Basics of State Compensatory Education Funds

Basics of State Compensatory Education Funds

March 15, 2024 | Grants Management

At-risk students are in the greatest danger of not completing high school. Effective planning to meet their needs, even in early childhood, can help prevent students from dropping out. Each charter district with qualified students receives a State allotment of State Compensatory Education (CompEd or SCE) funds to provide direct services to At-risk students. Of the allotted amount, 55% must be directly tracked and documented how it is spent on At-risk students. Like most the other special state allotments, SCE funds come with special guidelines and requirements.

The CSS Federal team assists its clients with identifying allowable activities for SCE funds and monitoring compliance with the 55% requirement throughout the year.

The purpose of State Compensatory Education (SCE) funds is to provide supplemental programs and services designed to eliminate any disparity in performance on the state assessment instrument (STAAR) or the disparity in their rates of high school completion between students identified as “At Risk” for dropping out of school and all other students.

15 criteria for identifying At-Risk students:

At least 55% of your charter’s allocation must be spent on direct services to accelerate At-risk students. Furthermore, SCE funding must be used to directly serve students who meet one of the following 15 At-Risk criteria:

  1. Did not advance from one grade level to the next for one or more years (does not include students retained in PreK or K due to parent request)
  2. Failing two or more core subject classes in grades 7-12 in the preceding school year, previous semester, or is failing to maintain a passing average in the current semester (in two or more core subjects).
  3. Did not perform satisfactorily on the state assessment in the previous school year and who has not passed with a score equal to 110 % of the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument.
  4. Failure to perform satisfactorily on a current-year readiness assessment in grades PK – 3.
  5. Pregnant or parent
  6. Placed in a DAEP during the preceding or current school year.
  7. Expelled during the preceding or current school year.
  8. Is currently on parole, probation, deferred prosecution or other custodial release.
  9. Previously reported in PEIMS as having dropped out of school
  10. Limited English proficiency per state statute and not met exit criteria (including parent denials)
  11. In custody or care of DFPS or has been referred to the department during the current school year.
  12. Homeless
  13. Residential placement during the previous school year or current school year.
  14. Student has been incarcerated or has a parent or guardian who has been incarcerated within the lifetime of the student, in a penal institution as defined by the Texas Penal Code, 1.07.
  15. Student is enrolled in a school district or open-enrollment charter school that is designated as a dropout recovery school under Section 39.0548.

LEAs are able to adopt local criteria to identify At-risk students as well, but the addition of the local criteria cannot increase your numbers of At-risk students by more than 10% of the number of students who received services the preceding school year.

Other requirements include providing accelerated instruction for those students who did not perform satisfactorily on required EOC exams.  The accelerated instruction program must be funded before any other SCE activities can be budgeted.

Some of the “Must Do’s” for using these funds are listed below.

  1. Annually, complete a Comprehensive Needs Assessment and develop a Campus Improvement Plan with the required SCE components
  2. Annually evaluate the effectiveness of the SCE programs in terms of disparity of At-risk students on State assessment and high school completion
  3. Provide accelerated instruction in the applicable subject each time a student fails to perform satisfactorily on a required EOC.
  4. Provide accelerated instruction for students who are identified as At-Risk.
  5. Clearly identify SCE-funded activities in the CIP/DIP for the LEA.
  6. Support SCE-funded positions with appropriate job descriptions.
  7. Submit Campus and District Improvement Plans to the state if you receive $750,000 or more in your SCE allotment for the prior year.
  8. Develop a written policy and procedure manual that includes how At-risk students are identified, the required documentation that feeds into PEIMS, and the programs that are funded by State Comp Ed (including the required program evaluation). CSS has templates for our contracted clients.

Budgeting Requirements

The amount allotted for SCE funding can be found in the Summary of Finances in the Program Intent Codes section. Please note that the amount fluctuates with revisions of the Summary of Finances throughout the year, but you start with the amount available at the time your budget is adopted. You should consider a budget amendment at other checkpoints during the year to adjust for changes in the SCE allotment.

To budget SCE funds, you would multiply the amount by 55% and specifically budget that amount to the correct budget codes for direct services to At-risk students. The other 45% can be absorbed as revenue in your general budget.

Please consider the following when you budget SCE funds:

  • 55% of the funds must be used for direct services to support identified At-Risk students.
  • SCE funds are considered supplemental and are not intended to replace state or local funding.
  • SCE funding activities should also be identified in your district budget using the appropriate Program Intent Code – 24 or 30 (if Title I Schoolwide).
  • PIC 26, 28, 29 for alternative education programs (non-disciplinary or disciplinary)
  • SCE funds can be used to support a Title I program, either Schoolwide or Targeted, but the coordination must be listed in the Campus Improvement Plan.

The CSS  State Compensatory Education Funds Online Course will provide you with a basic understanding of this special state program.

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