GOV. ABBOTT, TEA ANNOUNCE FUNDING ADJUSTMENT FOR SCHOOLS DUE TO COVID-19

  

Public school districts in Texas could receive funding previously unavailable to them because of low student attendance rates due to COVID-19.

On Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that school districts may be eligible for an adjustment in operational minutes requirements for certain attendance reporting periods during the current academic year.

According to a press release from the governor’s office, this means that funding will be made available to school systems that have seen a decline in attendance rates due to the lingering impacts of COVID-19, given the emphasis this year on a return to in-person instruction.  The adjustment will only apply to the first four reporting periods of the current school year.

Abbott said this adjustment “will ensure school systems have the funding they need to retain the best and brightest teachers and provide quality education to all public school systems across Texas.”  He said the state has made “tremendous strides to return more of our students back to the classroom, and will continue in our efforts to do so.”

In normal times, schools are funded based on the number of students enrolled and the daily attendance on campus.  For the current school year, the operational minute adjustment will result in the exclusion of operational minutes during instructional days that schools have low percentage attendance rates.

The release noted this adjustment will not “hold a district harmless” for losses of average daily attendance due to a decline in enrollment.