Below are 9 important updates to funding, initiatives, and upcoming training opportunities that have been recently released. As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to me for assistance.

 

 

1. Adjustments to the FY 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 FSP Payments

 

In support of the legislative process, the LBB requested that the TEA provide supplementary analysis to put LEAs’ attendance projections in context, and alternative methodological options for consideration by legislative decision makers. These figures are lower than LEA projections by 15,923 (0.3%) in FY 2024 and by 54,624 (1%) in FY 2025. 

 

To operationalize the adopted LPE: 

• If an LEA’s projection was at or below the alternative projection, the LEA’s projection was accepted. 

 

• If an LEA’s projection was above the alternative projection, the LEA’s projection was reduced by a percentage, but no LEA was reduced below TEA’s October projection. 
• For 2023–2024, up to a 0.3% reduction was applied to LEAs with ADA up to 1,600, and reductions up to 0.52% for LEAs above 1,600 ADA. 
• For 2024–2025, up to a 1% reduction for LEAs with ADA up to 1,600, and reductions up to 1.78% for LEAs above 1,600 ADA. 

 

The adopted projections by LEA can be found here: https://tea.texas.gov/finance-and-grants/state-funding/additional-finance-resources/attendance-projections. 

 

Note: Only refined ADA was revised for certain districts as noted above. All other student counts (SPED, Bilingual, G/T, etc.) that were submitted by LEAs and accepted by the TEA through the Attendance Projections module in the FSP system and submitted to LBB did not change.  

 

Remember, LEAs are made whole during settle-up. If projections are too high, more funding flows during the school year, but must be returned to the state later. If the projections are too low, less funding flows during the school year, and will be made whole in the settle-up process. Whether projections are too low or too high, the final entitlement is the same, based on actual attendance. The only difference is when the funding flows.

 

More information can be found in the TAA letter sent out on June 15th.

 

 

2. SOF Template Updated Release #2

 

The SR#1 release #2 was released yesterday, June 15^th. It makes a few changes to the first release by correcting the Rate to Maintain and Notice tabs and a minor display issue on the 23-24 tab (it did not impact the calculations).

 

 

3. TEA MCR Template

 

The TEA has still not released a MCR calculation for the 2023-2024 school year on their State Funding page. They did update their projection worksheet under the same page (June 10^th), but after looking through a few district’s rates, they are not 100% correct. Be cautious if you are utilizing this method for creating an estimate for your district and be sure to check your information before proceeding.

 

If you need assistance in re-adjusting the formulas on the 2022-2023 MCR template to show an estimate of the 2023-2024 MCR, feel free to reach out for assistance.

 

 

4. Upcoming Survey Deadlines

 

The 2022-2023 Tax Information Survey (TIS)

• The TIS for the 2022–2023 school year is open for data submission and will close at midnight on August 31, 2023.
• If your district does not submit the survey by the deadline, your district’s state funding for the 2022–2023 school year could be adversely affected.
• Please do not submit any tax data related to the upcoming 2023 tax year (2023–2024 school year).
• Please ensure that your district has completed and submitted the TIS using the online FSP System by August 31, 2023.
• Completing the survey is important because it allows the agency to use the most accurate tax collections data possible when they calculate the 2022-2023 near-final Summary of Finances (SOF) estimates in September 2023.

 

The 2022-2023 Transportation Route Services Report

• TEA requests your school district to promptly complete and submit this report to enable TEA’s process in finalizing the 2022-2023 Transportation Allotment amount.
• The annual deadline for submitting the 2022-2023 Transportation Route Services Report is August 1, 2023.
• Additional information can be found on the School Transportation Funding webpage, as well as in the School Transportation Allotment Handbook.

 

 

5. Cyber Security Initiative, Funding, and IT Guidance

 

It is the intent of the Legislature that the Texas Education Agency enter into an interagency agreement with the Department of Information Resources (DIR) to provide cybersecurity services for LEAs in accordance with DIR Strategy C.1.2, Security Services. Cybersecurity services to be provided by DIR may include, but are not limited to, cybersecurity assessments, end point detection response, and network detection response.

 

The purpose of this initiative is to provide immediate solutions to protect LEAs from major cyber incidents, such as ransomware. Priority will be given to rural LEAs, and cybersecurity practitioners will be available at your regional education service center to assist with implementation of cybersecurity controls that fall within scope of this initiative.  
 
The following cybersecurity controls are highly encouraged for all LEAs to implement between September 1, 2023 and August 31, 2025 and fall within the scope of this initiative: 

 

1. Implement fully managed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) on LEA servers and applicable staff devices. TEA will fully fund licenses with limited distribution. See details below. 
2. Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on staff email systems. More details to come. 
3. Implement email protocol security configurations. More details to come. 
4. Restrict local admin access. More details to come.  

 

The following cybersecurity controls are funded on a first come first served basis by TEA through DIR’s Shared Technology Services (STS) program and are recommended to mature LEA cybersecurity posture. These controls fall within scope of this initiative:  

• Complete a third party K-12 Cybersecurity Assessment to get a baseline of your cybersecurity maturity and action plan for improving cybersecurity posture. Application to open in September. 
• Implement Network Detection and Response (NDR), especially for schools with cameras and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Application to open in September.

 

LEAs will need to sign DIR’s inter-local agreement to receive the in scope services from DIR’s Shared Technology Services (STS), Managed Security Services (MSS) program. 

• TEA’s goal is to have all eligible LEAs onboarded with a signed inter-local agreement by September 1, 2023, so the services can be distributed as soon as possible.
• After the inter-local agreement is in place, eligible LEAs may then request in scope services through the STS program, which will be paid for by TEA starting September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2025.
• The MSS vendor, AT&T, or your regional education service center may reach out to your LEA to help facilitate this process.
• Details about this process were discussed in the April Cybersecurity Coordinator call, and a recording can be accessed here, which includes additional resources with instructions and scope: https://tea.texas.gov/academics/learning-support-and-programs/technology-planning/k-12-cybersecurity-initiative.
• You may register for the Cybersecurity Coordinator Forum series, with the next one next scheduled on June 28th @ 11am CDT, at this URL using your LEA email address: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8234183618339320587. 

 

TEA’s distribution of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) services through DIR’s Managed Security Services (MSS) will be to provide a scope that they can reasonably accommodate with the funding provided. Therefore, TEA will limit the distribution for LEAs with a total enrollment of 15,000 and below.

• The EDR provided, which replaces traditional anti-virus software and incorporates threat intelligence along with malicious behavior characteristics on endpoints, will be fully managed to eliminate additional LEA overhead and is one of the best solutions to prevent ransomware and secure devices.
• The current vendors under the MSS contract for EDR are CrowdStrike and SentinelOne.
• TEA will provide a range from 30 licenses up to licenses equal to 10% of student enrollment, whichever is larger. 
• It is TEA’s intent to focus on high-risk and impact devices, so initial distribution should focus on servers and central office staff with any remaining licenses distributed to other staff devices that have access to sensitive data.

 

Finally, all LEAs will be signed up with the Dorkbot web application vulnerability notification service. Dorkbot is an automated system run by the University of Texas – Austin, that uses publicly available information to identify vulnerable public facing systems on K-12 networks.

• Currently designated cybersecurity coordinators for each LEA will be the point of contact for any findings the service uncovers, so please ensure those designations are up to date in AskTED. Please reach out to your district AskTED coordinator or email askted@tea.texas.gov if you need assistance with updating AskTED. 
• The Dorkbot service for LEAs will begin July 1, 2023.   
• More information about the Dorkbot service can be found at: https://security.utexas.edu/dorkbot.

 

Any LEA wishing to opt-out of the free service of Dorkbot, or if you have any questions related to the TAA letter sent out on June 15^th, please email TEA at cybersecurity@tea.texas.gov.

 

 

6. 2023–2024 Indirect Cost Rates

 

The Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting (FFCR) Division has published indirect cost rates for independent school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. These rates are effective July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024.

You may find your indirect cost rates in either of two places:

• The Indirect Cost Rates page of the TEA website lists 2023–2024 indirect cost rates for all independent school districts and open-enrollment charter schools.
• The GFFC Reports and Data Collections secure TEAL application includes a 2023–2024 Indirect Cost Rate Notification Letter for each independent school district and open-enrollment charter school.

 

If you have questions about the issuance of indirect cost rates, please email the Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting Division at Compliance@tea.texas.gov.

 

 

7. School Safety Funding

 

2023-2025 School Safety Standards Formulary Grant 

• On November 3, 2022, TEA released a formula-based grant to support the school safety standards rule referenced above. The grant allows for pre-award for items purchased on or after June 1, 2022.   
• Application due date is August 1, 2023.
• Grant details are available on the TEA Grant Opportunities page.  

 

Future Funding 

• The Texas Legislature has provided new funding for school safety totaling $1.4 billion for the next two years, including $1.1 billion in one-time funding through the supplemental appropriations bill to address new minimum school safety standards and other facilities-related safety improvements.
• TEA will provide more information on accessing this funding in the coming months.

 

 

8. Accelerated Instruction from HB 1416

 

House Bill 1416 updated accelerated instruction requirements from House Bill 4545 (from 87^th Legislature), which could have financial impacts to your local budget.

 

The following supports are available for LEA personnel supporting HB 1416 implementation: 

• HB 1416 Webinar: TEA is hosting a webinar to provide an overview of HB 1416, review changes from HB 4545, and to walk through available supports for HB 1416 implementation on Thursday, July 13th from 10am CT to 11am CT. Interested attendees can register here. 
• Accelerated Instruction Webpage: TEA will provide accelerated instruction supports – including frequently asked questions and example resources from LEAs - on the TEA Accelerated Instruction webpage. Additional resources will be added as developed. 
• Direct Support: LEA personnel may reach out to accelerated.instruction@tea.texas.gov with questions or to provide resources which may be hosted on the TEA accelerated instruction webpage as a resource for other LEAs. 

 

Additional information about the changes can be found on the TAA letter sent out on June 15^th.

 

 

9. Upcoming Training Opportunity

 

We are excited to share that our partners at the Region One ESC Division of Business & Operations will be hosting their first School Finance & Operations Conference at South Padre Island, TX, July 27-28, 2023. School System teams of professionals in the areas of Business, Finance, Operations, Maintenance, Human Resources and Technology will be attending to prepare for the 2023-2024 School Year and beyond. They will also offer a Pre-Conference SOF Template session presented by Omar Garcia on July 26 at no additional cost.

 

You can visit their conference website, https://sites.google.com/esc1.net/schoolfinance/home, for agendas, registration, and hotel accommodations.

 

For questions or more information, please contact the Region One ESC Division of Business & Operations team at 956-984-6284 or email yaramos@esc1.net.