- Instructional Services Division
- General Information
General Information
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What is a Charter School?
A charter school is a type of public school. Charter schools provide education through a "charter," which is a type of contract granted by a chartering entity such as the commissioner of education, State Board of Education (SBOE), or the board of trustees of an independent school district.
Charter Home - Purpose and Definition
In 1995, the Texas Education Code established a new type of public school known as a charter school. Charter schools are subject to fewer state laws than other public schools with the idea of ensuring fiscal and academic accountability without undue regulation of instructional methods or pedagogical innovation. Like school districts, charter schools are monitored and accredited by the state.
According to the Texas Education Code, the purposes of charter schools are to:
- improve student learning;
- increase the choice of learning opportunities within the public school system;
- create professional opportunities that will attract new teachers to the public school system;
- establish a new form of accountability for public schools; and
- encourage different and innovative learning methods.
Texas Education Code, Chapter 12
Charter school administrators should become familiar with the laws that apply to charter schools. Chapter 12 of the TEC (outside source) discusses many, but not all, charter school issues. Subchapter D of Chapter 12 is specific to open-enrollment charter schools; Subchapter E of Chapter 12 is specific to university charter schools.
Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 100
The TAC contains rules adopted by the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the commissioner of education. The SBOE and the commissioner of education may adopt new rules or amendments to existing rules. Title 19 TAC, Chapter 100, is the primary source of rules that apply to open-enrollment charter schools.
Region 11 Charter Schools Professional Development Needs?
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Charter Schools - You have a voice at ESC Region 11!
Help us shape your charter school needs by completing the survey below that will provide us with valuable input about your charter school needs!
Upcoming Events & Deadlines for 2023-2024
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2024
March
- March Every Tuesday - TEA Division of Authorizing Amendment and Renewal Office Hours
- March - Request for an Indirect Cost Rate for Charter Schools for 2023-2024 survey due to TEA in March
- March 1 - Expansion Amendment closes
- March 4 - Title I, Part A Federal Report Card Dissemination Requirement
- March 6 - TASA Meeting
- March 7 - ESC Region 11 Cooke, Denton, and Wise County: Mental Health & School Counseling, CTE/CCMR, REACH (MV) Roadshow
- March 7 - ESC Region11 Erath, Hood, and Somervell County: Mental Health & School Counseling, CTE/CCMR, REACH (MV) Roadshow
- March 7 - TEA Webinar - McKinney Vento Funding & Sustainability 1:00 p.m.
- March 7 - ESC Region 11 Principal Synergy Network and Assistant Principal Learning Collaborative
- March 8 - ESC Region 11 Digital Learning Coaching Academy: Empowering EdTech Leaders
- Mid-March - Texas Academic Performance Report State law requires that each school system’s board of trustees hold a public hearing to discuss the district’s annual report. The commissioner's rule indicates this hearing for public discussion of the Texas Academic Performance Report must be held within 90 calendar days of receiving the PDF TAPR. The 90 calendar days began December 15, 2023.
- March 11 - PEIMS Information Update - The fall PEIMS file will be used to update missing student information by the date listed for students that are already registered
in TIDE. NOTE: Many of you will be on Spring Break during this due date. - March 14 - TEA's 2024 Mental and Behavioral Health webinar series - Tier 1 Approaches for Enhancing School Mental Health
- March 20 - ESC Region 11 Special Programs Department Meetings
- March 21 - ESC Region 11 District Testing Coordinator Zoom Meetings
- March 22 - Region 11 Spanish Spelling Bee
- March 26 - TPCSA Webinar - Revealing 2024's Biggest Social Media Trends
- March 26 - TEA Charter Operators Meeting - Single Campus 11 a.m.
- March 27 - ESC Region 11 Empowering Educators: A Comprehensive Training on McKinney-Vento Law and Homeless Education
- March 28 - TEA Charter Operators Meeting - Medium (2 to 5 Campuses) 10 a.m.
- March 28 - TEA Charter Operators Meeting - Large (6 or More Campuses) 1 p.m.
- March 28 - ESC Region 11 February 2024 CTE & CCMR Leader Meeting
- March 28 - TPCSA Webinar - Money Matters: Charter Funding 101
- March 28 - Class Roster winter submission due
- March 28 - TEA Session - Purple Star Campus Designation Application Training #1 10 a.m.
- March 29 - EMAT closes for placing orders for instructional materials. (NOTE: Form is more complicated than in the past)
- March 29 - TPCSA 2024 Conference Proposals Deadline - presentation proposals
April
- April 1 - Charter Amendments closes
- April 1 - ESC Region 11 The Paraprofessional's Handbook for Effective Support in Inclusive Classrooms
- April 2 - TEA's Texas Strategic Staffing Grant for Sustainable, Paid Teacher Residency Program application due (Texas vetted teacher residency program)
- April 3 - TASA Meeting
- April 4 - ESC Region 11 23-24 Connect, Collaborate, and Capture
- April 8 - Solar Eclipse - Impacts to LEAs from Texas School Safety Center
- April 11 - ESC Region 11 Charter Roundtable
- April 11 - TEA's 2024 Mental and Behavioral Health webinar series - Family & Caregiver Engagement
- April 11 - TEA Session - Purple Star Campus Designation Application Training #2 1 p.m.
- April 17 - Texas Charter Network webinar - From Feasibility to Furniture: The Lifecycle of a Charter School Facility Project 2 p.m.
- April 19 - TSDS PEIMS Spring Conference
May
- May 1 - TASA Meeting
- May 1 - Certification of Provision of Instructional Materials reporting due by this date
- May 2 - ESC Region 11 New Counselor CTE Workshop: CTE Programs, an Infrastructure for College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR)
- May 3 - ESC Region 11 2024 Safety and Security Conference
- May 8 - ESC Region 11 23-24 Connect, Collaborate, and Capture
- May 9 - ESC Region 11 Federal Programs Director's Meeting
- May 9 - TEA's 2024 Mental and Behavioral Health webinar series - Elevating Mental Health & Wellness
- May 15 - ESC Region 11 E-Merge 2.0: Artificial Intelligence and Acceleration Conference
- May 24 - 23-24 School Health Survey Due
June
- June 1 - Safe and Supportive School Program (SSSP) Threat Assessment survey opens (submission to TEA through Qualtrics)
- June 3 - ESSA Consolidation Amendments Due
- June 5 - ESC Region 11 McKinney-Vento 101: Ensuring Educational Rights for Homeless Children and Youths
- June 7 - FitnessGram site license for 2023–2024 - The last day to register.
- June 10 - ESC Region 11 New CTE Administrator Workshop: CTE Resources
- June 10 - ESC Region 11 Bilingual and ESL Summer Extravaganza
- June 12 - ESC Region 11 Instructional Leaders Meeting
- June 13 -TEA's 2024 Mental and Behavioral Health webinar series - Supporting the Mental Health of Special Populations
- June 13 - ESC Region 11 New Counselor CTE Workshop: Effective Advising for CTE Programs - Ensuring Access & Equity of CCMR Readiness
- June 13 - PEIMS First submission ESC Due date for LEAs
- June 14 - Physical Fitness Assessment due - FitnessGram info: https://help.fitnessgram.net/texas/
- June 18 - Metroplex Social Studies Conference - Connecting with Community: Remember the Stories That Unite Us -- ALTERNATE LOCATION
- June 20 - PEIMS Summer - first submission due
- June 27 - ESC Region 11 Closed
- June 27 - Special Education Language Acquisition - submission due NOTE: Many of you will be closed on this day
- June 27 - ECDS Prekindergarten - submission due NOTE: Many of you will be closed on this day
- June 30 - Safe and Supportive School Program (SSSP) Threat Assessment baseline survey data submission due to TEA through Qualtrics
July
- July 4 - 5 - ESC Region 11 closed
- July 8 - ESC Region 11 - DMAC ACADEMY - DAY 1 - Utilities, State Assessment, Student Portfolio, Appraisals, lead4ward, Exports and PlanWorks
- July 9 - ESC Region 11 New CTE Administrator Workshop: Partnerships
- July 10 - ESC Region 11 DMAC ACADEMY - DAY 3 - Creating Student Plans & Documentation in DMAC
- July 18 - ESC Region 11 Literacy Connects Us to the World Conference
- July 18 - PEIMS Summer resubmission due
- July 25 - Child Find submission due