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Military Connected Students |
Schools and districts that are impacted by military installations have access to the local School Liaison (SL), an individual employed by the installation who builds partnerships between schools and the military. School and district staff are encouraged to work with their SLs to build quality services and influence positive change in their schools. Reach out to your local SL for the following activities:
- Military family transition and deployment support
- Professional development for school staff
- Sponsorship programs for your schools
- Scholarships and grant opportunities
- Military Interstate Compact compliance support
- Purple Star Campus activities
- Establishing partnerships with military installations to collaborate and host events, coordinate field trips, and facilitate opportunities for soldiers to volunteer/mentor on campus.
Purple Star Campus Designation
Congratulations to our Purple Star Campus awardees! 45 campuses across the state were awarded the Purple Star Campus Designation for the 2021-2022 school year. Each of these Texas campuses demonstrates their support and commitment to meeting the unique needs of military-connected students and their families through a variety of key actions, supports, and activities. You can find the list of awarded schools here: Purple Star Campus Designation Awardees.
Applications for the 2022-2023 school year will open next spring. Please see the Purple Star Campus webpage for more information.
If you have any questions, please email: MilitaryConnectedStudents@tea.texas.gov.
View the latest Military-Connected Newsletter in our Program Newsletter Archive.
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Child Abuse and
Human Trafficking Prevention |
Mandatory Reporting Reminder: All educators are mandatory reporters who are required to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect, including trafficking of a child, within 48 hours (Texas Family Code §261.101). As local educational agencies (LEAs) navigate both remote and in-person learning environments, it is critical for teachers and school staff to remain vigilant in their identification and reporting of these concerns.
Educators and Staff Reporting Requirement: Each LEA personnel are required to report child abuse or neglect, including the trafficking of a child. A report shall be made to:
- any local or state law enforcement agency;
- the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS); or
- the state agency that operates, licenses, certifies, or registers the facility in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred.
In cases of emergencies, please call 911.
Mandatory Reporting Update *New*: If the matter to be reported potentially involves human trafficking, report to local or state law enforcement and DFPS. Please note that for purposes of human trafficking reporting, local law enforcement does not include a school district’s police department.
TEA released a Child Abuse and Neglect, including Human Trafficking, Prevention and Awareness Reminders and Requirements To the Administrator Addressed (TAA) Letter on October 28th, 2021.
For more information visit TEA’s Child Abuse Prevention Overview and Human Trafficking of School-Aged Children website or contact preventinghumantrafficking@tea.texas.gov.
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Pregnancy Related
Services (PRS) |
Students receiving pregnancy related services may generate ADA funding when served through a remote synchronous or asynchronous method if they meet the eligibility criteria for virtual instruction under SB 15 (see the SB 15 FAQ for more information). LEAs do not need to submit a waiver to provide full-day virtual instruction to PRS students.
LEAs seeking to provide remote homebound instruction to students receiving Compensatory Education Home Instruction (CEHI) must submit a General Waiver for each student served. For more information on submitting a waiver for remote homebound instruction, see the State Waivers Guidebook, page 28.
COVID-19 FAQ: Pregnancy Related Services
PRS FAQ for the 21-22 School Year | In light of the new requirements of Senate Bill 15 regarding remote instruction, this FAQ provides information to equip educators with navigating PRS and CEHI services during remote (asynchronous or synchronous) instruction for the 2021-2022 school year. This FAQ also covers remote conferencing and remote homebound instruction, remote services options for which PRS students may qualify.
Please send any question to the PRS inbox: PregnancyRelatedServices@tea.texas.gov
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Texas Education for Homeless Children
and Youth Program (TEHCY) |
Did you know there is a designated regional McKinney-Vento Liaison at every education service center (ESC)? Our regional McKinney-Vento Liaisons assist TEA with regional and local technical assistance, professional development, and dissemination of resource materials to assist students experiencing homelessness. Visit our TEA TEHCY webpage for the contact information for the regional McKinney-Vento Liaison in your area.
To learn more about statewide identification and graduation data, see our new TEHCY Program Infographic. This resource includes at-a-glance information on McKinney-Vento eligibility and Texas data on students experiencing homelessness.
Sign up for our McKinney-Vento newsletter to stay updated!
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Foster Care and Student Success |
Collaboration is key when working with students in Foster Care. What procedures do you have in place to ensure proper identification and supportive resources are provided for students in foster care? Here are some helpful collaboration strategies that you can implement when working with students in foster care:
- Build a relationship with the student and guardian during the Enrollment Conference
- Provide the entire staff foster care training. This will ensure all staff understand how they will be able to assist students in foster care.
- Speak with your DFPS Educational Specialist. Attend Foster Care Consortiums when offered.
- Work with campus staff to connect students with available resources, e.g. school counselor, Community in Schools and School Social Workers.
- Additionally, TEA is a hosting three-part training series regarding Transition Assistance for students experiencing foster care or homelessness.
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See ‘Upcoming Events’ section for more information. View the latest Foster Care and Student Success Newsletter in our Program Newsletter Archive.
Building a welcoming environment is important for all students, but especially important for assisting students who are at risk of dropping out of school. As a campus, it is essential to provide caring relationships with the students, assist the students in creating realistic goals, and engage the community around the student to provide support and encouragement.
For a list of all students who are considered at-risk and eligible for Compensatory Education, please view the Texas Education Code §29.081(d).
For information on resources to support At-Risk students, visit State Compensatory Education. Additionally, for strategies to work with At-Risk students please visit TEA Supports for At-Risk Schools and Students and TEA’s Highly Mobile and At-Risk Students Division webpage.
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Mental and
Behavioral Health |
Mental health is critical to children’s success in school and life! TEA has launched a new Texas School Mental Health Website through Project AWARE Texas. In September, TEA published a new School Mental Health Practice Guide and Toolkit, Version 1 that is hosted on the website. Supporting the Toolkit are resources and sample tools that can be filtered by category under the Toolkit Tab. Explore through the website and download the Toolkit to learn more!
The Project AWARE Texas team will continuously add school mental health highlights from around Texas, resources, and tools as they are identified and developed. Join us to promote mental health for all Texans and support mental health in Texas schools. Access and explore the new Texas School Mental Health Website!
Feedback is a gift. Please provide feedback on the website and share your community’s school mental health highlights and news with TEA here: mentalandbehavioralhealth@tea.texas.gov.
The Mental and Behavioral Health program has officially moved to the Safe and Supportive Schools Division at TEA.
Sign up for the Mental and Behavioral Health newsletter to stay updated!
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