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 offers has its own set of unique eligibility criteria, documentation requirements and enrollment and withdrawal procedures. It is incredibly important that you understand what is necessary when it comes to the coding of your special program participants. This will ensure that your district is not in a position in which it needs to give money back to TEA in the future due to a coding mistake! You are submitting this information to TEA through your PEIMS submissions, so it is crucial that you are verifying your student coding before you finalize each of your submissions.

For in-depth information, register now for the Special PEIMS Coding Online Course!

Limited English Proficiency Students (LEP)

To be eligible for funding, a LEP student must meet the following criteria:

• The student’s Home Language Survey must have a language other than English indicated for either the language spoken by the student or the language spoken in the student’s home.
• The student must be tested by your district to determine that they score below the cutoff scores appropriate for their grade level.
• The student must be recommended for placement in the LEP program by your district’s language proficiency assessment committee (LPAC).
• The student’s parent must approve the recommendation from the LPAC committee and a signed, dated parental permission form must be retained for audit purposes.

It is important that the LEP services that you provide a student in which you are claiming funding does not start prior to the date on the parental permission form. If your district is audited for a LEP student and TEA finds that your district claimed funding prior to this date, they will request that funding back! To be eligible for LEP funding the district must have all required documentation on file and be able to provide it in the case of an audit. For more information on what is required for coding LEP students please review the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook, which can be found here.

Pregnancy Related Services (PRS)

To be eligible for funding, a PRS student must meet the following criteria:

• The student is pregnant
• The student is attending classes in your district (enrolled and in membership) OR
• The eligible student, due to a valid medical reason, can no longer attend classes either while pregnant or after the baby is born- Compensatory education home instruction (CEHI)

CEHI is a mandatory component of the PRS program if your district chooses to offer this service to your students. Documentation by campus officials, the student’s licensed doctor and certified teachers are required to claim PRS funding and must be retained for audit purposes. The qualified student should be coded PRS in your student information system on the day they begin receiving services and PRS services should end when the student returns to her regular classes or the first day of the seventh week of services (depending on which comes first). There are very specific eligibility timelines and ADA attendance accounting regulations when it comes to PRS and CEHI services. If you are offering this program in your district, please refer to the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook here for more information.

Dyslexia Reporting- NEW for the 2019-20 School Year

Under HB 3, Section 1.027, an allotment for services provided to students who have dyslexia, or a related disorder was established. Due to the establishment of an allotment for services provided to students who have dyslexia or a related disorder, it will be necessary to provide a mechanism for districts to indicate the type(s) of services a student identified with dyslexia or a related disorder received at any time during the school year.

“Dyslexia” means a disorder of constitutional origin manifested by a difficulty in learning to read, write, or spell, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and sociocultural opportunity.

“Related disorders” includes disorders similar to or related to dyslexia, such as developmental auditory imperceptions, dysphasia, specific developmental dyslexia, developmental dysgraphia, and developmental spelling disability.

In the 85th Legislative Session, House Bill (HB) 1886 was passed which, among other things, amended TEC 38.003(a) to require screening for dyslexia and related disorders by the end of the school year for each student in kindergarten and for each student in first grade. In addition, in the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Strategic Plan under the objective Academic Excellence, the following outcome measures are included:

• Percent Kindergarten students identified as at risk for dyslexia or other reading difficulties resulting from required dyslexia screening
• Percent Grade 1 students identified as at risk for dyslexia or other reading difficulties resulting from required dyslexia screening.

For the first time this year, we will also be submitting a Dyslexia Risk Code which indicates the results of screening for dyslexia and related disorders that is required under TEC §38.003(a) for all students in kindergarten and first grade. This testing has been required for school districts for many years. This is just the first year we will be including it in our Summer PEIMS submission. First grade student’s screening must be completed no later than January 31 of each year, while kindergarten students must be screened by the end of the school year.

Your coding options for the Dyslexia Risk Code are:

• 01- Screened and determined to be not at risk for dyslexia or related disorders
• 02- Screened and determined to be at risk for dyslexia or related disorders
• 03- Not screened for dyslexia or related disorders

You can find additional information regarding deadlines and assessments in the TEA Dyslexia Handbook at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/19_0074_0028-1.pdf

The Dyslexia Indicator Code is submitted in your Fall PEIM submission and is a Yes/No indicator.

• 0- Not Receiving Services, Or Condition Or Situation Not Applicable To This Person Or Campus
• 1- Participant In Program Or Service, Or Condition Or Situation Applicable To This Person Or Campus

If a student receives services for Dyslexia or a related disorder at any time during the school year, the type of services they received will be reported with the new data element Dyslexia Services Code. This code will be submitted in your Summer PEIMS submission this year. Your district will report each type of dyslexia service a student receives.

Your coding options for the Dyslexia Services Code are:

• 00- Does not receive services for dyslexia or a related disorder
• 01- Receiving services for dyslexia or a related disorder with an individualized education program developed for the student under Section 29.005; or a plan developed for the student under Section 504, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Section 794).
• 02- Receiving instruction that meets applicable dyslexia program criteria established by the State Board of Education; and is provided by a person with specific training in providing that instruction.
• 03- The student is permitted, on the basis of having dyslexia or a related disorder, to use modifications in the classroom or accommodations in the administration of assessment instruments under Section 39.023.

Verification of Special Programs Coding

The director of each special program should be aware of the specific requirements for the students participating in their program and should be verifying that proper documentation is in place. Special Programs Directors should also be determining the coding for these students and should verify that it was correctly entered in the student information system. The program directors should also be running the student detail report out of your student information system every six weeks to catch any coding errors while reviewing the data for accuracy and completeness. Special Program Directors should sign off on program specific PEIMS reports out of TSDS to ensure coding accuracy.

Need some help?

If you have any questions regarding the coding of the students in a special program you district offers, or if you would like some assistance on putting a procedure in place for coding these students in your district, please reach out to CSS PEIMS Director, Laura Jandle.