To go into effect January 1, 2020, the IRS has released an updated version of Form W-4. This newly redesigned version reduces the form’s complexity and increases the transparency and accuracy of the withholding system. While it uses the same underlying information as the old design, it replaces complicated worksheets with more straightforward questions that make … Read More
Special Program Student Coding
Did you know that some of the special programs you offer in your district have a weighted ADA funding for the students enrolled in that program? This means more money for the services you are providing your students! With that weighted funding comes the potential for additional TEA scrutiny. Each special program that your district … Read More
Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH) Changes
The Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH) is published yearly by TEA and contains the official attendance accounting guidelines that must be followed by all school districts and open-enrollment charters in the state of Texas. The 2019-20 SAAH has recently been published and has many significant changes from the prior year’s handbook. With all of the … Read More
The Charter FIRST & PEIMS connection: Do you need a budget amendment?
The Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) consists of four mandatory yearly data submissions. These submissions encompass all data requested and received by TEA about public education for all open enrollment charter schools in the state of Texas. PEIMS data directly affects your district’s funding, accountability and compliance systems. One of the major compliance elements … Read More
HB3 Update: Teacher Incentive Allotment
In an effort to attract more attention to the teaching field, the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) is an exciting new allotment implemented through HB3 bill. TIA is meant to encourage people to join the teaching profession by providing a pathway to earn an annual $100,000 salary. Participation in the allotment is completely optional and at … Read More
HB3 Update: Bilingual Education Allotment
Texas has a healthy growing population, and with that, Texas also has an increasing Limited English Proficient (LEP) population. HB3 has expanded the resources and allotments given to schools with a Bilingual Education population to help serve this growing population. TEA states that Texas provides services to the second largest LEP population in the nation, … Read More
Board Reporting
One of the most important roles of any school board is to establish a vision for the community that encompasses charter quality, high academic results, and the ability to know the demographics of their students and understand their strengths and weaknesses. School board members play an essential role in the big picture and are required to … Read More
Census Block- New Fall PEIMS Data Element
Under HB3, Section 1.028, the Compensatory Education Allotment was modified to establish weighted funding based on the census block in which an economically disadvantaged student resides. Previously, the Compensatory Education Allotment was a single multiplier for each student that was considered Economically Disadvantaged. With these changes the Compensatory Education Allotment will now be a tiered … Read More
Calculating Charter FIRST
Charter FIRST is the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) Texas Education Code 39.082 This rating system (originally known as School FIRST) was implemented for charter schools during the 2008-09 school year as a ways and means of monitoring their financial accountability. It has evolved significantly over the years to include solvency indicators and … Read More
HB3 Update: Dyslexia Allotment
HB3 introduced the Dyslexia Allotment to be available for the 2019-2020 school year. Dyslexia is comprised of two primary components: Decoding and Language Comprehension which equate to a person’s reading comprehension ability. TEA has stated that 80% of students who read below grade level demonstrate decoding or word reading weaknesses often attributed to Dyslexia. The … Read More