In order to run a school system, you have to make purchases. There is a great deal of responsibility involved to make sure funding intended for the students is regulated with care. An added layer of review is necessary when these purchases involve federal grant funds. Some charter districts are a one-man or two-man operation, … Read More
AskTED – What It Is and Why It Is Important for Your Charter?
Not getting important communication can leave you out of the loop and in a bind. One way to ensure you receive accurate and important information from the State is to make sure your AskTED directory information is current and correct. AskTED is the online Texas Education Directory (TED), which is updated daily. AskTED is the primary … Read More
Collaborative Comprehensive Needs Assessment for 2023-24 (CCNA)
While you were relaxing during Spring Break, you might have had thoughts about next year pop in your head, and hopefully you set them aside until this week! Now is the time to start writing down your ideas because it is almost time to start the needs assessment process that is required before you can … Read More
District Accreditation Status for 2022-23
The grace period from COVID is over, and, after two years of accreditation statuses being on hold, TEA has resumed issuing ratings. On January 26, 2023, TEA issued a memo announcing the release of ratings on February 9, 2023. For the previous two years, all LEAs were rated “Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster;” however, … Read More
Mid-Year Federal Grants Review (ESSA & IDEA-B)
Check ups are important! They keep us on track. The middle of the school year is a good time to check up on your federal grants by conducting a mid-year review. How would I go about doing that you ask? CSS has an excellent training resource in our Mid-Year Federal Grants Review Online Course – … Read More
Title IV Special Collection Report Due March 17, 2023
Spring is quickly approaching, and it appears that our baskets will be full of reporting. Today’s topic is a new report that TEA’s is requiring everyone that receives Title IV ESSA funding to submit. Even if your charter district transfers 100% of its Title IV funds to Title I, action will be required by March … Read More
School Safety Standards Grant Due Feb 17, 2023
The State has put serious ($400 million) money where its mouth is when it comes to the safety and security of public-school facilities. In the unfortunate wake of school violence, we must ask ourselves if our facilities have all necessary barriers and are able to protect our students against intruders. In 2022-23, you will be … Read More
Basics of State Compensatory Education Funds
Very likely, your charter is receiving a special allocation of state funds to assist with the educational needs of your students who qualify as At-Risk based on state-defined criteria. Like most the other special state allotments, these funds come with special guidelines and requirements. HB 3 in the 2019 legislature changed the formula for allocation … Read More
Silent Panic Alert Technology (SPAT) Grant – Due Dec 12, 2022
Your school may have previously benefitted from the School Safety and Security grant that the State issued in an effort to prevent school violence. More safety funding is being made available with the SPAT Grant being due in the very near future. The SPAT grant is to purchase silent alert technology, and to be honest, … Read More
LASO Grant – Learning Acceleration Support Opportunities
Ready to “round up” some new funding? The latest release of post-COVID funding is called LASO (aka TCLAS II), and CSS is here to be your partner as we wrestle up all the dirt on this new grant that is due December 22, 2022. Preliminary training for LASO has already happened in October (don’t worry, … Read More