Minutes of Operation-Updates to House Bill (HB) 2442

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ACTION REQUIRED

June 27, 2017

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED (TAA):

Subject: Minutes of Operation-Updates to House Bill (HB) 2442

The regular session of the 85th Legislature has ended and there are changes to the implementation of minutes of operation. Listed below are the significant updates for the 2017–2018 school year:

The Following Guidance Applies to the School Year 2017–2018

To receive full funding, school districts and charter schools are required to provide 75,600 minutes of operation. The exceptions to this requirement are:

1. Prekindergarten programs will receive the allotted funding as long as they comply with the two-hour instruction rule (120 minutes).
    
2. A dropout recovery campus, a day treatment facility, a residential treatment facility, a psychiatric hospital, a school program offered at a correctional facility, an alternative education program (AEP), a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP), and a school operating under Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.259, will receive the allotted funding as long as they comply with the four-hour instruction rule (240 minutes).
    
3. Charter schools operating before January 1, 2015, will receive full funding if they report 180 days of attendance and comply with the four-hour instruction rule (240 minutes). The charter school must continue to meet the instructional requirements in its contract for charter.

Waivers are automatically granted for the three exceptions listed above. School districts and charter schools do not need to apply for these automatic waivers.

Waiver applications available for the 2017–2018 school year include the following: early release (six days total), staff development (five days total), and the seven-hour school day as defined in TEC, §25.082(a). The 2017–2018 waiver application will open July 10, 2017.

• To apply for a waiver of TEC, §25.082(a), districts would select the “Other Waiver” type then complete and submit the application.

Districts and charter schools must continue to follow the rules in the student attendance accounting handbook (SAAH).

The Following Guidance Applies to the School Year 2018–2019

The TEA will release a TAA letter in September 2017 that will address additional guidance related to HB 2442 and associated waivers for the 2018–2019 school year. The TEA encourages all districts and charter schools to read HB 2442 approved by the 85th Legislature as the TEA intends to fully implement the statute in the 2018–2019 school year.

CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Please contact Chanda Williams at (512) 475-2012 or Yolanda Walker at (512) 463-0947 or at attendance@tea.texas.gov.

Regards,

David Marx
Director of Financial Compliance