October 2023 Monthly Reminders

Accountability & Assessment

• Attend required School Improvement training, if applicable
  
  • Prepare and submit applicable school improvement interventions, if applicable
• RDA (Results Driven Accountability), Stages of Intervention, including LEA Determinations, released via TEAL
  
  • Prepare RDA intervention submission, if applicable
• Review PEIMS data for all program areas prior to snapshot data (RDA and other accountability areas)
• Count the number of students enrolled, directly certified, and with approved applications - October 27th (last Friday of the month)
• Submit accountability appeals if applicable

Administration and Leadership

• Review TEA Superintendent Resources & Guidelines
• Recommend technology and instructional materials allotment (TIMA) selections
• LEAs without ESL certified teachers must request a TEA waiver of certification requirements (19 TAC §89.1207(b))
• Prepare Annual Finger Printing Certificate and Statement of Compliance (TEC§22.081)
• Prepare report of Trustee training hours prior to November elections with postings as required (TEC§11.159) – October Board Meeting
• Registration opens for ESC 12/13/20 RAC Symposium
• *Hire staff in accordance with district policy & procedure (as needed)
• Update AskTED

Federal and State Programs

• Annual Survey of Children in Local Facilities for Neglected/Delinquent Survey available
• *Review/implement district/campus improvement plans in accordance with the district planning process (TEC§11.251) (ESSA§1112, 1114)
• LEAs that reported 2022-2023 TIVA Program Objectives and Measurable Outcomes will need to report initial progress toward meeting those objectives and outcomes. The reporting window is October 1st – December 1st. If 2022-2023 TIVA funds were not carried into 2023-2024, the initial report will be considered the final report. Reporting occurs through the Smartsheets App
• Verify PEIMS coding for At-Risk,  Economically Disadvantaged, and other Special Populations students prior to Snapshot
• Comparability reports will open and are due in November. (CAD and CCF, if applicable)

Finance

• *Approve Annual Financial Audit for July 1st FY
• Review student attendance figures as compared to prior year and budget projections
• Calculate State Aid using end-of-first-six-weeks student data
• Submit biannual pupil projections survey to TEA, only in years prior to a Legislative Session (All LEAs)
• Schools FIRST: Conduct Public Hearing within 2 months of receiving the Final School FIRST Rating. If no appeal was submitted by your district, your district’s preliminary rating becomes final on the 31st day after the preliminary ratings are released
• For Chapter 49 districts - Near-final Excess Local Revenue (Recapture) balances are due for recapture payments owed by districts for the prior year based on updates Summary of Finance. View your district’s remaining balance via the Payment Ledger under School District State Aid Reports

Food and Nutrition

• NEW! Child Nutrition Program Integrity Final Rule: USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service published a final rule on program integrity to ensure that Child Nutrition Programs are properly operated and managed to protect federal funds and taxpayer dollars. The final rule impacts the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program. TDA will be providing updated guidance on upcoming webinars along with updates to various handbooks and FAQs closer to implementation dates.
• Important Information about Health Coverage among Child Nutrition Program: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have provided resources and important reminders for Child Nutrition Program participants with Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage in the wake of the end of the Federal public health emergency (PHE).
  • Participants and their families are encouraged to:
    • UPDATE contact information with the State Medicaid or CHIP agency. 
    • RESPOND to the Medicaid/CHIP renewal form when it arrives to keep coverage. 
    • PARENTS should respond even if you don’t think you’re eligible – your kids could still be eligible! 
    • CONSIDER OTHER COVERAGE OPTIONS: If you are no longer eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, check if you can get coverage through your employer, through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace at HealthCare.gov, or through Medicare
    • Check out CMS's "All Hand on Deck" Fact Sheet with additional calls to action for partners to help keep children and families on Medicaid or CHIP covered.
• USDA Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) is awarding nearly $30 million in grants to celebrate School Food Authorities (SFA) that have made significant improvements to the nutritional quality of their school meals.  
  • In Texas, 18 small and/or rural school food authorities (SFAs) have been awarded and will receive up to $150,000 in grant funds. 
  • Congratulations to our ESC 7 CE - Winnsboro Independent School District ….. awarded $16,000!
  • Each small and/or rural SFA will use the funds to support them in improving the nutritional quality of their meals and modernizing their operations. 
  • Award applications are OPEN, you are highly encouraged to apply. Here is the link with all the information you need: https://healthymealsincentives.org/recognition-awards/.
• FSMC (Food Service Management Contracts) Timelines:
  • September 1, 2023: RFP and renewal process opened
  • December 1, 2023: All new contracts (RFP) must be submitted to TDA for approval to publish.
  • February 1, 2024: Renewal documents must be submitted to TDA for approval. 
  • April 1, 2024: New contract selections must be submitted to TDA for approval to award/execute. 
  • June 21, 2024: New contracts and renewals must be signed/executed and submitted to TDA.
• More Students Can Enjoy Free Breakfast in Texas! The Texas legislature provided funding to cover the breakfast fee normally charged to students for reduced-price served from September 1, 2023, through the 2024-2025 school year.
  • Visit www.SquareMeals.org/ReducedBreakfasts for more information and resources, and check out this marketing toolkit created by No Kid Hungry!
• Get Ready for 2023 National School Lunch Week
  • October 9-13 students across Texas will have the opportunity to level up during National School Lunch Week 2023. It’s not too late to participate, visit SquareMeals.org.
• Self-Certification Option to Increase Micro-Purchase Threshold
  • Beginning SY23-24, approved CEs participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) may self-certify a micro-purchase threshold of up to $49,999.99. 
  • CEs may complete the self-certification process August 1st - October 31st of each year by submitting the SmartSheet form posted here. 
  • All information is required during submission and will be verified during an Administrative Review. If the submitted information is not accurate, a finding will be issued, and fiscal action will apply. Upon approval, the CE must update applicable procurement procedures.

Perkins Formula Grant

• Review Programs of Study and student four-year plans for accountability purposes

School Board

• Review Superintendent’s evaluation timeline and process, including training on use of instrument (TEC§21.354)
• Report Trustee training hours at Board meeting prior to elections
• *Approve waivers as needed
• Notify ESC Field Service Agents of newly appointed/elected board members and review associate training requirements/timelines

• Report to Department of State Health Services the immunization status of the kindergarten and 7th graders opens for submission

Special Education

• 2022-2023 SHARS (School Health & Related Services) Reimbursement Survey (applicable to all LEAs) due to TEA late October or early November
• Monitor special education expenditures from the general fund to ensure on track for MOE (Maintenance of Effort) compliance

Texas Student Data System (TSDS) / PEIMS

• PEIMS Extended Year data available to customers October 19th (2022-2023)
• Class Roster Fall Submission due date to ESC 7 October 12th
• Class Roster Fall Submission due date to TEA October 19th
• PEIMS Fall snapshot date on October 27th
• Charter School Waitlist submission due to ESC 7 on October 20th
• Charter School Waitlist submission due to TEA on October 27th
• SPPI-14 ready for users to complete on October 30th
• TSDS PEIMS Fall Submission ready for users to complete, approve, and accept submissions on October 30th