Texas Charter Schools Newsletter – May 2023

Texas Education Agency sent this bulletin at 04/24/2023 11:23 AM CDT

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Division of Authorizing

May 2023

Events & Deadlines
From the Director's Desk
Updates from the Authorizing Division
Helpful Documents
News from Around the Agency
Charter School Spotlight

EVENTS & DEADLINES

May 2023

5/5 @ 9AM CST Emergent Bilingual Support Webinar
5/9-5/11 Generation 28 Applicant Capacity Interviews
5/16 @ 11:00 AM CST Using CSPF for Decision Making: Renewal / Revocation

June 2023

6/2 Deadline for School Health Survey
6/11 @ 11:00 AM CST CSPF Initial Draft and Feedback

FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK

Happy Spring!

In our operator council call last month, we welcomed Chief Scott and the Safety and Security Team from TEA to share information and answer questions regarding school and student safety. If there are other topics of interest or divisions you would like information from during June operator council meeting, please feel free email me those requests. We want to thank everyone for their time and engagement in the process. We hope to have more teams present at sessions throughout the year.

Also, as the school year begins to come to a close, we know that this is an extremely busy time of year with testing, college visit trips, and graduation and promotion ceremonies. We love to see and hear about what’s happening in your schools. Please share highlights with us so we can feature these stories in future newsletters.

As always, you can email, call, or text me with any questions or concerns.

- Marian

UPDATES FROM THE AUTHORIZING DIVISION

Registration for CSPF Feedback and Engagement Sessions

Please register for the CSPF sessions you would like to participate in.
Note that these are not Zoom meeting links, but registration links. After you register for a meeting, you will be sent a separate email with instructions on how to join the meeting.
Only one person can use the unique link you receive after registering, so each person planning to attend a session must register individually.
If you have any questions or difficulty registering, please contact Bruce Marchand.

Using CSPF for Decision Making: Renewal / Revocation May 16, 2023 11:00 AM

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpcOGqqzgjHdTRpJw-YB0YBuUwlL6wSCKB

CSPF Initial Draft and Feedback - June 13, 2023 11:00 AM

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcvcuuhqTwoHdGB5OnyHLAt_Vnu0ROR2_-S

CSPF Final Draft and Feedback - July 26, 2023 11:00 AM

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUod-GvrzgjHNZ13avvh93JLGbLbfUaG9SW

Campus Activation Update

All charter LEAs who are scheduled to open a new campus or site for the 2023-24 school year received an activation update email from their portfolio coordinator on Monday, April 17th. The email contained an Excel spreadsheet that lists each campus or site scheduled to open for the charter LEA. Any information that the authorizing division currently has for that campus or site was listed, including the campus/site name, address, grade span projected enrollment, and anticipated start date.

For any campus without a County District Campus Number (CDCN) the charter will need to fill out the CDCN request section of the All-In-One form to request a CDCN for that campus, completing all of the campus information in the All-In-One form. Please note that you will need to upload a copy of the determination letter signifying approval of that campus as part of the CDCN request using the All-In-One form.

For any campus with a CDCN, the charter should review the information on the spreadsheet and update all of the columns with correct information as necessary. If you already have a valid certificate of occupancy (COO) for the campus, please attach it to this email.

For any approved sites, please review and update all of the information on the spreadsheet, including the CDCN for the campus that the site is under.

Please note that if you do not intend to open the campus or site for the 2023-24 school year, you will need to submit a non-expansion amendment with a valid board resolution to request a postponement of the campus or site.

Please return the updated spreadsheet to your portfolio coordinator (or Bruce for schools that start with M-So) no later than May 5th. If you already have a Certificates of Occupancy (COO) for the campus or site, you may attach those to the email as well.

We appreciate your attention to this important task. If you have any questions or need to talk further about the campuses you are activating, please reach out to the portfolio team. We’re here to help!

Grade Level Reconfiguration – AskTED Update or Non-Expansion Amendment?

Why Reconfigure and When

There are times when a charter LEA needs to reconfigure the grade levels served at campuses operated by the charter. The reasons for these reconfigurations typically have to do with space limitations on a campus or a realignment of grade levels by a charter to better meet the needs of the students they serve. Grade level reconfigurations should always be made prior to the beginning of a school year, and the agency will not allow reconfigurations that occur after Fall snapshot because of the potential impacts on campus and LEA-level accountability.

Reconfiguration and School Types

There are times when grade level reconfigurations can be made simply as an AskTED update using the All-In-One form, and there are times when a non-expansion amendment is required to make the change. Typically, the grade level reconfiguration is made through the non-expansion amendment process if the change will affect the campus school type. As a reminder, every campus for accountability purposes is labeled as one of four school types —elementary school, middle school, elementary/secondary, or high school based on data reported in the charter’s Fall Texas Student Data System (TSDS) PEIMS submission. For more information on school types, please see page 5 of the 2022 TEA Accountability Manual.

AskTED Update and Amendment Example

To illustrate, if ABC Charter wishes to reconfigure campus 101 from serving grades K-6 to grades K-5, this change would not require a non-expansion amendment but simply an AskTED update as it would not have an impact on the school type. Conversely, if ABC Charter wished to reconfigure campus 101 from serving grades K-6 to serving grades 6-8, then a non-expansion amendment would be required as this would change the campus’ school type.

Next Steps

If you considering a grade level reconfiguration at one or more of your campuses, please feel free to reach out to your portfolio coordinator to engage a discussion on what the best course of action to take to successfully complete the reconfiguration.

TREx Access Is Open to New Charter Campuses and Sites

Charters that are opening campuses and sites in August 2023 now have access to TREx for those campuses/sites to obtain records for students who are being enrolled in the new campus/site. The campus must be activated in AskTED and listed as “Under Construction” for access to be available.

Use the All In One form to request your new campus number to get the required “Under Construction” status in AskTED. Please note that even though users may request student records through the TREx application, the release of such information will be determined by the school district where the student is currently enrolled.
Please contact trex@tea.texas.gov or click on the TREx Support Portal within the TREx application for any questions.

Helpful link:

Requesting Access to TREx in TEAL Click Sheet (state.tx.us)

Generation 28 Charter School Capacity Interview Schedule

The Generation 28 Open-Enrollment Charter Application Capacity Interviews will be taking place May 9^th–11^th. These applicants have made the cut score in the external review process and will be interviewed by agency staff and members of the State Board of Education as the next step in the competitive process.

All interviews can be viewed at the AdminMonitor website: https://www.adminmonitor.com/tx/tea/charter_interviews/

Day	Time	Proposed School Name	Sponsoring Entity	Grades Served	Proposed Location
5/9/23	9–11 a.m.	Celebrate Dyslexia School	Celebrate Dyslexia Schools	2–6	San Antonio
5/9/23	12–2 p.m.	Champions Global Academy	Champions Prep Academy, Inc.	EE–5	Pharr
5/9/23	2:30–4:30 p.m.	Creative Arts Studio Academy	ToGive International	1–8	San Juan
5/10/23	9–11 a.m.	Entrepreneur High School	REAL ED Texas	9–12	San Antonio
5/10/23	12–2 p.m.	Heritage Classical Academy	Heritage Ed.	EE–8	Houston
5/10/23	2:30–4:30 p.m.	NextGen Innovation Academy	NextGen Global Leadership Academies	6–12	Houston
5/11/23	12–2 p.m.	The Village Speech and Debate Academy	The Village Speech and Debate Academy	PK–6	Fort Worth
5/11/23	2:30–4:30 p.m.	UP Excellence Academy	UP Excellence Academy, Inc.	K–8	Houston

HELPFUL DOCUMENTS

NEWS FROM AROUND THE AGENCY

SPECIAL POPULATIONS DIVISION UPDATES:

Emergent Bilingual Support Webinar

For emergent bilingual program support as you close out the year, please consider attending our division webinar for LEAs on May 5 from 9-11am.

You can register here. A popular resource this time of year is the End of Year LPAC Guidance Checklist and our Summer School Guidance. These topics will also be discussed at the May webinar.

Please feel free to reach out to our division at Englishlearnersupport@tea.texas.gov with any questions.

Notice of Procedural Safeguards Now Available in an Audio Format

An audio recording of Procedural Safeguards is now available. Please share the link below with parents/guardians/families, individuals with visual impairments, or those who may find it useful. Feel free to post to your LEA’s website. This recording will be available soon through the SPEDTex website. Link to the online audio file.

Free Virtual Conference

July 17 - 18: Registration open now for the Aligned! 2023 from Child Find to IEP Implementation free virtual conference.

PERFORMANCE REPORTING DIVISION UPDATES:

What’s New in Performance Reporting

What’s New in Performance Reporting

A–F Accountability

2021 Snapshot Report The 2021 Snapshot Report is now available on the Snapshot Report search page. This is a Texas Education Agency product that provides an overview of public education in Texas for a particular school year. In addition to state-level information, this website contains a profile about the characteristics of each public school district. Note that Snapshot does not provide campus-level information. For campus-level information, see the Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR) or the Accountability Ratings. See About Snapshot for more information about this product.

We are Hiring!

The Training and Outreach Coordinator ensures stakeholders receive clear and effective communication about the A-F accountability system. This role contributes directly to the work of TEA’s Performance Reporting division, which seeks to ensure continuous improvement in the academic achievement of all Texas public school students. The Coordinator provides guidance, resources, outreach, and training to help ESCs, school administrators, teachers, parents, and the public understand and benefit from the accountability system. We are looking for an educator who is knowledgeable of state and federal assessment and accountability laws and regulations and has outstanding customer service, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Apply here; applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Assessment Scoring and Reporting

2023 TELPAS Administration

An updated Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) data file layout is available on the Technology Resources page of the Texas Assessment website. To account for students who have changed grades during the TELPAS administration, four new fields have been added to the data file layout. There is one Tested Grade field for each domain. As previously indicated, students who do not complete all domains in the same grade will not receive a composite score or a composite rating.

2023 TELPAS Alternate Administration

Early student results from the 2023 TELPAS Alternate administration will be available in the Centralized Reporting System (CRS) for district testing coordinators on April 11, 2023. An early data file will be posted to the district coordinator’s secure inbox in the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) on this same date. Early student results will be available in CRS for other authorized users, including teachers with rosters, on April 14.

TEXAS Through-Year Assessment Pilot Application

As a reminder, the district-level application for the 2023–2024 Texas Through-year Assessment Pilot (TTAP) is open and will close on 11:59 p.m. (CT) Friday, April 28, 2023. All Texas public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools are eligible to participate in TTAP. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will host a TTAP Informational Webinar to provide information to interested district personnel. To participate in this webinar on April 11, at 8:00–9:00 a.m. (CT), register using the link provided.

Training Updates

A new training video, How to Enter Student Responses in the Data Entry Interface (DEI), has been posted to the District and Campus Coordinator Resources. An additional training video on generating status reports for scheduled test sessions will be posted in the Coordinator Resources later this week. Refer to the Updates to Coordinator Resources section for the latest updates.

For questions or assistance regarding the information in this communication, contact Texas Testing Support at 833-601-8821, TexasTestingSupport@cambiumassessment.com, or TexasAssessment.gov via live chat.

Performance Reporting Calendar

Late April: 2023 Pairing Registration Window Opens May: Preliminary 2023 Accountability Manual Release and Public Comment Period Opens; What If Report (TEAL) Release

Late May: 2023 A–F Estimator (TEAL and Public Web) Release

Late May: CCMR Verifier (2022 Graduates) Corrections Window Opens

July: CCMR Tracker (Part 2) Release (2022-23 grade 9-12 students)

Summer: 2023 A–F Refresh Parent Resources, Explanatory Materials, Videos Released

August 2023: Final 2023 Accountability Manual (All Chapters and Appendices) Released

Late September 2023: Accountability Ratings Published (TEA and TXschools.gov)

Late September 2023: Accountability Appeals Registration Window Opens

Fall 2023: Results Driven Accountability (RDA) Integration Taskforce Meeting

OTHER IMPORTANT UPDATES:

Minimum Standards for Bullying Prevention Final Version Complete

Texas Education Code (TEC), §37.0832(c), requires school districts to adopt policies and procedures concerning bullying prevention. TEC, §12.104(b)(3)(Q), also subjects open-enrollment charter schools to this requirement. Senate Bill 2050, 87th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, added TEC, §37.0832(c-1), which requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to adopt minimum standards for the bullying prevention policies and procedures adopted under TEC, §37.0832(c).

Previously proposed minimum standards were made available for public feedback as announced in a prior TAA released on March 31, 2022. TEA conducted two rounds of public feedback in April of 2022 and November of 2022. All submitted feedback was reviewed and considered prior to release of the final minimum standards. The final version of the Minimum Standards for Bullying Prevention was completed on January 31, 2023 and is now available for districts along with several resources to support the implementation of the new standards on the TEA website Student Discipline page.

In the spirit of continuous improvement TEA welcomes feedback and can answer questions via our student discipline email StudentDisciplineSupport@tea.texas.gov. Please use the subject line “Minimum Standards for Bullying Prevention”.

Nominate Volunteers for the 2023 Heroes for Children Award

The State Board of Education (SBOE) is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Heroes for Children Award. Established in 1994, the Heroes for Children Award recognizes the many outstanding volunteers whose selfless acts of service have significantly contributed to the betterment of Texas public schools and students. Past recipients have provided volunteer service – often thousands of hours – for activities that help create thriving school cultures. The SBOE selects 15 Heroes for Children annually—one person from each member’s district. The Board has recognized more than 510 Texans with this award since 1994. Any Texas resident who gives time, effort, and support to public schools and students, except elected officials and educational employees, can be nominated for the Heroes for Children award. Nominate your favorite school volunteer by completing the nomination form by 5:00 p.m. (CDT) on Friday, July 14, 2023. The nomination criteria and form can be found at https://tea.texas.gov/Heroes_for_Children.aspx.

The 2023 award recipients will be honored at the Board’s September 2023 general meeting in Austin. Each hero will receive a plaque and a resolution, and their names will be engraved on a perpetual plaque displayed at the Texas Education Agency headquarters.

For questions about the program, please email heroes@tea.texas.gov or call (512) 463-9007.

2022-2025 Safety Standards Formula Grant Application Deadline Extension

The 2022-2025 School Safety Standards Formula Grant application has been extended to meet LEA needs. Your LEA grantee application will be due 5:00pm CST on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. For grant details please visit TEA's grant opportunities webpage, and search for this grant by using the keywords "2022-2025 School Safety Standards Formula Grant". For information and guidance regarding the School Safety Standards grant and other school safety related grant programs please visit here. To submit questions regarding the SPAT grant, Safety Standards Grant, or Proposed Standards, please complete this form.

2022-2023 School Health Survey

The annual School Health Survey is available for school district and open-enrollment charter school completion through June 2, 2023.

Texas Education Code (TEC), §38.0141, requires school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to provide the agency with information relating to school health and physical activity. The School Health Survey has been developed for this purpose, and data gathered will allow the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and policy makers to better address the health-related needs of Texas public schools and students. Please forward this letter to the most appropriate member of your staff to complete the survey.

The survey is expected to take approximately 15-30 minutes to complete. This survey must be completed online and can be submitted only once for each school district and open-enrollment charter school. Responses should reflect the 2022-2023 academic year and may require input from different staff members within the district or charter school to completely answer the survey questions. A copy of the survey questions is attached for your convenience.

Please submit data for your district or charter school no later than Friday, June 2, 2023.

To access the survey, please visit https://tea.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4I0bsXVTqjQjwXA, or scan the QR code at the bottom of the letter. Detailed instructions are provided at the beginning of the survey.

If you have questions concerning the survey, please contact, Barney Fudge, Health and Physical Education Coordinator, by phone at (512) 463-9581 or by email at healthandsafety@tea.texas.gov.

Your input is very valuable and will assist TEA in understanding how your district or charter school is implementing school health mandates and other health-related programs and policies. Thank you for your time, and your cooperation in support of this important project is appreciated.

Attachment: 2022-2023 School Health Survey (PDF)

CHARTER SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT

Vanguard Academy

Vanguard Academy Culinary Arts Club is providing a service through its new food truck that the club’s sponsor says is a tremendous opportunity for our students.

“Our students are learning valuable skills, including employability and customer service skills,” Mrs. Cristina Santos, Culinary Arts Club sponsor, said. “The relevancy has been added to their learning and students are applying it.”

Vanguard Academy held a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month for the new food truck. The unveiling of the food truck is to promote and encourage students to join the new culinary arts program.

“I am very much looking forward into like, future what we are going to do for this club. Especially, this is our first year in school and it is amazing,” Saydi Fragoso, 9th grade Vanguard Academy student, said. “We are excited to be offering these amazing and great opportunities to our students,” Dr. Narciso Garcia, Vanguard Academy Superintendent, said. “We are introducing our students to entrepreneur skills, soft skills, marketing skills, and of course, culinary skills—all wrapped up in one.”

Do you have exciting news to share?

Send your Charter School Spotlight, news, and events to allison.werner@tea.texas.gov

The Texas Education Agency will improve outcomes for all public school students in the state by providing leadership, guidance, and support to school systems.