State Compensatory Education (SCE) Program

The purpose of the State Compensatory Education program is to eliminate (1) any disparity in performance on assessment instruments administered under the TEC, Subchapter B, Chapter 39, or (2) disparity in the rates of high school completion between:

1. students who are educationally disadvantaged and students who are not educationally disadvantaged;  and

2. students at risk of dropping out of school, as defined by the TEC, §29.081, and all other students.

The program requires districts to offer supplemental services to each student who meets one or more statutory or locally-defined eligibility criteria (§29.081, Texas Education Code and 77(R) SB 702 Enrolled –Bill Text).

The goal of the SCE program is to supplement the regular education program (foundation curriculum) with compensatory, intensive, and/or accelerated instruction to increase the academic achievement and reduce the dropout rate of at-risk students (§29.081, Texas Education Code and 77(R) SB 702 Enrolled – Bill Text). It is the aim of the SCE program to provide supplemental instruction that is challenging and meaningful so as to effectively close the gap between at-risk students and their peers.

Prior to HB3, economically disadvantaged data from the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) was used to determine funding estimates based on the average number of students eligible for enrollment in the national school lunch program of free or reduced-price lunches for the best six months during the preceding federal fiscal year.

Under HB3, the agency will now calculate the compensatory education weight based on (a) the student’s designation as educationally disadvantaged and (b) the census block group where the individual student’s home or residence address is located. Individual identification practices under Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) will remain unchanged and school districts and charter schools must comply with 19 Texas Administrative Code §61.1027 for an alternative reporting method. Because the funding will be based on information collected by the school district or charter school, the identified and reported information must be accurate so that the district or charter school receives the correct amount of funding.

For initial SCE funding, TEA will use the address of each campus to determine the weight to apply for each student who is educationally disadvantaged at that campus. Starting in the spring of 2020, the monthly Foundation School Program payments will be based on the actual student census block group submitted each year PEIMS Fall data.

State compensatory education funds must be used to provide support programs and/or services that supplement the regular education program (foundation curriculum) so that students at risk of dropping out of school can succeed in school. SCE funds may NOT be utilized to fund any program activity, program personnel, or program materials required by federal law, state law or State Board of Education rule. The services must be part of the delivery of academic instruction and must be supplemental to the regular program. These supplemental services must be reflected in the comprehensive needs assessment.

S.B.1746 amended the Texas Education Code TEC §29.081 to identify a "student at risk of dropping out of school" to include each student who is under 26 years of age and satisfies one (or more) of the 14 state at-risk eligibility criteria. The State's criteria are provided in this manual, along with required and recommended timelines as well as methods for identifying students in a timely manner.

Identification should be conducted (for the student's benefit) at any time during the year in order to identify those students who are eligible for "supplemental" services under the SCE program, and to ensure timely interventions are provided for these At-Risk Students.

Additionally, H.B. 3 permits us to serve students who are "economically disadvantaged" as designated by their Meal Status in Aeries with State Compensatory Education (SCE) staff/funding (supplemental services), regardless of whether the student meets any of the fourteen at-risk criteria. A student's meal status does not designate a student as being "at-risk". All students enrolled at a Schoolwide Title I campus may receive "supplemental" SCE funded services.

Other programs such as §504, Special Education, and dyslexia do not qualify a student as at-risk.

For purposes of this section, "student at risk of dropping out of school" includes each student who is under 26 years of age and who:

(1) Was not advanced from one grade level to the next for one or more school years - however, a student is not considered a student at risk of dropping out of school if the student did not advance from pre-kindergarten or kindergarten to the next grade level only as the result of the request of the student's parent (d)(1) [NOTE: Student remains at risk of dropping out of school for the remainder of his/her public school education.];

(2) Is a student in grades 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12, and did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in the current semester;

(3) Did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument (STAAR/EOC) administered to the student under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school year subsequently performed on that instrument or another appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;

(4) Is a student in prekindergarten, kindergarten, or grade 1, 2, or 3, and did not perform satisfactorily on a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the current school year [NOTE: BOY and MOY administration for existing students; New students should be assessed within 30 days of enrollment];

(5) Is pregnant or is a parent [NOTE: Students who give up their child for adoption or have a miscarriage shall not be identified under this criterion.];

(6) Has been placed in an alternative education program in accordance with Section 37.006 during the preceding or current school year [NOTE: Section 37.006 describes a disciplinary education program and not an In School Suspension (ISS) program.];

(7) Has been expelled in accordance with Section 37.007 during the preceding or current school year;

(8) Is currently on parole, probation, deferred prosecution, or other conditional release;

(9) Was previously reported through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out of school [NOTE: Student remains at risk of dropping out of school for the remainder of his/her public school education.];

(10) Is a student of limited English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052;

(11) Is in the custody or care of the Department of Family and Protective Services or has, during the current school year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;

(12) Is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302, and its subsequent amendments; or

(13) Resided in the preceding school year or resides in the current school year in a residential placement facility in the district, including a detention facility, substance abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital, halfway house, or foster group home [NOTE: Even one night is sufficient criteria to list the student as at-risk for the following two years.].

(14) Has been incarcerated or has a parent or guardian who has been incarcerated, within the lifetime of the student, in a penal institution as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code.

(15) enrolled in a school district or open-enrollment charter school, or a campus of a school  district or open-enrollment charter school, that is designated as a dropout recovery school under TEC §39.0548