Under the commissioner of education’s authority, TEA has issued a letter to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools (LEAs) eligible for a reduction in the required 75,600 minutes of operation. Many LEAs have experienced losses in average daily attendance (ADA) due to low attendance rates caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Because ADA is a major component in determining Foundation School Program (FSP) funds, a loss of ADA would normally result in a loss of FSP funds for affected LEAs and/or an increase in recapture obligations.
To mitigate these funding losses, the commissioner approved a reduction in the minimum required 75,600 minutes of operation for all LEAs during the first through fourth six-week attendance reporting periods of the 2021–2022 school year. The change will result in an adjustment that ensures stabilized percentage attendance rates comparable to a more typical school year, rather than the low percentage attendance rates caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. All LEAs will automatically be granted this one-time adjustment to operational minutes. No application or other action by LEAs is necessary.
Additional resources regarding this adjustment can be found on the TEA website.