of Education. The sixth-year evaluation is prepared under contract with the Texas Education Agency.

One mandated part of that evaluation is a telephone survey of charter school parents. The survey is designed to compare the characteristics, preferences, and satisfaction levels of charter school parents and parents who have chosen to leave their children in traditional public schools. Because your charter school was randomly selected to be part of the sixth-year charter school evaluation, researchers need to obtain a database for all campuses associated with your charter school. Student-level databases should include campus name and number; student name, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status (i.e., free/reduced-price lunch); home language code (E0895); name of parent or guardian; telephone number; and address. Researchers will need files in Excel or some delimited format by March 3, 2003. You may either send the database as an email attachment to kelly.shapley@tasb.org or you may mail a disk or cd-rom to TCER (P.O. Box 679002, Austin, TX, 78767).

Involved researchers understand the critical importance of maintaining the confidentiality of student-level data and the households involved. A confidentiality assurance document is included that describes the security measures, which have been approved by TEA, that will be implemented to maintain individual student data confidentiality. In addition, school and campus identity will not be revealed.

Thank you for your attention to this important data request. Additionally, please keep in mind that your school will be receiving survey packets (including administrator, teacher, and student surveys) by early March. Please contact Kelly Shapley by telephone at 800-580-8237 or 512-467-3596, or by e-mail at kelly.shapley@tasb.org if you have questions or need clarification.

Sincerely,

Kelly S. Shapley, Ph.D., Director
Texas Center for Educational Research

SUBMISSION OF EXPANSION AMENDMENTS The deadline for the submission of expansion amendment 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 or 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 on March 4, 2003, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in Room 1-104. 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. Any Generation Three school is welcome to attend the March 4, 2003 repeat 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 at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/charter/rfa.htm , or contact Johnny Galvan at 512-463-9575. Contact Mary Perry, 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 Q directly behind the Travis building at no cost. You will need to provide your license plate number to staff immediately upon arrival. Cars parked on other floors of Garage Q 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.

THE CHARTER SCHOOLS DIVISION is requesting readers to review and score dissemination grant applications on April 1-2, 2003, in Austin. If you are interested in participating, please complete the attached form and submit it to the Charter Schools Division at the Texas Education Agency, 1701 N. Congress Ave., Room 5-107, Austin, Texas 78701-1494, fax it to (512) 463-9732, or email it to mperry@tea.state.tx.us . Individuals associated with any applicant are ineligible to serve as readers. Please note that stipends are not available, but readers will be reimbursed for travel, food, and lodging expenses. If you have any questions, contact Mary Perry at 512-463-9575.

I AM INTERESTED IN READING 2003 DISSEMINATION GRANT APPLICATIONS:

Name: ____________________________________________________________________
              (First, Last)

Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________________
                                  (Address)

                                  ___________________________________________________________
                                  (City, State, Zip)

Telephone Number: (____)___________________________________________________

Fax Number: (____)_________________________________________________________

E-mail Address: ____________________________________________________________

Current Position: ____________________________________________________________

Teaching Experience (Include area(s) of specialty):

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Administrative Experience:

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Experience with Grants, If Any:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Please complete and return to:
Charter Schools Division
Texas Education Agency
1701 N. Congress Avenue, Room 5-107
Austin, TX 78701-1494
Or Fax to: 512-463-9732 or Email to: mperry@tea.state.tx.us